Pregnancy Journal Week 36

Wow I made it this far..... last week I didn't think I would. Since coming home from the hospital I've had regular contractions both Sunday and Monday night. Poor Jonathan was anticipating a middle of the night hospital visit. He is sooooo excited for this baby to come. I had an appt yesterday expecting to have dilated more. But guess what nothing. I had all those pains for hours for nothing. Ugh, I guess I need an experience of a lifetime for my last pregnancy. I told my Dr. about my contractions and he said it just doesn't make sense for me to have such regular contractions and have no change in my cervix. Then he said you must be miserable and of course when you are having labor pains yeah your miserable. Well at least me. He said that if this is going on all this next week we might talk about getting an amnio done to check the babies lungs. If they are mature he might deliver me. If you don't have a medical reason there are a lot of politics you have to go through. I'm just getting contractions that a normal woman would go to the hospital for and come home with a baby. Since they are mimicking real labor pains and nothing is resulting from them except a sleepless night and pain it feels as if I'm going through the labor process night after night. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get induced but I'm not really counting on it. Lily came at 37 weeks and did great. I'm glad that I've been documenting this whole pregnancy even though it will be hard I know that the end result will be very much worth it. Oh I kind of got a taste of what it will be like for the kids to have a baby around. My next door neighbor had a baby a little over 2 weeks ago. We went over there for the kids to hold him. Lily loved it and wanted to do it several times. Emma had her turn and liked it but wanted to play more. Peter would come up to the baby and say "Hi baby." I would ask him if he wanted to hold the baby and he exclaimed very forcefully "NO". Benjamin didn't care less which most likely will be different when it's mommy holding and caring for the baby all the time. I don't know if Peter will just be friendly with the baby and not hold her or if he will want to. We will see. Hopefully soon.

Hospital Experience.

I think it's time to document my experience at the hospital. It all started August 13th a Thursday night. I took my blood thinner and bam not 1 minute later I started to get small contractions. It kind of concerned me because it takes 24 hours for the blood thinner to leave your body. So as a couple hours had passed and the contractions started to come on stronger and closer together Jonathan and I thought it would be best to go to the hospital to stop the contractions. Jonathan's mom came to our house and we went. When we got there the Dr. had already left orders for me to get trabutalene and I got my first shot. It started to work but quickly wore off, so I got another shot. It did the same thing and by now my heart was beating out of my chest (that's one of the side effects). So they gave me another shot which made me feel even worse but this time it gave me the major shivers. It didn't work either by the way. So my Dr. called me up and told me that we would need to admit me and give me Magnesium Sulfate which is a very nasty drug and worse than the trabutalene. I was really upset as my Brother in laws wedding was the next morning and I didn't want to miss it. But that is what was going to happen. Then I got settled in a room and started on an IV of this stuff. I didn't think it was that bad. It made my face really hot, I couldn't see to clearly, and since it is a muscle relaxant I was really weak. But the important part is that it stopped the contractions. The plan was to keep me in the Hospital until I was 35 weeks and I was 34 weeks at the time. At 35 weeks they would test the lungs for maturity. But during that week I was there I started to break through the medication and have contractions that would stop on their own. On Tuesday morning I started to have small contractions that throughout the day got worse and worse. I was still on the Magnesium and it wasn't stopping. I was really feeling like I was in labor so I called Jonathan to come to the Hospital to be with me. The nurse checked me and said I was at 2 cm which I was completely closed just a couple of days before so the contractions were doing something. I was also getting this really bad pain at the top of my stomach that came with the contractions. Eventually I was moved to L&D thinking we were going to have the baby that night. I was told that I wouldn't be taken off the Magnesium until I was 3 to 4 cm. Soon after I went to L&D guess what happens my labor starts to slow down. I would think that would happen considering I was still on the Magnesium. My Dr. comes in and thinks I was having a gallbladder attach. It's decided that I got back to the antipartum unit and get a ultrasound in the morning on my gallbladder and if that is alright I get to go home Wednesday night given that I don't contract the next day. Wednesday morning I get the ultrasound and everything checks out just fine. As I waited all day for the Dr. to come in he finally comes in and is stumped as why I was having such a bad pain in my stomach. It could have been the Magnesium that caused it. He tells me that I could go home and that I would have to be seen twice a week for monitoring as I'm off the blood thinner because it is too risky and if there is a problem with the baby it would be gradual and we would spot it before it became a really big problem. So that is where I'm at right now. I'm like a ticking time bomb. Every twinge I feel or look of pain I have on my face Jonathan is ready to go to the Hospital. He's so excited for the baby to come. Personally I'm really leery about when the time comes and I'm having major contractions. I've experienced this and my body loves to start labor and then stop. But with the blood thinners I was more cautious, and didn't want to risk anything. But now that I'm not on them I will really have to be in a lot of pain for me to go in. So that is my Hospital Experience and it was really hard to be away from my kids. But I'm glad that the baby has had more time in me to grow so it was good that I was in there for so long, but not something I ever want to repeat.

