32w2d

So who knew when I said that I was in the homestretch in my last post that I actually might have been. A lot has happened over the last week and we continue to wait and see what will happen next.

9/23
I had an OB appointment at 5:40. Brian doesnt usually come but was working from home that day so came with me. I complained of seeing spots for the last few days. That, along with an elevated bp and high weight gain caused Dr. B to send me up to L&D to be monitored and run a PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension) panel. Everything came back fine but surprisingly I was having contractions, I didnt feel them at all. They gave me some water with the hope that it would slow them down. At 8:30 I was checked and was 1cm dilated and 50% effaced. We werent very concerned at the time. The contractions grew stronger (still not feeling them) and around 11 I was checked again and was 3cm and 70% effaced. All of a sudden things became serious. My moms best friend is a nurse there so I asked if she was working, luckily she was and was my nurse for the night. We called our parents to tell them what was going on and were rushed back to get me started on an IV of magnesium sulfate to stop the contractions. At 12 I received the first of 2 steroid shots to help develop the baby's lungs. They attempted to insert a catheter twice without success which was not pleasant, I eventually asked them to give up and used a bedpan for the rest of my stay. My parents had arrived by that time and we kind of watched and waited and then tried to get some sleep.

9/24
Overnight the contractions were getting closer together so they decided to increase the Mag which eventually worked and the contractions slowed down. I had a comfortable rest of the night but only slept about 40 minutes. My new nurse, Donna, came on in the morning. Everything remained relatively the same and stable all day and afternoon. We were able to talk to the NICU and antenatal docs and they told us what to expect. I also had my second steroid shot and our short-term goal was to keep baby in for an additional 24 hours so it had time to fully work. We had an ultrasound and determined that baby is head down, weighed 4lbs 3oz and definitely still a boy. We also found out that he has a big head just like his dad! They were planning on stopping the mag the next day so B went to work to get some stuff done since we didnt know what the next day would bring.

9/25
We were finally able to get some sleep! They stopped the Mag at 8:15am but within a half hour contractions and uterine irritability picked up. At 9:30 I was started on Procardia orally and everything slowed down. There are barely any contractions and just some irritability. I will continue this every 6 hours. Dr. G came in to discuss what's happening and said that since the steroids have taken effect now, it will be ok if he comes early. At 2:30 Dr. B came in to check on me. I asked if he was surprised to see me here and he said he certainly wasnt expecting to see me for this reason. He said now that I had the steroid shots, if I started in hard labor they wouldnt stop it. He also said that the baby would receive the benefits of this shot for the remainder of the pregnancy, until his lungs are mature. He told me it is possible for me to last til my due date or I could go home and deliver the next day, there is no way to know. He planned to come back the next day and we'll decide whether to send me home as long as the procardia keeps working.

9/26
Aunt Marie was my nurse again last night. Nothing exciting happened. B went to work today to get some things done. Of course, Dr. B came in only a few hours later with great news - I'm being discharged! He did an FFN and checked me to make sure that I wasnt dilated anymore. I was finally able to get up and use the bathroom after about 60 hours in bed. Since I am being released on bed rest, my awesome nurse Carrie is having the lactation consultant talk to me because I would otherwise miss my breastfeeding class. Now I'm just waiting for someone to pick me up!

9/29
Since I've been home nothing exciting has happened. I've been trying to stay on the sofa as much as possible but it is hard. Last night I had a lot of back pain/cramping that lasted through this morning. I didnt call the doctor because I wasnt sure if it meant anything. I finally heard back from the OBs office and my FFN was positive which means there is a good chance that I will deliver in the next 2 weeks. The FFN is a more effective test when you get a negative result so we still dont really know what is going to happen. There isnt really anything to change as a result of this so we just wait.