Kaitlyn's Birth Story!

At this time last week, I was settling into my hospital room in labor and delivery...not knowing what was going to happen in the next hours, days or possibly weeks (eek!).

So I left off on the Monday before last...the 5th of August.  Daniel's first day of school, an NST appointment and so on. Tuesday, the day after, was pretty uneventful as well.  I'd been taking Zoloft for a full week at that point, and it was starting to take the edge off of some of the hormonal and stress driven emotional stuff (I'm sure that wasn't helping with any contractions I'd had).

Wednesday started out pretty tame.  We got Daniel off to school, got Jared up and dressed and off to daycare, then made our way to the weekly doctor's appointment.  It was pretty standard, and these visits were actually getting a little more depressing, since there was usually NO progress beyond what had already been made.  My appointment was with the nurse practitioner, and on checking, she confirmed that I was still at 6cm.  Group B strep was still positive (not surprising, but I thought MAYBE, perhaps, that all of the antibiotics shoved into me might have killed it off temporarily).  She gave me a copy of my record to take to the hospital just in case as well.

Daniel had early release from school that day, so he got home around 12:45pm.  I'd meant to go get a TDap shot at the doctor's office after lunch (I was supposed to get it the week before, but I think everyone including me spaced out on it before leaving the office).  So we went to do that really quickly and went back home.  I was feeling a little crampy, like contractions might start coming on.  While playing with Daniel, I started feeling contractions again.  They actually started kind of slow (for me!), maybe every 5-7 minutes.  They got a little closer, and we made the call to go to triage sooner rather than later in the evening.  By now it was around 3pm.

We (Daniel, Mike and I) got to hospital triage pretty quickly and went through all of the admitting stuff and right into a room.  Got hooked up to a monitor again, and low and behold, contractions (of course).  The nurse came in and checked me again.  Still at 6cm.  I swear every doctor at the office knows my MO, so it wasn't terribly surprising that when the nurse called that they said just to have me walk around.  So we did that for a while...went down to the healing gardens with Daniel and all of that.  After a bit, it was time to go and get Jared from daycare, so Mike and Daniel left for that while I sat in triage...contracting, but not "progressing" because I wasn't dilating further, and getting a little more depressed that all of these contractions were coming but nothing was happening.

And then I sat.  And waited.  And Mike and the kids got back and were hanging out in the waiting area.  I just KNEW I was going to be sent home, even though both nurses that came in to check were dumbfounded that I was so dilated and nothing had happened.  The nurse had the doctor come down and chat (and she also checked me too...although I didn't think anything would happen in that short of a span!). Mike and the kids came in at that time too, and I was pretty upset at the fact that I felt like I was crying wolf every time I ended up in triage with contractions...and expressed my fear that I had no idea when or if I was ever progressing when contractions started again.  I didn't want to keep staying at home for fear that one of these times it WOULD be the real thing.  Everyone pretty much reassured me that I was doing the right thing each time, and it still COULD be a few more trips to triage.  However, the tide changed a little bit when Dr. Hebets suggested that I should stay the night, get some rest and see if things changed by morning.  I was still a bit iffy on that (stay the night, then get sent home?  Couldn't I just sleep better at home?), but it was reassuring to Mike and me to have me in the hospital for the night "just in case".

Mike and the kids went home and I got moved to room 341 in L&D.  I mention that, because it was a repeat room (ha!)...my second try room.  I was surprised that they put me in L&D (I was thinking antepartum again?).  They suggested I take a shower, get some food and they'd give me an Ambien to help me sleep.  So I did the first two...shower and light dinner...and got hooked up to the monitors again as well.  The nurse confirmed from the doctors to start the IV just to be able to get antibiotics started quickly if needed.  I also got the Ambien...they said it'd take about 15-30 minutes to kick in, and to stay put and call if I had to use the bathroom...Ambien sometimes makes people say silly things or something to that effect.  I took the Ambien, THEN the IV attempts started.  First try in my right arm started hurting more at first than I ever remember, but I tried to stay still and just get it done (after it's in, it isn't a big deal, I figured).  It didn't go (the nurse thought she might have hit a valve or something) and so on to try number two.  Yep, fail on that one too.  She felt SO bad, so she got another nurse.  And third and fourth try...nope!  Nurse number 3 comes, and at that point I'm feeling REALLY lightheaded for whatever reason.  They pop the cool washcloth on my forehead and give me a little break.  Try number 5.  Nope.  Finally, the nurse looks at the nice vein on the top of my right hand (notoriously "wiggly" and sort of uncomfortable) and decides that might be her best shot.  And it was definitely uncomfortable, but it worked!

I actually slept pretty well, courtesy of the Ambien.  When I woke up in the morning, I wasn't feeling nearly as many contractions, and it really bummed me out.  I really thought I had endured numerous needle sticks and a night in the hospital for nothing.  The doctor from the previous night came in and said that since I was now officially "term" (37 weeks!) that they could do a little more to get me delivered.  With the change in doctors came Dr. Jackson (the doctor I prefer to see in the office, even though I like them all!).  He checked me again and he called me a "7 to 8cm".  Either he was being super generous or I had gone from being stalled at 6cm to being just a little more overnight somehow (as an aside, he'd explained before that sometimes when the cervix gets to be in the upper ranges, it can be stretched or not depending on the person checking and it can be a little dynamic too...lower dilation measurements are usually more in synch from person to person).  He also did a quick membrane sweep/strip to see if that would help as well (membrane stripping in previous pregnancies always resulted in a baby less than 24 hours later for me!).  IV antibiotics got started just before 9am...and I got one dose in before they let me walk around a little bit more and contractions came on again, pretty handily, and I got kind of bored so I went back and waited for Mike.

By the time Mike got there, I was hooked back up to the monitor again, and the contractions were coming on fairly regularly, but they wanted to see them a little stronger.  The doctor suggested that I go for the epidural before they decided to start pitocin, because those contractions are definitely more painful (and he didn't want to be responsible for any swearing as a result of wanting an epidural and not having one :) ). Within about 15 minutes of saying "yes" to the epidural, the anesthesiologist came in and set up.  As he was getting started, the attending anesthesiologist came in and planted himself in a chair and started making jokes and spouting all sorts of random trivia (mostly regarding the Apollo astronauts).  It was pretty funny.

Another doctor came by and asked if I'd like to consent to participate in a study that they were doing. Mothers delivering around 37 weeks (which I was exactly!), in their mid-30s, and having received steroids.  That's me! All that they'd need was a couple of pieces of placenta once it was delivered, one for expression arrays and the other for FFPE.  I'm totally down with that!

After that, Megan, Cathie and Monica came by to visit.  For some reason, I had thought the nurse had already started the pitocin, but she hadn't...and came to hang the bag while they were there.  About 20 minutes later as everyone was about to head back to work, I felt something akin to a water balloon breaking and coming out and then something warm on my legs.  I had Mike look and it was my water that had broken!  I was SO happy with that, and was laughing pretty hard.  Since things might start to move kind of fast after the water breaks, and Daniel was due to get out of school soon, Mike headed out the door to get them and bring them back to the hospital (so Megan could take them for the night).  I was still at about 8cm, so there was still a little bit of time, in theory.

