What I'm Doing...

******I started this post yesterday but got interrupted it continues regarding today's appointment at the bottom******

Counting my contractions, isn't that what most prego women do during the day? Oh right....I forgot, I'm a abnormal! So I'm sitting here counting my contractions because I noticed I was having quite a few. Since 1:55 I've had 11 and it's now 2:30...what's sad is that I'm not even worried about them. I've been dealing with this for so long it just seems like its part of my day. I'm downing a ton of water right now and I took my Procardia at 2:00 so I will give it a few more hours and then if they haven't stopped I will go on in to my home away from home but I have a doc appointment in the morning so I'm trying to hold off. Think if I drink all this in the next hour or so it will help?

I did talk to my nurse this morning because we've had some changes in my Procardia. I'm having the side effects again of the racing heart rate(my pulse sometimes gets up to 120), headache, nausea, jittery, etc...for about an hour after I take the medicine. So I decided yesterday that I would try and take it every 4 hours to help with the side effects but of course this is the cause for increased contractions so I'm back to the every 3 hours until I can talk to Dr. B tomorrow about it(she was out today).

Today marks 5 weeks on bed rest! Cannot believe it. I cannot even go into my bedroom anymore. I think the straight 4 weeks did me in but we have now moved into the living room with the guest bed right in the middle. I love this bed, always have. Our bed is extremely firm and I can no longer get comfy on it. I think with the windows in the living room it's really helped me mentally. This week has been a lot better than last week as well. It's going by faster and I seem less depressed. I was in some sort of funk last week with a lot of stress and anxiety but after literally crying all day Friday I am much better now.

Mandy and Shirley stopped by last night to hang up some things they got me in the nursery. Mandy found these pics a few weeks ago and made this memo board for me, isn't it beautiful. It really completes the changing table area and I absolutely love it! Thanks so much y'all for everything you've been doing! You are the best Mando.

Barb also stopped by to hang the completed curtains. The room is really looking complete and awesome. I'm so happy with the way everything turned out...Barb did an awesome job on making all the bedding.

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So here it is Thursday and I'm home from my doc's appointment. I ended up in the hospital again yesterday from 3pm to 7:30pm because as I started counting my contractions I found I had 15 contractions in 1 hour, they were coming regularly every 3-4 minutes. Once we got to the hospital I was pretty uncomfortable and they were getting intense. All in all they gave me 2 rounds of terb which slowed them down quite a bit but they would come back after an hour. They couldn't give me the 3rd round because my heart rate was too high. I ended up going home even with contractions because we knew I had a doc appt in the morning and my cervix was still closed so there wasn't much they could do for me.

I had a pretty ok night, I contracted through out but was able to sleep some. This morning I had an ultrasound and doc appointment. Brody is measuring 1 week ahead and his big noggin is measuring 2 weeks ahead. He weighs a little over 4 lbs and doing good. We didn't get very good pics because he's face down and extremely low. The dark circle in the middle is his eye and there's a little hand next to his cheek. My fluid level is great and my cervix is still measuring 3 cm which amazed both the doc and I.

Now to the decisions: The put me on the nonstress test and sure enough I was still having contractions every 5 minutes or so. Dr. B says I win, hands down, the award of most contractions without going into labor. She said she's never had a patient have so many contractions and not end up delivering. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing?! We are both extremely frustrated and don't know what else to try. We decided to go ahead with the steroids to develop Brody's lungs, just in case I go into labor. It's a shot in the hip that I had today and then I go back in tomorrow for the other one. It takes 24-48 hours to take full effect on Brody and then it peeks in 1 week and starts wearing off in 14 days. So that will cover us to the 34 week goal.

I cannot take the Procardia every 3 hours because of the side effects so we agreed to start taking it every 5-6 hours. She said I could go completely off but she wasn't to comfortable about that because she thinks I'll go into labor. She mentioned that I could get a terbutaline drip placed in my abdomen that would give me terb continuously but I hated that idea and we quickly threw that out. At 36 weeks we are going off everything, meds and Procardia and will stop trying to stop the labor and let me have the baby if that's what my body is going to do.

It's a hairy situation because if you remember I'm on lovenox(blood thinners) for the Factor V. I cannot have an epidural for 48 hours after my last shot but she doesn't want me to go on the heparin yet because I guess it doesn't work as well as the lovenox(I'm not exactly sure why she isn't switching me, all she said was that I don't want you to form a clot). I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm on bed rest because that slows down the blood flow and can cause clots. So we are in a delicate spot right now because if I go into labor I'll be doing this natural, which is kinda scary but what choice do I have.

I go back in tomorrow for my 2nd steroid shot and then I go back next Thursday for another biophysical ultrasound and to get checked. It's day by day here at the McCollough household.

Have a good one!

LeAnn