Looking Ahead

So, we had another dr. appointment today. The baby is doing well, measuring 27 weeks with a heart rate of 140. I weighed in at 130, so in spite of the fact that I didn't gain anything at my last appointment I gained 7 lbs in the last 3 weeks. I guess that is what bed rest will do for you (not to mention the cookies, candy and other treats people have been brining)!

Speaking of bed rest, I am to continue on full bed rest until 30 weeks, Dec 9. At that time I will be allowed to get up for limited activities. I will still need to lay down 3 x a day for 2 hours at a time and anytime that the contractions pick up. No driving and no picking Josh up. I can ride in the car if my symptoms do not change. I can also increase my medication if my contractions pick up. It is nice to have a plan and know what is coming. They are just trying to keep the baby inside for as long as possible.

My cervix is soft but has not dilated so that is good. The dr was pleased that I am finding bed rest miserable. He says that is a good sign that I am sticking to the regimen. So, for another 10 days we still need a lot of help with child care but maybe we can decrease the assistance to one person a day at 30 weeks. Jason will be finished with school then anyway and will be able to take over when he gets home from work.

28 weeks

Thanksgiving was very nice. It was great to get out of the house but the car ride was not very enjoyable. Just uncomfortable to ride in the for so long. They set me up at a tv tray on the couch so I could still enjoy all the conversation and hoopla at the dinner table and I even had a little flower on my table.

Today, I had the glucose tolerance test (1 hour, non-fasting) and some other bloodwork done. I'll see the dr. on Thursday and those results should be in by then. I am really looking forward to that appointment.

I think my contractions have really tapered off so I hope that will be what the dr. needs to hear to move me to partial bed rest.

Baby should be about 2.5 pounds now and putting on lots of baby fat. He/she can open and close his eyes. We have been talking about baby names again. Just had to go back to the beginning and start over since we were having no luck before. I think we have a few viable options. We'll see what sticks!

Happy Thanksgiving!

87 days to go! Just one week until I see the dr. again. We are going to my folks house for Thanksgiving dinner after Joshua wakes up from his nap. I am planning to camp out on their couch in the living room. Joshua is so excited. I told him we were going to Memaw's house today and he ran over to Daddy and said, 'Daddy, we are going to MEMAW's!' He has grown very close to her over the last several weeks. It is really nice to see.

Baby continues to be very active and the contractions continue to be calm as long as I stay laying down. We are still talking about boy baby names and haven't come up with anything yet. Jason is convinced this is a boy baby but it would be much easier if it were a girl because that name we are sure of! Guess we better keep talking about it.



Picture from 26 weeks.

89 days to go until delivery date

Tired and frustrated. Seemed like a long day. Joshie was keyed up for a lot of it. Jason was stuck in traffic that took him 4.5 hours to get to class, the normal time is 1 hour. There was a terrible accident that closed I95 going both ways. But it is time for bed now and Jason should be home soon....

27 weeks!

Well, we've made it to 27 weeks the start of the third trimester. Yippee! Only 3 more weeks until the chance for partial bed rest. I'm counting the days. I can't believe it has only been two weeks since we started all of this....

Baby is now just over 2 lbs and about 14.5 inches long.

"During pregnancy week 27 your baby's internal organs and systems continue to grow, mature and develop. Most noticeably, around pregnancy 27 weeks your baby's eyelids will open. Up until this point in time they were fused together. Around pregnancy week 27 and 28 they finally open. During this time the retina of the eye also starts maturing, allowing your baby's eyes to finally receive light and translate images."

Link

My friend, Donna, directed me to this website

http://www.sidelines.org/frequent-questions/

It has a lot of good information on bedrest and preterm labor.

Day 12

We have two weeks today until we see the dr again. Things remain quiet as long as I stay laying down. Taking the medication every 5 hours seems to be working and I don't feel like I am taking it constantly now. We are working out the child care situation and even found that there is a daycare on base that Jason can take Joshua to on an as needed basis. We found an person to do house cleaning and will see how that goes tomorrow. Mom continues to be an enormous help cooking, cleaning, caring of Josh, me and Jason. We are also relying on friends and neighbors and church members for meals and care of Joshua during the day. "It takes a village..." has new meaning now.