Contractions started picking up in intensity and I waited for everyone to get back (and Mike hurried back pretty quickly, all things considered...distance, timing for Daniel getting out of school, packing up things for the kids and so on).  During that time, the resident and medical student came in to check to make sure the baby was head down still by ultrasound (it was an easy one, and good practice for the med student).  They also noticed that there was a little bit of hindwater trapped by membrane, so they broke that (weird, since I have never had my water break TWICE?).  I still felt like I was leaking fluid periodically.

Mike came back with the kids, and we had a quick hello.  The nurse figured it wouldn't be too long before things started happening, so Mike gave Megan a call to come over a little earlier if she could (instead of 4 or 4:30 like they planned).  While waiting for Megan, the nurse lifted up the sheet and there was a pretty sizable pool of blood everywhere (I guess I was leaking more than amniotic fluid!).  At that point, the nurse suggested that Mike take the kids out just in case, and made the quick call to the doctors.  The resident and med student came in first and suited up, followed by my doctor.  They didn't even really have to check to see that I was all the way dilated and the head was really low.  So we all kind of chit-chatted (awkward in the delivery room, right?) and waited for Mike to get back.  The nurse manning the baby warmer asked if I could call Mike to get him back in here (which, Jared had taken my phone, so no!), so I gave her the number and she called to tell him to run back or he'd miss the delivery!

They broke down the bed for delivery, got everything into position and pushing commenced!  It barely took 3 pushes and she was out!  I was the most clear headed out of all of the delivery/childbirth experiences thus far, probably just being pretty relaxed and also not having it be in the middle of the night.  I could see her after she came out and was getting suctioned, watched Mike cut the cord and so on.  It was even cool to see the placenta after it was delivered (something I didn't see with the other two kids).  As the doctor looked the placenta over, he mentioned something about how it was starting to deteriorate a little, and it had quite a bit of old blood in there too, like it had been bleeding before.  I don't know when that would have been, since the only bleeding I had was with a small subchorionic hemorrhage early on, and some bloody show before first delivery attempt at 34 1/2 weeks.  Who knows if that could have precipitated some of the pre-term labor in the first place...it doesn't prove cause and effect, but just trying to figure out what might have happened that was different with this pregnancy just in case something like this happens with the next one.

In any case, I think I felt the best with this delivery compared to Daniel and Jared's (for various reasons), and in the end I don't think things could have gone better!

And so ends the birth story...Kaitlyn Elizabeth Stone, born August 8th, 2013 at 4:08pm.  Weighing in at 6lbs 13oz and measuring 19 1/2 inches!

On Stress, Home, and Catching Up...

Once again, I'm losing track of days (but I'm sure I'm not the only one!).  When I just looked, I realized that I hadn't posted anything since Thursday, and today is Sunday.  Oops!  Time seems to sort of blur together, especially when you aren't exactly in the best mental and physical states.

Continuing where we left off on Thursday, I was back in antepartum again, and luckily that's where I stayed.  Friday Mike came by during the day, and hung out in the afternoon.  It was around this time that I was starting to feel like I was festering away in the hospital, and had first inclinations towards going home vs. staying (before I was leaning towards staying, for reasons of it being a little more secure).  Dr. Erickson came by and chatted for a bit in the afternoon, and between me and Mike, we always grill the doctor on all of the possible delivery scenarios, and so on.  After that was done, we decided it might be good to bring the boys up to the hospital in the evening to visit too!  In the early evening, while waiting for them, Heather and Cathie came for a visit (I hadn't seen Cathie since I was there at 28 weeks!).  It was good to have a chat and catch up with all of the goings-on (and fill in all of the pieces of the "summer" thus far).  Mike and the boys came and visited with them too before it was time for them to turn into pumpkins and go home (they left around 8:30).

It's really quite sad that I can't remember what sort of monitoring went on Friday night.  Contractions do kick up in the evening (this is tending to be a pattern), but they weren't hurting again, and they peter out after a while.  Kind of a boring way to end a day, I guess.

Saturday started out to be kind of even keeled too.  I was able to doze a little bit throughout the morning between doctors, nurses and food.  Mike and the boys came by and hung out.  Once again, Mike and I were having the conversations about going home (weighing pros and cons), and when Dr. Erickson came by again, we kind of reiterated the same thing.  The other thing that was starting to annoy us a bit is being given the run-around with starting Zoloft again.  As most people might gather from reading all of this, it's really taking a toll on my mental state.  A lot of times I'll cry for no reason, and I get stressed out even more with thoughts of what's going on or not going on.  So she said she'd get the order and get started on that.  Let's just say that got very, very lost.

Mike and the kids left about 2:30 or 3, and there were just a smattering of things going on.  A nurse came to change out my IV (I'd had this one since Monday night).  I'm almost running out of places to have an IV (I had one close to my wrist that was removed last Sunday night, then Monday they put the new one a little further up on the same vein).  So the new one was on my left.  It was sort of funny with the nurse doing it.  There were two nurses working together, one had been a supervisor and behind a desk for several years, and thought it would be good to get back into patient stuff again so she was following my nurse.  She came in to do the IV, and I didn't think anything of it.  After it was in, she called the other one to do a little cleanup (there was some blood that got stuck in a screw valve and some that had dripped on the under side of my arm).  It was then that she told me that she hadn't started an IV in about 7 years (ha!).  Honestly, it doesn't bother me in the slightest...she did a good job :).  After that, I got set up so I could shower, and she actually got me a new pair of PJ pants because some blood had gotten on mine (which was no biggie to me I guess!).

In the evening, contractions started right back up again.  I'm starting to get a little bit anxious when i happens, just because I don't want to get my hopes up that it could turn into something even remotely resembling full labor.  Around 8pm, I asked to get put back on the monitors, and sure enough, contractions ahoy!  The nurse came back pretty quickly (I'd say less than the standard 20 minute wait) and started some fluids (I was still drinking a lot of water leading up to this too).  These contractions were getting more painful than they had before (I mentioned this to the nurse), but there was still no cervical change so she offered stadol again.  I was at least looking forward to an hour or two of sleep there, and really glad I wasn't sent to L&D if there was no progression.

The stadol was pretty much the start of my troubles, even though it sort of seemed like a good idea at the time.  As it got pushed into my IV, the same thing as before happened with the instant marshmallow gooeyness feeling all over.  I was caught a little off guard with how fast she'd brought it, so the TV was still on, my phone by my side and laptop screen still up on the tray.  But, honestly, I didn't care.  The nurse let me rest, kept the monitors on, and told me that I needed to NOT get up, but be sure to call if I had to use the bathroom.  My oxygen stats were starting to go down again, so I got hooked up to some oxygen as well.  After an hour, my contractions were starting to decrease (not totally knocked out), and baby was looking good so the nurse shut down the contraction and fetal monitors.  I still had the pulse ox on and oxygen.  She reminded me again to call when I had to pee so I could be escorted to the bathroom.

