Trip to L&D Triage

Yesterday afternoon I discovered some discharge with blood in it. It looked very similar to what I thought was "bloody show" the morning of June 23, 2008. My water broke about 12 hours later that day. I called the OB office, and the nurse said she'd send an urgent message to my OB. She said she'd call me back shortly. They never called back, and so I continued about my day as usual. After getting back from choir rehearsal I was folding some laundry when I started having some really fierce contractions. Paul insisted that I call the hospital, and the doctor I spoke with said I should come in for an evaluation. I called one of our neighbors, and she said her daughter could come over and stay in our house until Paul's parents arrived. It was really easy babysitting since Nadia slept the whole time, but we were grateful not to have to wake her up and take her with us. Paul's parents arrived at our house about an hour after Alexis did (at about 11pm).

Paul & I arrived at the hospital at about 10:30pm. The exam revealed that I had dilated an additional cm since Monday morning (2cm). They hooked me up to monitors, and when the monitor showed I was having contractions, I was put on an IV in the hopes that maybe more fluids would stop the contractions. The contractions actually got worse over time so they gave me a shot to calm the uterus. The contractions didn't completely stop, but they lessened quite a bit in frequency and intensity after the shot. The nurse warned that the shot might make my heart race. My heart didn't race, but my entire body was shaking for a few minutes. Even though the room was very warm (Paul kept complaining about how hot he was), I suddenly was chilled. He laid both our coats on top of me. At about 1:30am we got the results of the tests that had been run. The good news was that I got a negative result from the test that is supposed to indicate the liklihood that you will go into labor over the next 2 weeks. The test of course isn't 100% accurate, but he said it is fairly reliable. It can only be done prior to 34 weeks. If I had received a positive result from that test, he would have given me a steroid shot to speed up Ian's lung and brain development. Other tests showed that I had a yeast infection and another bacterial infection. I was given pills for both of these, and I need to head to the pharmacy to fill a prescription this morning. The doctor hopes that these infections are what were causing the contractions and dilation. On a positive note, they were very happy with my blood sugar level while I was there (90).

I am very grateful to be back home, and I am very grateful that Paul's parents were willing to stay at our house so Nadia could sleep. They didn't get home until 3:30am. Nadia had gotten up at 4:40am on Wednesday morning, so I was up for 23 hours straight since I didn't fall asleep until 3:30 last night. Paul fell asleep about 2:30am, but contractions, Ian kicking like crazy, and restless leg syndrome (which I've had for most of both pregnancies) kept me up for another hour. Nadia woke up at 5:30 this morning; so I got a grand total of 2 hours of sleep last night. I am not supposed to lift anything over 10 lbs over the next week; since Nadia weighs 25lbs that means I need to lift her as little as possible. Thankfully, Paul was able to stay home with me today. He'll be lifting her in and out of the crib and such today. The doctor said that 34 weeks is much better than 33 weeks so I am to take it easy over the next week in the hopes I'll make it at least that far. He said if I make it to 35 weeks that most babies born at that stage don't need to go to the NICU. He said I can teach if I'm not having any contractions that day. I have had some more contractions and bleeding this morning; so next on my list is to call and find a substitute to cover my class this evening. I'd appreciate prayers that Ian will not make his grand entrance for at least another week or two. Thanks!