Pregnancy Updates

I thought for journaling purposes I'd better hop on here and document what has been going on the last few weeks...

As I mentioned in my last post, we have been trying to get things checked off our 'Pre-Baby To-Do List' in order to be set for this little guy to make his arrival.  I was actually being much more productive than anticipated and getting a lot of it checked off.  The first week of September it hit me that if I got too many of my unfinished projects done, I would find myself bored with "nothing to do" (yes, laugh all you mothers out there who know there is ALWAYS something to do) in the final, most painfully-long weeks leading up to our little man's arrival.  I therefore decided I better slow down my pace and put some things off until after we got home from the trip to Vail, CO we had planned for the 2nd week of September.  In my type-A personality mind, that became the landmark on my final months of this pregnancy journey.  There were the things I had/wanted to do before we left, and everything else I would do after we got back.

So this trip to Vail had been planned for months--a sort of last hurrah for our family of three before we became a family of four.  Scott's parents were nice enough to let us use one of their time share weeks and we were excited when they said they would come stay for a few days with us at the beginning of the week.  We also invited my brother and his wife to join us for the tail end and we were completely prepared for a week of relaxing with nothing but beautiful scenery and a cozy condo to relax, eat and watch movies in.  In the days before we left I spent time grocery shopping, planning a meal calendar and packing everyone's shtuff.  It was quite the project but, honestly, I was so excited about the thoughts of 'getting away' that I enjoyed every second of it.

We left on the morning of Saturday the 8th to make the drive.  Originally it was supposed to be about 7 1/2 hours but we were able to make it in 6 1/2 hours of driving time with only one pit stop for lunch and some extended time at the McDonald's Playland for Bridger.  B was a total champ while we were driving.  He slept about 80% of the time and when he wasn't sleeping he was looking for trains and singing along to Miley Cyrus.  It was awesome.  We didn't even touch the meticulously planned out 'melt down bag' of toys and activities to keep him entertained.

When we arrived in Vail we went directly to the condo and got all checked in.  I unpacked all of our food and started on dinner and then we hung out for a couple of hours until we ate together, got Bridger bathed and settled into bed, and then relaxed for a while before turning in.

I should note here that when we got to Vail it was 80 degrees.  Seeing as the climate is usually not very hot this time of year (the weather claimed 60-70 degrees for the entire week), the units at the Marriott do not have air conditioning, only heating in the units.  If you know anything about Scott, you know that he hates being hot.  The first thing he did was turn on all of the fans, open the windows and complain about how he thought he just might die.  So, you can understand that when it came time to go to bed and the temperature still felt the same in our room, it was very difficult to get comfortable enough to go to sleep.  It was only after a rough night of tossing, turning and sweating we realized that in Scott's attempt to turn on EVERY fan in the place, he had also accidentally turned on the heat in our bedroom.  Ha!  So NOT funny when we realized that.

It was shortly after we determined that the heater had been on all night that I informed Scott that I thought that maybe my water was breaking.  I wasn't too concerned about it but I had been SO uncomfortable the whole night and had made even more trips to the loo than my normal pregnant self.  Scott immediately decided that we should go get things checked out at the hospital but I wasn't so enthusiastic about that plan.  He finally convinced me that he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer and we ate a small breakfast and head for the hospital--the only one in Vail--with the hope that they were 'in-network' on our insurance plan.  (It was Sunday, our insurance co. was closed and the medical facilities available to us could neither confirm or deny that they were.)

We arrived at Vail Valley Medical Center L&D only to be greeted by about 4 very bored looking nurses.  We said about one sentence before floor manager/nurse Lindsay was escorting us to one of their birthing suites and gathering more information from me.  (Completely different from the 'Oh, you think you're in labor? Hmmm...Well, take a number we'll be with you when we get to you' that you get in Utah hospitals)  They gave us a game plan and told us the tests they would run to determine if my water was, in fact leaking.  They also hooked me up to monitors to monitor the baby and informed us that many, many out-of-towners end up in their hospital because apparently high altitude can cause contractions resulting in pre-term later.  (Would have been nice to know BEFORE making the trip to Vail.)

The tests they originally ran were a pH test, a FFN (fetal fibronectin) test,  a regular 'digital' exam and an ultrasound.  The results were:  No, my water was not broken.  No, I was not dilated.  But-apparently I was having regular contractions that I wasn't feeling (every 3-5 minutes) and my FFN came back positive.  (I had previously had a FFN at 28 weeks which came back negative so even though the test doesn't say you will go into labor immediately, it is an indicator that you are closer than you were when you weren't...perfect sense? haha) While we were waiting on the ultrasound and final test results, I started to feel the contractions that they had told me I was having and they were getting closer together (about every 2-4 minutes) and more painful.  The doctor came in to do another exam and determined that I had started dilating and was at a '1'.  They were concerned about the fact that the contractions were painful and causing me to progress and started into discussing the options to stop pre-term labor.

