I was diagnosed with Gestational Hypertension and Gestational Diabetes at 26 weeks pregnant. I had a " normal " pregnancy up until then; I was scared but optimistic that we were going to be able to control my hypertension so it did not lead to preeclampsia. I was on Labetalol 3 times a day and checked my blood pressure every couple of hours; I even had twice-a-week visits with my OB to have BPP scans, my blood pressure checked, weekly labs, and urine analysis done.

I was laying in bed on January 4th, 2024, around 3:00 AM, getting ready to fall asleep; that was when I usually checked my blood pressure with my monitor at home. My husband works midnights, and my BP was super high when I took it. I texted him, saying, " Just took my blood pressure because I thought my hands looked swollen. It was not good. I took my medication, and I am going to recheck it at 3:30." I checked again, and it was still high, so I fell asleep and woke up a couple of hours later. I went about my day and ate lunch; after lunch, I told my husband I wanted to go home and lie down. I took a nap on the couch, and when I woke up, I felt awful, so I checked my blood pressure. It was 200/100; I looked at that number and was confused, so I waited 5 minutes, then re-took it. MY BP was 207/124; I started to panic, so I called my OB and told them I had mild swelling and how high my BP was. They sent me to L&D right away. Once I got to L&D, they drew labs, took my urine, and checked my BP. I never had protein in my urine, even when my appointment was two days before I went to L&D. I had 0 protein in my urine, but this time, I had protein in my urine. They admitted me right away, and I was going to stay until I delivered, which would have been at 34 weeks. That meant three weeks in the hospital. They immediately started a Magnesium drip and put my baby on the monitor, and we started our journey in the hospital.

Four days later, baby boy's heart rate kept dropping; he usually hated the monitors and always kicked them off or moved, so they weren't concerned yet. I had another BPP done; he failed, which he had never done before. I was worried, but my OB wasn't concerned as it was his first-ever fail. Around 4:30 PM, I had my BP checked, and it wouldn't go down. The OB on call came into my room and said, " If your BP doesn't go down, we will move on to plan B. "My mother-in-law came to visit and asked what plan B was; I looked at her and told her it meant delivery. I was only 31w5d; the nurses pushed BP medication through my IV and rechecked my BP; it was 188/96. The doctor and about ten people were in my room to prepare me for immediate delivery.
January 7th, 2024, at 5:42 PM, weighing 2lbs 7oz, Paxton was born via emergency c-section and taken to the NICU straight away. He was intubated and diagnosed with chronic lung disease. His original due date was March 5th, 2024. Paxton is currently in the NICU on day 62, and we aren't sure when he will be able to come home. Paxton is on a low-flow nasal cannula but has been through so much. During his first two weeks of life, he was intubated, on CPAP, and on high-flow oxygen. 2 weeks ago, Paxton had seizures and a brain bleed; we aren't sure why this happened, but he is doing a lot better now!

My symptoms were swelling, headaches, and blurry vision. I did not want to admit it, as I was in denial about my symptoms because I was too early to deliver and simply scared to admit it. I am so grateful to my OB team, my NICU team, and my husband for being there for us. To this day, I am still dealing with high blood pressure, but it is regulating, and I am thankful my son is healthy. Please advocate for yourself and know the signs of preeclampsia, if you feel like you have symptoms call your OB right away!!