During that time, Mike called (which I was too dopey to answer still), and I dozed again until around 11.  After two hours, the stadol had pretty much worn off, and I figured it was time to use the bathroom and bed down for the night.  I texted Mike really quickly, turned off the TV, put my phone on the charger and put down the laptop screen before hitting the call button. Still a little wobbly on my feet.  Instead of my regular nurse, the nursing assistant came in (which I didn't think too much about) and I told her I needed to go to the bathroom.  At that point, she just took off my pulse ox and oxygen, and walked quickly out of the room telling me to call when I got back so she could turn everything back on again.  I'll note that at this point no one "walked" me to the bathroom (I walked myself)...I got the impression that she didn't really know what I was on at the time.

I got to the bathroom, my head spinning a little, and sat down to do my thing.  I was zoning a little bit, and just sat staring at the walls.  After that, I remember getting up, pulling up my pants, and turning to flush the toilet.  At which point everything started going gray and black, and I held on to the bar by the toilet and just thought it was better to get down so I didn't fall down.  Anytime before I've passed out, I get that feeling of "oh the floor looks so nice and cool", and I start sweating PROFUSELY.  And I went out.  Cold.  Everything went black and I came to and sort of made sure I could get up without going right back out again.

A bit panicked, I went back into the room, and went for the first place I could lay down...there was a cot right next to the bathroom door so I laid there for a bit.  I don't know what I was figuring in my head...that eventually someone would come in after they realized that I wasn't on the monitors, perhaps?  Maybe they completely forgot?  In any case, I rested for a few on the cot, and got my strength up a bit to go back to my own bed and hit the call light.

After I hit the call light, another nurse (again, not my own, and not the nursing assistant either) came in.  I was not breathing well, shaking, panicked and my heart racing.  I told her in broken breaths (can't speak all that well when I'm shaken up and still recovering from passing out) that I passed out.  I got laid back on the bed and just closed my eyes and sobbed while they rushed to hook me back up to everything (including contraction/baby monitor).  My main nurse finally came in and asked what happened, still all I could squeak out was "passed out"...she asked why I didn't call for someone to help me to the bathroom and I told her that I DID.  I told her that the other lady came, took the pulse ox and said to call when I got back.  This is where things got a little more frustrating, and the crazy stories started.

At some point, they asked the nursing assistant what happened, and the she said that she answered the call light, walked me to the bathroom and walked me back to bed.  She added that I must have gotten up a second time after that and didn't ring the call light to go to the bathroom.  The nurse relayed this to me, and I lost it even more.  I had NO recollection of having her even remotely walk me to the bathroom...and I had no recollection of going to the bathroom twice in a short period of time?  This tale was getting a little out of control...and it didn't help that I was getting so worked up that I couldn't explain what happened to me.  My heart rate was 150+ and the pulse ox was going nuts when I'd dip below a certain level.  They kept monitoring me all through the night, and I got little to no sleep (even after I asked for tylenol and something to sleep...I got benedryl finally...) just due to being so stressed out.

I was grateful that I did finally get about 3 hours of sleep before the resident came by.  The day nurse came in too (same as the day nurse from yesterday) and I was still upset, and trying to relay my anger at what had happened last night.  She had been filled in on the story, but hadn't heard my take on things.  My main thing was that I was CERTAIN that even though I had called for help, the assistant did NOT help me to the bathroom like she claimed, and certainly did not help me back.  When my doctor came in, I mentioned the same thing...and he told me he believed me (which made me feel better too...I tried to keep as simple as possible without losing it).

As the morning went on, I made SURE to get help to the bathroom.  Mike was there at that point (after I filled him in on the story) and he grilled the day nurse on things.  I think we both idly sort of wondered if there was any way they could check a monitor record or if they had any type of log of call lights and visits to the room.  Mike checked...and they did.  Even more disturbing (to me) was that I didn't really realize how long the whole incident was (from me ringing the call button/being taken off monitors to getting back to bed)...apparently 36 minutes!

In any case, the log that they had for the call lights (not sure if it's electronic or what, or just a paper log they keep) was that I rang the call light to get up, and there's no record of me being helped back to bed, just the second call light 36 minutes later.  On the monitors, there's a gap in the monitoring of the same amount of time.  So at best, the assistant didn't write down that she helped me back to bed at all and totally forgot to put me on pulse ox again (both).  She can't claim that she put me on pulse ox monitors and that I must have gotten up a second time to use the bathroom (because that would show up if I'd taken myself off). So her basic story is falling apart.

I'm angry, scared and confused as to why this happened at all.  In all of my stays thus far, and through all of the gnarly drugs that they've given me, the nurses have always been diligent about making sure I made it to the bathroom and back.  They don't want to risk it...and rightly so.  This type of thing (passing out) could have happened at any time, and if it had, there would have been a nurse to see it quickly and respond.  I probably would have been just as shaken up, but not as anxious and angry if it was dealt with swiftly and I didn't have someone trying to lie their way out of something that they should have been careful with.

So with all of that, it sort of solidified it in my mind that I would be happier and less stressed at home.  Mike also asked the nurse about the status of the Zoloft request, and had Dr. Jackson paged to come by after he was out of surgery.  It was a really good conversation that we had, and it achieved 1.  getting started on the Zoloft (which I started barking about almost a week ago) 2.  me going home, 3.  setting up monitoring to make me feel more at ease again, and 4. getting a lot of questions answered in general.  Also got a bonus cervix check (har har har), and still at the 6cm point, effacement still about the same (he said maybe 90%...even though it could be in the 70-90 range the way it's figured)...baby at +1 (she likes to migrate), and amniotic sac still bulging (oddly, that hasn't changed!).

Well, I'm home now...still cooking away.  Lots to look forward to, including being 36 weeks on Thursday, monitoring appointments (sad that I look forward to something like that, right?) and keeping busy to keep me from having way too much time on my hands to think about stuff.

What I Do During the Day

Since I'm mixing things up a little bit with blog posts (I never know what's going to happen every day, so sometimes, especially these days, and in the days to come!) that I usually just go with the flow.  Report on the days happenings and things and call it good.

Anyway, today I was reflecting a little on what my typical day is like.  I've done this sort of post before on my other blog, but haven't done it here since I started on the whole bedrest thing.  And it's taken on a different flavor being cooped up in the hospital right now.  I do like routine, even if variety in the days events is nice.  Maybe it's more that I like knowing what the plan is ahead of schedule, even if it varies from day to day.  So here's a day in the life of Amy, hospital style.

I usually end up waking up at some early hour, way early to be healthy, and way earlier than I'd ever get up unless I had to.  Today I awoke the first time around 5:30am, which was pretty good...I was happy that I had gone about 5 1/2 hours straight sleeping!  I had the IV line going into my arm from last night, as my last dose of antibiotics started around 11:30pm, ran for a half hour and switched over to saline...the nurse didn't want to wake me up at midnight if I was sleeping just to stop the whole thing.

At 5:30, I buzzed the nurse, she took the fluid off, closed off my IV (still in my arm, for easy access), and I got up to use the bathroom and then back to bed.  I dozed a little bit until a resident came by after 6am.  I have to be somewhat coherent these days, just because they're always asking for details, and I end up with a new one each day so I sometimes have to fill them in on things a bit more.