Day 10

Today, I was a bit more crampy again. Maybe I got up a few too many times. Joshua was particularly challenging on a day that we needed him to be very calm. I think that is just how it works :-) Nothing more that 2-3 contractions in a stretch but we had several very quiet days in a row.

26 weeks

We are at 26 weeks today! Yippee! Baby is probably just under 2 pounds and about 14 inches long. Baby is very busy and loves to do baby-nastics as I call them. We should video them sometime because you can really see my belly bounce!

Things are pretty settled right now. I did have a couple of stronger contractions today, just to remind me that I need to keep doing what I am doing bed rest wise. Jason has been fantastic. In spite of his insane workload for homework, he has been grocery shopping, putting laundry in, taking care of Joshua and me, preparing meals, cleaning up around the house. I am really truly appreciative of him and his dedication to us AND his schoolwork and his work. I know it is really hard on him right now.

Day 8

Well, we are through a week and things are settling into a routine. Aside from the disappointment of having to stay on the couch for the next 4 weeks, there is some reassurance in knowing that I know what I am doing for time being and can plan accordingly.

Jason was home yesterday, Alex came over to play with Joshua in the afternoon and Carie came by for dinner. It was a pretty low key day and the contractions were minimal as well.

Doctor Appointment

We just got home from the drs. He checked my cervix and nothing has changed which is a very, very good thing. But, since the contractions have also not changed we are keeping with the same plan of full bed rest and medication. He will see me again in 3 weeks as long as things stay the way they are. At 30 weeks he may change to a partial bed rest as long as the contractions stay the way they are now. So we have 4 weeks to that point. He did give me permission to ride in the car (not drive) so we should be fine for getting to mom's house for Thanksgiving, which is a relief.

Day 6

Busy day! Mom was here until 9:30 this morning getting Joshua up and dressed, making breakfast and dinner (crockpot) and just taking care of things. Sonja, our neighbor, came by at 9:15 am to watch Joshua and took him outside to play which he really needed this morning. He was wired. He must have known something was different about today. Then Kim & Ellie came by at 11:00 to play and have lunch. Kim put Joshua down for his nap at 12:30 or so and he did great. He has been sleeping since then. Jason will be home soon and I am looking forward to getting out of the house. Although, I am a bit nervous about the dr's appt. Just don't know what he is going to say or do. I am sure it will be fine. I am not hoping that he will take me off of bedrest, I just don't think that is in the cards right now but I'd rather he not admit me. I feel like we are doing ok managing at home and I hope he will let me continue to do so. I'll be taking a bag just in case. I'll make another post after the appt to fill in the details.

Day 5

I continue to have contractions on a off, some stronger than others. They worry me when they come harder and closer to together and just when I think they are tapering off, like last night, I'll get another round. I have been having a lower back ache which I will discuss with the dr. tomorrow among my other symptoms. Jason is going to take off for that appointment.

Josh is getting into the new mommy routine. Waking up is still a problem but he has adapted to everything else. He brings me things and helps me back to the couch. It is really sweet. He keeps me busy entertaining him from my perch. I really haven't had a chance to be bored yet. I guess that is good.

So today is a relatively good day.

Day 4

Today, is starting out better. I was able to get some sleep last night. I made sure to wake up every 4 hours to take the medication so it never wore off. Plus, I guess my body is getting used to the meds because my heart is not pounding so much after taking it. Lastly, I am finding it helpful to have music playing to help me relax and sleep.

The contractions are sticking to 1-3 an hour. I don't have a set appointment but I may call around lunch time to schedule for tomorrow. I am not quite sure the protocol since I have been talking to the dr but not necessarily the dr's office and he just wanted to see me between now and Thursday. I think he wanted to stretch it to Thursday if possible to give things the most time to settle before putting me in the car again.