Pregnancy Journal Week 35

Ahhhhhhh!!!! I'm home and so glad to be here. This last week has been HARD. Being in the hospital with no baby to show for it is not what I wanted. I didn't want the baby to come early either. But now that I was away from my precious children for 6 days I have come to love them even more (if that is even possible). I would often cry myself to sleep just thinking about how I wouldn't be able to bring my girls to school in the morning and get Benjamin his bottle first thing in the morning when I was barely awake. I missed cuddling Peter during the day. I missed having Jonathan there with me every night. I had so much help it was incredible and I'm so grateful for that. I'm glad that we have modern medicine to keep my baby in me to grow and develop more. Right now I'm no hurry to have this baby. I want as big as a break from the hospital as I can. I need to establish some stability in my home for my children. I know it's been really hard on them. They were taken care of so beautifully while I was gone but they need their mommy. Right now I'm sore and stiff from not walking for 6 days. So I'm going to take it easy the next couple of days. Oh I'm not on bed rest any more which is good. If I go into labor I go into labor. But I'm not going to in courage it at all. I'm just so glad to be home and with my family.

Still in the hospital.

Here I sit/lay in a hospital bed trying not to give birth to my baby that isn't due for 5 1/2 weeks. On Thrusday seconds after I gave myself a blood thinner shot my contractions came. It worried me a little but not much. Fastforward a couple hours and they are 2 to 4 min apart and even a baath won't slow them down. Jonathan had to convience me go to the hospital. We waited for Jonathan's mom to come and be with the kids. (btw this was the last night that this needed to happen. James my brother in law was getting married in the morning) We get to get asessed and see what was casuing the contractions. They tried to give me a turbutaline shot and it started to work but soon it stopped working so I was givin 2 more shots of that stuff and little relief and nothing. So then the bug decisison is here. Dr. Seal decieded to admitt me to the hospital and put me in the antipartum unit of the hospital. (that's where premie ladies are) They have me hooked up to magnesium solfate to stop my contraction, and it's done a pretty good job until last night when I was getting pretty regular and pain full contractions. I was given a sleeping pill last night that helped with the contractions, and gave me sleep. Now I'm awaiting the offical word if I'm going to be in here until my baby is born. I might be here awhile.

Pregnancy Journal Week 34

Crazy week 34............... So Sunday morning I started with the contractions and I think nothing of them. They start getting worse so with lots of prodding from Jonathan we went to the hospital again. There I was given a shot to stop the contractions. It helped but it made me feel awful. My Dr. put me on bed rest and I saw him today to see if I still had too. So here comes to today. Guess what BED REST ugh. Until further notice. I can't really do bed rest with 4 children at home. I know I can do my best and take it easy. Also at my appt. the Dr. put my name down for an induction for this Sunday. It really freaked me out the whole time I waited for him to talk to me. He came in and said I'm not inducing you, you are not ready. So they had to call the hospital to change the name. I think my Dr. is getting a little old, or just over worked. So I got a little excitement for today........ not that I need it....... sheesh. So as far as I know I'm going to 38 weeks if my body allows. But nothing is for sure........ and that is for sure.

Pregnancy Journal Week 33

I'm so confused.............. last week my Dr. told me that I would be getting a certain test to predict if I would go into labor within 2 weeks. Well I had my appt. today and I asked about it and they said that I'm too far along and that the results would be inaccurate. HUH? Why did you get me all worked up about them for the last week. (I have to admit that my Dr. is getting up there in age and a little forgetful. He asked me if the baby was active 3 times within 5 mins. during my appt, haha). I don't want to have this baby in 2 weeks. I would rather 4 to 5 weeks, so making me think that the possibility was there worried me. It's not an accurate test anyway but....... why get me worked up. With my infection I still have the increased risk of going into preterm labor. I'm just flying blind here. I thought that if I got an negative result on the test I could rest easy for 2 more weeks but........ nope I guess not. Oh well I'm really not that worried about having her early. I have 4 weeks to go to be considered full term. I just have to discipline myself to not do too much. I'm measuring a week behind but that could be the baby is in a certain position. I'm still dilated 1 cm and effaced the same. He's not too worried about me because I didn't dilate more over the last week. As too what is the outcome of this pregnancy your guess is as good as mine. I know she's going to be healthy, and that things will turn out ok. But I just don't know what is going to happen leading up to the big day and when. I guess that is what pregnancy is....... unpredictable.