The resident left, and I dozed off for a bit more...a few more hours until 7:30 when a nurse came to take my vitals.  Dozed off again a little more, and the new nurse for the day came by, did a few more vitals and brought breakfast around 9.

After breakfast, I sat around a little "digesting" and was doing a little cross stitch.  At 10am, the nurse came by to hook me up to the monitors for the NST (that was about 20 minutes long).  Nothing really odd to report (I think I had like 1 or 2 contractions the whole time!) and baby was happily doing her thing.

A little bit of looking at things on Facebook, chatting online and so on, and then Dr. Mayer came for a visit.  She asked how I felt about staying vs. going home (like most of the other doctors had), as she knew previously that I'd been upset before about having to stay and be away from Mike and the kids.  But this time I think everyone agreed that it was safer and more secure if I stayed.  So she put that plan into motion to keep me here at least for the time being...assuring me that the plans are subject to change if my own feelings on things change.

Right before 1, Megan and Pilar show up (and they grab food to have lunch up here), and Monica follows soon after too.  It was a good visit with them, definitely brightening things up and adding that bit of variety to my day.  Mike comes around 2:30 and we hang out and chat (funny being able to talk without interruptions from the kids...hehehe).  It took a little bit to get all of the permissions in order to go for a walk (there has to be a doctor's order saying it's OK!) and so after that came through, we took a trip to the cafeteria for a little bit before Mike had to leave to get the boys and go home for the night.

I'm expecting dinner here in a little bit (typical is around 6:30), then the shift change, a new check in vitals, and maybe another round of monitoring (although that hasn't been said, they usually just like to do that after dinner).

Maybe the longer I stay here (but, well, I hope that's not too long), the more the routine gets established and I hope I can just get used to a few things so I'm not struggling to get through the day.

Overall, my day, today, has been a mostly quiet one...not filled with a lot of drama, contractions and worry, and I really hope that it stays that way, and that this isn't just the calm before the storm (like it was the last time I was discharged!).

Entering a State of Confusion

I'm once again starting to lose track of my days...had to make sure that today is Tuesday (right?).  Well, the major news is that I managed to keep myself out of the hospital for ONE WHOLE DAY.

Anyway, Monday (yesterday), I had a "regular" doctor's appointment, and there really wasn't a whole lot to report (no one wants to check my cervix for fear of breaking my water, irritating things more or whatever).  Baby's heart rate is good, my blood pressure and urine are good...and that's all fine and well and superficial.  In the mid afternoon, I hadn't heard from anyone to set up appointments for fetal monitoring, so I called to see if that was being worked on.  Not long after, I had an appointment set up for today (Tuesday) at the outpatient center attached to the hospital.  They set up an NST and an amniotic fluid index just for monitoring purposes.  So I was feeling good about that.

The evening, however, did not go as expected.  We went to get the kids at daycare at their usual time, and they do their thing where they run to the Village and play on the slide and in the ball pit.  We got them in the car pretty easily and went home, just like it typically plays out.  Sat down on the couch and Mike asked if I wanted anything to eat.  I actually had a left over burrito thing from lunch (I got full way too quickly), but I was still just fine from Taco Bell.  I was actually feeling kind of weird...in a way I can't really describe, other than just a bit off.  My stomach a little, my legs felt a little heavy, and I was a bit sore.  Before I knew it (and really without a lot of warning...at least from what I was aware of), I launched into contractions.  Sitting with my legs propped up, I idly started to time them.  It was ridiculous how fast they were coming...not a gradual build up or anything!

The kids went into the bath, I threw back a whole bunch of water and eventually moved to the bedroom.  Still contracting, and everything felt heavy.  I made the call right there to go to the hospital.  I didn't want to regret it later, and I didn't want to have to pull the kids out of bed either.

We got to OB triage about 8:45, got checked in pretty quickly (more quickly than some of the other times...there's some pretty chatty people doing that job) and into triage.  Mike and the kids stayed in the waiting area.  I waited and waited to get hooked up to the monitors, and I was continuing to time contractions for myself.  As soon as the monitors came on, it repeated pretty much exactly what I'd been timing.  I told the nurse about how I'd just been released, how far I was dilated and so on.  And of course, when she checked for herself it was about the same as I reported.  She was shocked that they let me go home with a bulging bag of water and with all of the contractions, that was a pretty quick decision to admit.  I got started with the IV antibiotics immediately in triage, and then we were off to labor and delivery again (at which point, Mike and the boys tagged along for a bit).

The nurse kept saying that the doctor was coming to discuss stuff, but that never happened.  It got to the point where he was pretty much MIA, and I'd given up on finding out anything, so all I could do was wait.  Mike and the kids went out to the car to sleep, on the off chance that it could be go-time...which it never turned out to be.

All night long I contracted again...3-4 every 10 minutes, then 2 every 10, then maybe back to 3.  But still no water breaking, so no baby :(

I've contracted on and off today, and they continue to shove penicillin into me (periodically).  I did get to go for a walk, people from work came by, and Mike was here in the afternoon as well.  And because antepartum is full (or so they've told me), here I sit like a lump in L&D.  I'm so tired, my head is spinning, and everything new that happens I keep hoping that it's a sign that the baby could be on the way.  This is so much worse than being near my due date and trying to get a kid out.

So I've been told that the plan is to keep me here...again...until my water breaks or I go into labor.  I'm so skeptical of this, since that's what they said before.  I don't know if I'm nervous about being at home so much anymore, especially if I can have monitoring every few days.  I, of course, don't want my water to break at home and worry about a mad dash to the hospital (or worse, deliver in the car...I've had several people say that they worry about that scenario in particular).

I'm so tired, and part of me does worry that my body is going to fail to go into labor at all, even when it's time, just because it's been worked too much.  There's a worry that the baby could become too stressed.  All sorts of these things are starting to make me ponder where the best place is for everyone to be, and the best case for when I actually go to deliver.

So here ends my post for today...entering another state of confusion and unknown for what is going to happen in the coming hours.

Heading to the Final Countdown?

All of the days are starting to run together, and I like to look at things in terms of numbers sometimes just to put things in perspective.

Since this whole thing began:

6 - The number of nights I've spent in the hospital
2 - The number of nights I've spent without Mike there with me
3 - The number of times I've been through OB triage and not gone out the same day

15 - The number of OB appointments I've had to date
14 - The number of ultrasounds I've had to date

48 - The number of hours I've been on magnesium sulfate IV
4 - The number of terbutaline injections I've been given
2 - The number of steroid injections I've had for lung maturity
3 - The number of times I was given stadol to become oblivious to contractions
5 - The number of 4 hour doses of penicillin I've been given during labor
2 - The number of other maintenance tocolytic drugs I've taken after going home (ibuprofen and nifedipine)

241 - The number of days I've been pregnant (although 14 of those days don't really count!)

10 - The number of pounds I've gained this pregnancy (you'd think it would be more with sitting on my butt so much!)

Well, enough of that for now.  I could go so many directions with it and it might get a little crazy and too TMI!