Baby is doing well and continuing to kick and play around inside. I am a bit sore, abdominal and back aches but that is about all.

Spoke to the Dr.

My dr called me this morning at 8:30, I was waiting for the office to open to call. He was able to answer a lot of the questions I had and I am feeling more reassured about the plan now. He did not want me to come in today. He rathered that I wait and stick to the strict bed rest to help things settle, especially after last night. The car ride would not be helpful unless absolutely necessary. So I will see him sometime between Tuesday and Thursday, no set appointment but if anything changes (ie bleeding, 4-6 contractions an hour, water break, etc) I am to go directly to the hospital. It is hard knowing what is a 'sign' and what is not and when to go in etc. So far I have had good experiences with getting a hold of a dr when I need to to ask my questions and that is reassuring.

The outpouring of love, prayers and support from family and friends has been tremendous. To all who are reading, calling and helping in any way, THANK YOU!

Day 3

Hum...we had a bit of a rough night. As the medicine was wearing off that I am taking to relax my uterus I had about 6 fairly strong contractions in one hour and then another 4 the next. I called the on call dr after the first 6, she said to come in if I had 4 contractions in the next hour but I fell asleep after that. The medicine keeps me from sleeping for about an hour and a half after taking it and makes my heart pound. So it is a little challenging to relax in that time.

I am waiting anxiously to get a hold of my dr today and to get in to see him. I was feeling like the medicine wasn't doing much but I guess after last night I realize that is not true. I'd rather not end up in the hospital but the primary goal is to keep the baby inside so I will do what I need to.

I am finding that I worry most about the baby at night. Things are just harder to deal with at night I guess and I worry about Joshie in the morning. He is doing great but there is just no way to explain this or any other changes that might happen soon. While I am busy during the day I can almost believe that nothing much is wrong and I am just hanging out on the couch.

Day 2 of Bedrest

We got through yesterday. I spent the day on the couch going upstairs only to shower and then sleep. We went to the hospital last night for my 2nd steroid shot. It was quick and less painful than the first one. That butt cheek doesn't seem to hurt as much today as the other one did either.

I am back down parked on the couch again today. I got a bit of sleep last night so I feel a little more normal and ready to work on getting into a routine. When Jason gets moving I'll have him take me back up to get dressed and bring a few toiletries down here to have accessible. We'll work on getting a little area set up so I can do bills, use my computer and answer the phone.

Joshua is playing here in the living room with me. He is having a bit of hard time understanding why mommy didn't get him up this morning, why I can't get up to play and help him with potty but he is trooper and will get through it. I imagine a few days with memaw here and he will start getting used to the new way of things.

I am anxiously waiting for Monday and getting to see my OB to answer my laundry list of questions not the least of which is how long I will need to remain on full bedrest. It is hard to go from my very, very active lifestyle to one where all my activities are centered around this lovely plaid couch that I am laying on right now.

Trip to the Hospital

Well... if I had written to you yesterday I would have told you that the pregnancy was going great, I was feeling great and life could not have been better. Unfortunately, I started spotting last night and went to the hospital to have it checked out. The short end of the story is that I am experiencing pre-term labor. I will be 25 weeks tomorrow so they have put me on full bedrest and medication to stop my contractions. They used the term, 'irritated uterus' to describe what is happening with my uterus and the contractions. It should be calm at this stage and it is in a constant state of little fluctuations with normal contractions coming and going periodically. They gave me the steroids last night to mature the baby's lungs, 'just in case'. I have to get a second shot tonight at midnight. I also had my rhogam shot because of the spotting. I have an appointment on Monday to followup with my regular dr.

We are so thankful that the baby is doing very well and is healthy and that there are no problems with the placenta. So, this may mean a very slow next 15 weeks as they are only wanting me to get up to go to the bathroom and nothing else. But, if it means a healthy baby in the end I would do anything in the universe.