4 days to go

4 days to go until the due date now.

It's all been so up and down the past few weeks. GF has had high blood pressure throughout her pregnancy. For the uninitiated, this is an indicator that she could be heading towrds preaclampsia. And for the uninitiated, preaclampsia is the stage before fully blown aclampsia. And aclampsia, I've learned, is a bit shit. It's some kind of toxicity of the blood that can seriously harm mother and baby. Something like that ... can bring on seizures and all sorts (shivver).

Other indicators of preaclampsia are swolen ankles and presence of protein in the urine.

So GF has been monitored closely these past few months. Scans every four weeks,to see if baby is growing correctly (preaclampsia can hinder growth, see) and more regular appointments with the midwife.

We bought a blood pressure machine for home and test her every day. And in the more worrying days we test her several times daily. On the whole her BP (blood pressure, catch up) has been on the high side. It seems that it's the lower figure that's most important and her lower figure has been pretty consistently over 90.

AInthe last few days that figure has risen to 106 at the highest. Though the doctors and midwife originally said that they'd be worried if it went over 90, the goalposts have apparently shifted a little as they're now saying it's not so bad because she's obviously a high BP kinda gal. Confusions are rife. Protein in urine has been present, then not present, then higher in content then none at all. Definitive followup blood tests have proven that all is OK though and that even last week's gestational diabetes scare was just that - a scare, not reality.

Am I sounding like a medical dictionary? I'm certainly picking up a lot. Maybe I could become a midwife? GF's sister is a trainee midwife and says she has a couple of male midwives in her hospital which interested me. But is the world ready for a blind male midwife? Or a black or female president of the USA? Sorry, going off topic there. Or am I?

GF went to the hospital for another series of blood pressure tests today while I, for the first time in months, went to work rather than accompanying her. Felt rather guilty about that but it was a long standing diaried meeting I wanted to attend. See? I'm going to be a dreadful father; forever placing work above family life. I'm never going to bond with my child and it serves me darn well right, doesn't it.

Her BP results were ridiculously low. 68 on the bottom. What the hell is going on there?

So threats of early induction from a few weeks ago look a bit stupid now. She's absolutely fine and we're gonna have to wait this out. GF is getting sick of it, we're both getting a little blase and bored about the situation, and we could still be waiting another 17 days if baby is late and refuess to show; they induce only if baby is 12 days late.