Anyway, today was an interesting, yet surprising day.  I was at least able to sleep last night, which I really needed to get some after the previous night of sheer exhaustion.  I was worried that the combination of being in the hospital, being overly tired, and my mind going in a thousand different directions would somehow mess with my sleep.  I got semi-comfortable (as comfortable as one can get in a hospital bed, being sweaty from hormones and having an IV stuck in one hand) around 11:30pm, and tried to sleep.  My brain didn't shut off at first, but luckily I was able to doze off until the nurse came in to do vitals around 1:30am.

Back to sleep, and the next thing I remember is another nurse in at around 5:30 to do vitals again.  My eyes were playing tricks on me when I looked at the clock (I got the hands on the clock mixed up) and I thought it was 2:30 for some reason)...I even commented that it felt like I'd slept longer than I thought.  I barely just dozed off and a resident came in (and she was asking all of the same questions...how far along were you with previous labors, blah blah blah).  So I had to be a little coherent, and I couldn't go back to sleep for a little while.  Finally I did get back to sleep (dozed off on my back, oddly enough...and under covers...I had suddenly gotten really cold!) and woke up right before 9am.

Breakfast came and eventually the new day nurse came in to do vitals and check to see if I might need monitoring again.  She put me on the monitors while I was in (what felt like) a very weird position on my side.  A little more than halfway through, Mike came with the kids!  After the first hour, the nurse reported a contraction about every 10 minutes, and she went to page the doctor.  Monitoring continued for a while after a bathroom break, and nothing dramatic changed after that point.  Now was just time to wait for the doctor!

Right after lunch, Dr. Pottorff came, did another cervix check and I was still the same as I was the previous day (5-6cm, 70% effaced, bulging sac).  It's been funny how it's bouncing between the 5 and 6, but she explained that as more of just being such a small difference at this point between 5-6 (but definitely not over 6!).  The biggest surprise, though, was her letting me go home!

We talked about some of the major concerns, mostly trying to gauge how much I'd be able to take it easy (weekends are hard with the kids running around, pulling at me sometimes...weekdays are easier with daycare...I get more rest/sleep at home, and I'm less stressed out just being with Mike and the kids versus being in the hospital...I'm not as "secure" as I am in the hospital if something changes quickly...so on and so forth).  So we came to the compromise that this week I'd keep my appointment at the office (happens to be on Monday, tomorrow), and they'd add extra NST's and monitoring twice a week, just to see how the baby was doing and to see how many contractions I was having.  Those will likely just be in OB triage, so that actually reassures me that if they see something sketchy, all they have to do is run me down the hall.

Well, my bags will be packed each time (it's pretty much stayed packed), and I'm getting more secure with all of the different scenarios that could play out.  Let's hope I keep that feeling of security!

Bedrest Part 2 - Days 8 and 9

I should probably subtitle this one...IN SEARCH OF LAST-MINUTE CHILDCARE

OK, so I didn't make it 3 days in a row with blog posts.  But, in any case, it's the weekend, and the days sort of all blur together.

I've managed to stay out of the hospital for a whole week (hooray!), but it's been sort of a half-rest kind of week.  I get conflicting opinions on whether I should be on "strict" bedrest or whether I can be sort of on "modified" bedrest, which is much more lax.  On my hospital discharge paperwork from last weekend, it says "Bedrest...bathroom privileges only".  Yet, I've been told that that is probably too extreme.  I can see the doctor's going, "know your limits", and "rest when you need to", but that's a lot easier said than done (especially knowing me...I test the limits quite a bit, and I always seem to believe that I can do more than I actually can).

In any case, enough dwelling on that other stuff for a while.  My latest obsession is finding emergency childcare, should something happen in the "off hours".  I don't think I will really feel at ease until this issue (in particular) is in place.  Not only do I have to have plans...but I need alternative plans as well!

So here's the run down so far.  If something happens in the middle of the night or on the weekend (when the boys are NOT in daycare), they'll likely need someone to take them for a bit.  I hate imposing on people or asking about these things, but ideally, the least amount of stress would be if someone could just stay the night with the boys at our house, so we didn't have to wake them up.  Plan two is dropping them off somewhere, and plan 3 is taking them to the hospital with us if we can't get a hold of anyone.

As I mentioned in a previous post, our other option was a drop-in daycare, but I've kind of dismissed that as not really working for us.  I won't stop looking around for another place though, possibly!  The next alternative is lining up some sort of sitter/nanny service that could come out in less than an hour.  Still evaluating options/taking referrals for that one.  I've even decided to make use (for the first time...ha!) of work's "employee assistance program"  (kind of like a concierge service type thing).  We'll see how that works...I'm always taking suggestions, so if anyone reads this...I'm open!

Bedrest Part 2 - Days 1 and 2

I was just going back and forth about whether I should keep counting the days at home on bedrest starting where I left off, or just starting again.  So...starting again it is!

In any case, it's been 4 weeks and 4 days (32 days!) since everything "started" with the first hospital stay.  2 admissions to the hospital.  4 nights spent in the hospital. 28 nights home on bedrest, tonight being night number 29.  Sure...that math adds up somehow.  Just putting it into perspective for myself, I guess.

So the doctor made good on the promise that I'd only spend that one night in the hospital (Friday night), and be discharged Saturday morning.  With Mike being gone, and just having a bit more noise and whatnot going on around my room, I didn't sleep really that well.  I watched a little bit of TV on Netflix, then decided I was too tired for a second episode, so I tried to sleep a little after midnight.  Around 1:30am I was due for the next dose of nifedipine, and I had gotten up and unplugged myself from the contraction monitor around that time so I could use the bathroom.  The nurses did the vital check and blood pressure stuff, so I was a little more awake than I would have liked to be at that time of the night.  My blood pressure was close to the 90/60 cutoff (still low), but it was close enough that the nurses still gave it to me rather than waking me up in another half hour to try again.

After that, I slept until around 4, and, again, vitals checked, bathroom break, etc.  Finally, I was able to sleep from about 4 until I noticed the sun come up, and I was dozing from then until around 7:45.  Nurses came in again followed by Dr. Mayer.  Contractions slowed to 2 an hour overnight on nifedipine, and I was still at 4cm (which, no cervical change was the real goal there).  Dr. Mayer ordered an NST to check on the baby, and after breakfast, that was started.  The NST went well...I think even better than 4 weeks earlier, and I could hear the accelerations in heartbeat from time to time.

It ended up to be perfect timing for Mike and the boys to show up to take me home.  Armed with a nifedipine prescription (on an as-needed basis...due to my blood pressure being so wonky!), we got to go around 11am.  The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, but I slept like a rock that night!

---

Moving on to today.  My parents were set to come over today to drop off some food items that they're clearing out before the last part of the move.  It's also Daniel's birthday on Tuesday, so I made a cake last night and finished decorating it this morning.

My parents came about 3:30 or so, and did the usual visiting stuff.  There were probably a handful of times that I held back tears thinking of them being gone as of this coming Friday (just my mom mentioning certain things...I couldn't tell you what set me off).  We did Daniel's birthday cake and presents and before I knew it, it was time to say our goodbyes to my parents.