Originally the doctor at VVMC told me that they would likely not go to the extreme of putting me on magnesium sulfate but, after calling a high-risk specialist out of Denver, they decided that would be the best thing.  So--on the magnesium sulfate I went--for 48 hours.  For any of you who have not had it, I don't recommend it.  ;)  First of all--it burns.  They have to use special IV tubing because it really, really burns.  They start you off for the first half an hour or so on a really high dose to kind of shock your body and you go from feeling mostly normal (besides the being in labor and having painful contractions part) to feeling EXTREMELY hot and like you have the flu. (And you still get to have those fun contractions!)  Once they dialed it down a little, the flu-like symptoms seemed to ease a little but the longer I was on it, the more other symptoms started to set in like--not being able to see.  It was horrible. Honestly, so miserable.  I couldn't read a book, I couldn't watch the large flat screen in front of my face.  I couldn't make out the time on the clock on the wall.  And--the longer I was on it, the worse I felt.  While they had me on the mag, they also started shooting me up with steroids to help the baby's lungs develop more quickly (in case they were unable to stop the labor).  The steroid shots also are a 48 hour process but they were able to double my doses so I only had to have one 'butt-poke' every 24 hours instead of one every 12.

For the first 36 hours I was still having contractions.  Once I passed about hour 12 though, the intensity was down to a more manageable pain range so it wasn't nearly as bad.  After about 36 hours, the contractions were really spreading out to the point that I was only have 1 every hour or so.  It seemed that the horrible medication was actually working.

One thing I couldn't complain about was the view out of my hospital room window.  :)

After consulting with doctors through this whole process they basically told us that we wouldn't be leaving Colorado without a baby.  We were told from the beginning that them being able to stop the labor was only one piece of the puzzle.  The other piece was that even if they were able to stop the contractions, I really shouldn't be driving into the middle of nowhere because (realistically) I could start contracting again and go quickly from there.  They basically said to us "Best case, we stop your labor and you stay in Vail until you are full-term and can take your baby with you when you leave."  Worst case was obviously having the baby at 33.5 weeks and the baby having to be in the NICU for 4-6 weeks there with me having to stay in Vail where the hospital would provide a room for me to be close to the baby. Needless to say, we were quite discouraged at this point.  Thinking through the logistics of who would take care of Bridger while I was in Colorado for 4-6 weeks caring for a NICU baby and trying to think of how often Scott could fly back and forth while working was just too much to comprehend and wrap our minds around.  We said a lot of prayers that things would get better and even more prayers that if it was time for our little guy to come, he would be as healthy as could be.

The contractions spreading out and toning down was encouraging but they kept telling me that the real test would be when they took me off the magnesium after 48 hours.  I was fully aware waking up on Tuesday, September 11th that I could be having our baby that day and it scared me to death!  They took me off the magnesium about 10:00 a.m. and then I just waited.  And waited.  They monitored for contractions and I would have one (maybe) every hour or so that I couldn't feel.  We waited longer and after a few hours they finally let me eat!  (I know this may not sound like a big deal to ya'll, but it was to me!)  I hadn't eaten anything but ice chips, water and popsicles since Sunday morning (that's over 48 hours, people!) and I was dying to taste real food.  I ate.  We waited some more.  A few more hours passed and I started to get my vision back!  How wonderful it was to be able to see again!

Later that evening the doctor came in and told us that she had a plan.  She wanted to monitor me overnight and then, if everything stayed the same, she said we could go directly home--no touring or unnecessary pit stops, just directly home with me laying down.  We almost didn't believe it but we were SO EXCITED!  We really felt like it was an answer to many, many prayers.  Scott called his parents to let them know and then together they spent the evening packing up the condo and getting everything ready so that we could leave right after I was discharged the next morning.

Wednesday morning they came in, monitored for a little while, did some other final tests and told me that I could go but needed to follow up with my Dr. right when I got home.  I gladly agreed to all their instructions and at 10:00 I walked out of the hospital and into our loaded up SUV to make the long drive home.

We're going home!

Thursday (13th) morning I went and saw my doctor.  As anticipated, she said the two words that I was dreading--BED REST.  Even though I was expecting to hear it, I still walked away from the appointment bummed.  Basically she wanted me on my back/reclined all day, every day with the exception of bathroom breaks, saving a child from injury or sitting up to eat.  The good news, however, was that it should only be for 2 weeks (until I hit 36 weeks).  After that, she said she would be comfortable with me starting to do some things again.

So, here I sit.  September 27th and 36 weeks today!  We made it through the bed rest period.  Well, kind of.  My Dr. appointment is in another 3 hours.  I can't tell you what a relief it is to have made it to this point.  Really, I would like to make it at least another week or even two (did I just say that?) before I deliver but, as of right now, I feel like everything has gone as well as it could have considering the circumstances.  As much as we are looking forward to holding our sweet boy, we certainly want him to start off on the right foot and be as healthy as possible.

Also, because so many of our friends and family have been such a huge help to us, I wanted to just thank everyone for the dinners, play dates with Bridger, phone calls, texts, etc.  We are so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people!  I can't thank you all enough.