Let's start at the beginning. At 36 weeks 6 days, I had a regular check-up at the practice. I felt fine and wasn't really ready to give birth at all. I honestly wasn't thinking about it at all. Jordy was also still busy at work, wrapping up everything and not really busy with the last part of the pregnancy. During the check-up, everything was fine except my blood pressure. Shit! If my blood pressure is really too high, and I'm developing preeclampsia, it's going to be a very quick switch on many levels. After all, with high blood pressure, you don't want to wait and see, and there is a good chance that it is going to be necessary to deliver the baby earlier. Of course, we did not want to risk our little man's health in any way, but neither did we want to risk mine. That what was going to be necessary we had to accept. I went from the practice with Jordy to the hospital for extra checks. There, for example, they measured my blood pressure for half an hour to get a better idea of how this was progressing. Furthermore, they examined my urine for the presence of protein, which can be a symptom of "preeclampsia", and a heart monitor was taken. "Preeclampsia" is in inverted commas here, by the way, because it is popularly known as such. However, it has nothing to do with poisoning and better to call it pre-eclampsia or HELLP. These are two different syndromes in which high blood pressure is a symptom. So they were going to investigate whether I had pre-eclampsia or HELLP. Fortunately, this was not the case and I was allowed to go home afterwards. Where we had started the day in total denial about the imminent birth of our son, we ended the day with the realisation that our son could be born any day now. Since my blood pressure did remain on the high side, we started monitoring it closely. I also made sure to replenish the "building blocks" for proper blood vessel function. These include magnesium, calcium, omega 3 and vitamin D. No further research has been done on the influence of these vitamins and minerals in relation to pre-eclampsia or HELLP. But a good balance of all the "building blocks" is a good foundation in every way. As if my body immediately got the message, I also started experiencing pre contractions from that day onwards. Our little man had yet to descend and he started doing so immediately. Every day it rumbled in my belly and every day a little more. I felt that my body was getting ready for labour in every way and after the day in the hospital, in my mind the switch was also made. The "hospital bag" was ready and at home everything was ready for a bath birth...........
You can read more next Tuesday!
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