I really...and I mean REALLY tried hard not to lose it, but of course I did.  So there's my mom and I both sobbing...and just not being able to get words out (losing physical ability to talk!  ahh!).  In any case, I try to rationalize why I am having such a hard time with this, but I really can't.  If I think about it too much, it makes me just start tearing up even more.  I've been out of my parents house since I was 18 (give or take...spent one full summer at home with my parents in college, and visited on holidays and stuff), lived 2 hours away in a different city for several years and moved to a different state 1000 miles away for another 5 years before moving near them again.  Even then, it wasn't like I was seeing them every day or every week (or even sometimes every month).  And even with the possibility of us moving again to somewhere completely different is there...but THEM picking up and moving so far away has really gotten to me.  My mom was reminiscing about dropping me off at college, and going through the same kind of thing.

In the end...I know we all travel well, and we'll be seeing them soon.  It still just makes me wish that they weren't moving...at least not now.

So that rounds out the weekend!  The kids sacked out pretty hard (Jared too, he who did not nap today!), and I'm ready for another week to begin!

Hospital Stay - Round 2

Well, I spent almost four weeks out of the hospital, baking the wee one on bedrest at home and doing an OK job (I guess)...and then 32 weeks hit.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the magical 32 week mark came, and I could no longer take ibuprofen.  I was also taken off of strict bedrest.  In combination, that probably doomed me.  Even though I had been starting to feel a lot of the break-thru pain and contractions earlier in the week.  After the ibuprofen, I was feeling a lot more lower back pain (rhythmic even), and just owies in general (I won't elaborate, just because it's a way, way TMI thing).

So I called the office this morning to ask about the contractions, and the possible loss of the mucous plug (OK, so that might be TMI). No office visit, just right to OB triage.  But I figured that I had some time, so I waited for Mike to go with me (and got in a shower and stuff).  I could have driven myself, in theory and practice, but the last time I did that, I ended up not being able to drive back.  Call it superstition or some special Murphy's Law stipulation.

Anyway, Mike got home, we got on the road and got to the hospital around 1ish. Got all of the check-in paperwork done, and then we waited. Triage was filled to the gills! So we sat out in the waiting room (which we saw a bunch of other pregnant women either waiting, or several that were being sent home).  Given that I've been the way I've been for the morning and last night and so on, it wasn't a huge deal...unless something weird happened, I wasn't going to drop a baby in the lobby all of a sudden.

We got called back and after a little bit more of a wait, got hooked up to the fetal and contraction monitors.  As dumb luck would have it, no sooner than everything gets hooked up and readings start appearing...here comes a contraction.  Ha!  Quick cervix check and I'm at 4cm!  The nurse says that they'll monitor for about 10 minutes or so and come back.  That turned into more like an hour, where there were another couple of "big" contractions (still not painful, mind you) and a few more that neither Mike or I know whether they count or not.  Quick bathroom break for a urine sample (and general relief purposes!) and multiple attempts at blood pressure (wonky cuff!), and then a chat with the doctor.

So Dr. Mayer comes in and I reiterate the same story leading up.  Backing up, while waiting, they had ordered another dose of ibuprofen (which I'm fine with...the stuff is great and has been wonderful for random other pains, as I learned when I had to stop taking it!).  I also forgot to mention that along with ibuprofen, I got a shot of terbutaline.  They warned me that it might make my heart race and overall feel like I had about 100 cups of coffee...and it delivered!  After a few minutes, I was almost giggly, laughing at myself for how wired I felt.  But it did the trick, and contractions magically disappeared.  Anyway, we chatted with the doctor a bit more, and had the option of hanging out for just a little bit, with the promise that we'd have to come back tomorrow for a check and monitoring anyway, or keep me overnight and see how I react to the nifedipine.

I stayed...getting settled into a room a few doors down from the one I was in last time (Pod C on the 3rd floor again!)...and Mike left to get the boys and stay with them for the night.

At that point, the terbutaline was fizzling out and they were getting ready to give me the nifedipine (which is given every 6 hours).  The caveat to the latter is that it's a blood pressure lowering drug...and my blood pressure is usually on the low to good side.  It had to be at least 90/60 (for BOTH!) so that I didn't pass out or anything.  First check...nope.  Second check about 30 minutes later...100/55, so nope!  I got some food into me, got up to use the bathroom and they checked a 3rd time and that was the magic one!  I passed and got my pill a little after 7:15pm.  The time between the drugs had me clocking contractions 5 times.  OK, 5 times an hour not too bad I guess!

After doing a little video chat with the boys and all of that good stuff, I've just been hanging out.  Nifedipine is doing it's thing hopefully, and last report (it's been a while!) was 2 contractions per hour in the first 2 hours.

I guess as far as hiccups go, this is hopefully pretty benign and the next 4 weeks will be uneventful!

Background Thus Far!

I realize I'm being eclectic about the order of my posts, but I promise that this is the last backlog!  It's been hard to figure out when this started, or if there were any signs that this was coming...so here's the story starting from when things might have been iffy.

Monday, May 6th
OB Appointment, 23w4d

A few weeks before, I started noticing a few (what I think/thought/assume) Braxton Hicks contractions.  One day at work (April 4th, to be exact), I was feeling quite a few, and thought I'd try out my contraction timer.  The BH contractions were averaging maybe 10-15 seconds long, and 15 minutes between.  They were highly irregular, and I thought there were several reasons contributing.  One, it's hot here.  I just need to drink more water (and if I remember correctly, that was what fixed things up that day).  Two, somewhere I heard BH contractions start earlier in successive pregnancies, and since this isn't my first, it's bound to be earlier.

In any case, at the appointment, I mentioned this to the doctor, along with a reassuring "I'm sure I just need to increase my water intake and so on".  He agreed and made sure to ask if they were regular or more than 6 times an hour...which they weren't.  And also re-emphasized that if there were more than 6, to call!  The rest of the appointment was straightforward and easy, and we got another peek at the baby to get the rest of the measurements that she wasn't in a good position for the last time.

Tuesday/Wednesday, May 7th & 8th
Food Poisoning!

Probably not related, but Mike, Daniel and I were up half the night (and into the next day), violently ill with food poisoning (we'd ordered pizza Tuesday night...only one who didn't have any, Jared, was the only one spared!).

Friday, May 24th
1-hour Glucose Test, 26w1d

Got off work early for the holiday weekend, so I decided to go take the 1-hour glucose test.  In the days leading up (maybe even the week before?), I was still feeling BH contractions, and occasionally one of them (maybe once a day) would make me stop in my tracks and go OW!

Tuesday, May 28th
Results of Glucose Test

Good news!  I passed the 1 hour glucose test (so no gestational diabetes, no 3-hour glucose test!).  Weird news (although not that weird, I guess), is my iron levels were low.  They didn't say how low, but they asked me to start taking 325mg iron, twice a day.  I know it's not a big deal and all, but it just seemed funny to me because I eat red meat (I LOVE red meat!), I take pre-natal vitamins and I figured being anemic wouldn't really be an issue.

Thursday, May 30th
Major work upheaval, start of increased stress level

Yeah...it was not a good day.  I won't go into detail, but our worlds got rocked, and I could feel a massive headache building (either brought on by fits and bursts of crying or otherwise).  I did take some ibuprofen to deal with said headache.  I was in just as bad of a state as everyone else at work, and luckily Mike drove me home that day.

Friday, May 31st
A going away party lunch, day off work

Given the stress of the events at work, my boss (lab head) basically suggested that we just take the day off (off the record) and maybe get together at her place to vent and chill out.  There was also a going away party for a friend in another lab.  I felt like I really needed to get out of the house (and we'd left the other car at work anyway, so I needed to pick that up), and we ended up talking half the time about the events of the previous day.  It was a bit emotionally draining, but it was good to be in positive company.

Afterwards, I didn't end up making it over to hang out with the rest of my lab mates.  I was too tired.  My belly hurt.  At least I got a good nap in from about 3pm onwards.  It was going to be a long weekend!

Monday/Tuesday, June 3rd & 4th
Organization and mad-panic days

Both days were spent either getting things organized in lab notebooks, cleaning, and doing any last minute experiments.  I was feeling like I could get most things done in a reasonable time, and had a focused plan of attack for when certain things would be completed before the lab shut-down.  I actually ran myself a little ragged on Tuesday doing 3 protein gels/transfers and preparing for immunoblotting.  I also stood quite a lot in front of a PDF machine, scanning autorads and doing that type of thing.  That day, in particular, I remember having more painful contractions, even though I was too busy to time them.  I was keeping very hydrated, and as off of my feet as I could (but I was still running around more than I had in the past few days).  Stress level still pretty high, and I had a meeting with HR set for Wednesday.  I felt like I was in limbo as to my future until I had that meeting, so that stressed me out just a bit more as well.

Wednesday, June 5th
From work to hospital, 27w6d

Morning

Today is the day everything came to a head.  On the one hand, I was anxious to meet with HR to get things "figured out", but I was also preparing myself for it to be very mentally draining.  The meeting went "well", and I was able to sort of hold it together without crying too badly until the end.  At which point I had to sit in her office and settle down for a bit (thankfully, she's a very understanding person!).  I am tearing up just a little bit just thinking about it, that's how much these things affect me.

Contractions, contractions, contractions.  A couple of them hit me pretty hard, enough to stop me in my tracks and brace myself against a shelf in the lab.  The weird thing that I'd noticed (and today wasn't the only day this had happened), was that usually water is supposed to help, as is sitting down.  But water actually brought them on, or made them worse.  And they didn't stop even when I changed position (which the only two positions I was in was standing or sitting, but still).  I still couldn't clock them at being very frequent.

I debated long and hard with myself to call the doctor's office, at the very least the nurse, to see if there's anything I was missing or I should do.  I had a regularly scheduled appointment for the next day (my 28 week check-up) and I really contemplated putting it off until then.  But I also knew that I have a very bad habit of downplaying symptoms at a regular appointment, and I don't want the doctors to get the impression that I wait until an appointment before saying anything.  So I called.

I had lunch with Monica, which actually relaxed me, but was still feeling a lot of tightening periodically.  I ended up missing a call back from the nurse at the doctor's office.  I thought, great, they're going to think I'm playing phone tag.  So I called them back and talked to the nurse...she actually lead most of the questions after I started with "I'm having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions", including whether my discharge had changed (hard to say, but lately it had seemed like the goo was getting more copious, and I mentioned that I didn't know if I was sweating more, peeing myself, or what, but there was usually some extra watery fluid there).  Was the baby moving less?  I had to think really hard, but it seemed that maybe she was.  Dropped lower?  Maybe!  She had been breech, laying sideways for the longest time, but recently it seemed as though she might have turned head down.  In any case, rather than waiting until my appointment the next day, they suggested that I go in, just to be on the safe side.

1:30pm

I got to the office just before my appointment and I could still feel the contractions every so often.  And by every so often, it was still maybe every 15 or 20 minutes.  I'd taken care to be well hydrated recently as well.  I get called back and first thing's first...urine sample.  Testing for UTI, checking the usual stuff as well.  As I expected, I was very well hydrated (probably the best I've been for any appointment!), no UTI, no sugar or protein.  So far so good.

It was my first time meeting Dr. Pottorff (new doctor with the practice since I had Jared) and she was super nice as well!  I think I've mentioned before how I really, really like everyone there.  Anyway, I told her what was going on, and she set up to do a few things...again, my expectation was to rule things out along the way.  First was testing for amniotic fluid.  I was pretty sure I wasn't leaking fluid, but it's easy to check.  So that was quickly eliminated.  Second step was to run a fetal fibronectin test.  The doctor explained that it would take a while for the results (they send it out), and that a negative result would indicate that the chances of going into labor in the next two weeks were very low, so that would put minds at ease.  Lastly, the cervical check.  I can't obviously tell what's going on in that region, and the earliest I've ever been checked is at around 34 weeks (with Jared, when I was 3cm then, but low).  And the results were 1, maybe 2cm dilated, but still high.  I sort of figured that maybe I just dilate early anyway, and it was a good sign that my cervix was still higher up, rather than lower.

Before leaving, she asked if I'd mind hanging around to see if the ultrasound tech was available for a quick scan.  Just to check cervical length and see how the baby was doing.  Who am I to turn down an ultrasound, of course, and luckily she was available right away.  The tech did a whole bunch of measurements with the transvaginal ultrasound, mentioning nothing as she was doing it.  No real shots of the baby in that one.  She asked if I wanted some shots of the baby (of course!), and switched to the abdominal probe.  I was SO happy to be able to see her, and she was moving around, facial features becoming more distinct and everything.  As I got dressed again, I expected to be told that everything was OK with the baby and my cervix (aside from the 1-2cm dilation) and to just go home and wait for the fFN results.

Instead, Dr. Pottorff came in with very different news.  She handed me the fFN test and had me go to the hospital for monitoring of contractions for a little while.  My cervix was 1-2cm dilated, but it was shortening (1.5cm by ultrasound).  This was just getting more and more complicated.

I ran home really fast to grab my phone charger, and I had the wherewithal to grab a pair of PJ pants and a tank top "just in case"  (thinking that if I took it, then I wouldn't need it...).  At that point, I even told Mike that I was just going there for monitoring and that I'd probably be sent home after a while.

Around 3pm

I arrived at the hospital and went to OB triage.  The admissions lady was with someone else, so I waited.  She was pleasant, and had a lot of stories to tell.  But, of course, she seemed like there wasn't a huge rush or anything to get me back.  After she took all of my information, insurance and stuff like that, I went through and got set up in triage.  I handed my fFN swab to the nurse, and was set up in a room (I kept my dress on even...goes to show you how I didn't think I'd be there long!).

Around 4pm

The news comes back.  Positive fFN test.  My heart sinks.  Especially since I knew that negative was good (and to be expected), but positive was inconclusive.  As much as I try not to look at the contraction monitor, I can't help but notice the little bumps, and I really try hard to keep still and relaxed (as if I could will them away???).  My head is going in a thousand different directions, and I don't think I was even comprehending at the time whether I was going to be admitted or not.  Or just get treatment in triage.  In either case, the time was drawing nearer for Mike to come and switch out cars (mine had the car seats) so he could get the kids.  I called my parents and told them what was going on (trying to talk while fighting back tears) and asked them to watch the boys.

4:30pm

My IV got started with standard saline and a bag of magnesium sulfate.  I also got the first steroid shot to help the baby's lungs develop, with the understanding that I'd need a second shot 24 hours later.  Mike made the car switch (didn't stop inside, just switched cars and went to pick up the kids) and headed to drop them at my parents.

Around 5pm

I have help getting changed into a hospital gown (no easy feat getting out of the dress with an IV in one arm and monitors strapped to your belly) and prepared for admission.  The nurse prepared me for the worst with both the steroids (it ended up not stinging or hurting as much as she prepared me for) and magnesium (which was prefaced with "you may feel like you have the flu...nausea, sweating, chills, feverish".  A half hour in or so, I was dealing with everything pretty well, and asked to use the bathroom (and was able to get myself there without any problems).

Around 6pm

I get transported to my room in Pod C of the 3rd floor.  One of the OB residents comes in and talks with me a little bit (either she was more vague on details, or I don't remember due to being in a bit of a daze).  She brings the portable ultrasound to do a quick check to see where the baby is laying and just a brief check overall (apparently, between the office and hospital, she went back to lying transverse).  Another quick cervix check and I'm still at about 1.5cm.

Around 7:30pm

Mike gets to the hospital, and Dr. Hebets comes to talk with us.  At this point, it's becoming more clear that I'm going to be there for at least another day or two.  I get some dinner and I prepare for the long night ahead.

Around 11pm

An NP from the NICU comes to talk to us about what we might expect IF we had a premature delivery.  She was very thorough, and had her own personal experience with pre-term labor.  We got a chance to ask a lot of questions, and it was actually pretty comforting (in a strange way) to be prepared for what we might experience, and how things would change as the baby stayed inside longer and longer.

Overnight

I was told the next morning that I was having between 7 and 8 contractions an hour in the early evening.  Eep!  Sleep was not fantastic, as the baby was moving around so much that her heartrate would drop off of the monitors.  My overnight nurse, Shauna resorted to trying all sorts of rigging to get the monitor to stay in a good spot.  And then she and another nurse would have me try laying on my side, then the other side, and so on.  I was so tired that at one point I am pretty sure I dozed off while two people were messing around with monitors on my belly.  I got up SEVERAL times to use the bathroom (peeing like a liter each time!), and had vitals checked whenever I got hooked back up.

Thursday, June 6th
Morning - 28 weeks!

Around 6am the parade starts.  First the resident.  Nurse comes by again to do vitals.  Breakfast arrives.  Dr. Hebets comes by.  Then Mike has to go and get the kids from my parents to take to daycare.

Early afternoon

Visitors!  Hooray for visitors!  I am SO happy, probably one of the happiest moods that I've been in.  But I also am starting to realize how fuzzy my brain has gotten from being on the magnesium.

After everyone from work departs, I have lunch, Mike returns for a bit (before having to go get the kids again and deposit them at my parents).  4:30pm arrives, and it's time for my second steroid shot.

Overnight

A bit less of a parade coming through.  They decided to take the fetal monitor off, which meant less messing around with trying to keep her heartrate on the monitor.  However, my pulse-ox was dipping pretty low, so they gave me supplemental oxygen.

Friday, June 7th
Early morning - 28w1d

Around 4am I woke up choking and coughing.  It felt as though I had inhaled liquid, but I think it was just an illusion caused by oxygen being fired up my nose.  The nurses came to check on me (which, gave me opportunity again to use the bathroom and feel more comfortable...ah).  I stayed up for a little bit (couldn't go back to sleep right away).  I finally dozed off again, only to have a lady come to draw blood for labs at around 5am.  I managed to doze off again, and the resident came in.  This time I was really not so with it, so I have a bad memory of what was said.  Breakfast came.

Since the baby was off the monitor overnight, my day nurse (Carol...she was there on Thursday as well!) came to do a non-stress test (NST).  Basically hook up the monitor, check her heartbeat and assess whether she was having accelerations in her heart rate.  Her heart rate was a bit low from the magnesium, presumably (in the 120s).  First we tried orange juice.  Not much of an increase.  Then a little buzzer on my belly to wake her up.  The baby would wake up and jolt, but she wasn't having really fantastic, at least 15 second long increases in her heart rate.  But it wasn't too terribly concerning.

In another good bit of events, Dr. Mayer came to talk to us.  Another person who experienced pre-term labor, and knew first hand the effects of the magnesium.  The longer I stayed on it, the more wobbly I was, the more my head was not so clear and it just wasn't really all that pleasant.  She did another quick cervical check (still at around 1.5cm), and set us up to have a full ultrasound in the afternoon to assess how the baby was doing.

Afternoon

Monica came by in the early afternoon (dropping off some Diet Mountain Dew...hooray!) and talking for a bit.  The ultrasound people came by and gave me a heads-up that they were coming to get me, but their heads up ended up being about 2 hours (at which point I ate some of my lunch and visited).  The transport person came just as Monica was leaving, and back down to triage where the ultrasound was.

The ultrasound was probably the most involved that I've ever seen done on any of my kids.  It was done by a student (which is fine), but they were much more slow and methodical, and not really pointing out anything super fun.  Towards the end, her supervisor came and redid some of the measurements and finished up (taking about 5 minutes to do what the student had taken about a half hour to do).  And then transport comes back and I'm deposited again in my room.

By the time I got back, it was nearing 4pm, and they were given the go-ahead to just take me completely off of the magnesium.  Which also meant that I didn't need to be pumped up full of saline either, but they kept the IV in (just shut off).

Evening

With only a contraction monitor on, I was a fair bit less encumbered, which was good!  Mike and I watched a little TV (just random junk, still), and I dozed off and on until they came in one last time to do vital checks and all of that stuff (at this point, still having to have them unhook me from monitors before using the bathroom...and still measuring how much I was peeing...ha!).

Saturday, June 8th
Morning - 28w2d

The usual parade didn't come in really much at all...I didn't see a resident until around 9am, and didn't see much of anybody except for the people bringing breakfast.  The new morning nurse came in to do another NST, and the babies heart rate was higher than before (in the 140s), but still not really doing the accelerations (orange juice and the buzzer again!).  They weren't too terribly worried though.

The only thing that made me a bit nervous in the morning was that the nurse kept mentioning how I could be there until late afternoon?  This was a bit of a departure from what Dr. Mayer had mentioned (even that we could go home at 11pm the night before, at the earliest...I wasn't too excited at pushing to get discharged in the middle of the night, but I was thinking more along the lines of maybe before noon???).

After the NST, breakfast and all of that, Dr. Mayer came in one last time with discharge orders.  Ibuprofen 600mg every 6 hours (pretty simple!) and follow up with the office during the week.  The nurse took my IV out and I got ready to go home!  We packed up and were on the road right before 1pm!

The Stats

As this comes to an end (and I feel like I've written or told this same story a few times), the stats for my time in the hospital were like this.

Contractions:  Max 7-8 an hour
Fetal fibronectin test:  Positive
Cervix: 1.5cm dilated, 1.5cm length

3mg/hour of magnesium sulfate for 48 hours
Two shots of steroids (for lung maturity)
600mg ibuprofen every 6 hours