Shorter Cervix

Ian got out of bed when he wasn't supposed to for the first time yesterday. My mom put him down for his nap, and a couple of minutes later we could hear him laughing in Nadia's bedroom. My mom went back up and put him down again. He cried for a few minutes and then took a really short nap. He made up for that short nap by sleeping 12.5 hours last night (7:45pm-8:15am). Two times over the past four nights he had a crying spell in the middle of the night. It took awhile for Paul to get him back to sleep both times. We aren't sure if those were due to the new bed or the fact that I wasn't around. We didn't realize that I'd be in the hospital for 6 days shortly after we made that switch. We didn't have any trouble when Paul put him to bed last night, but tonight he also had to be taken back to bed many times.

In contrast to Ian, I got very little sleep last night. I slept soundly for the first two hours, but from midnight on I got very little sleep. I had some painful contractions yesterday around dinner time, and that scared me. The last time I had painful contractions I woke up in a pool of blood a couple of days later. Every time I went to sleep I'd have the dream that it was happening again. One time it was so real I almost woke Paul up because I thought it was really happening and not just a nightmare. I really didn't want to keep having that nightmare so I just rested in bed without going back to sleep. Paul gave me my shot around 6am. He left for school earlier than usual since my mom was here and he didn't need to help me get the kids dressed when they woke up. Paul certainly has had many responsibilities added to his shoulders with me being on bedrest. He has to put the kids to bed, do the grocery shopping, clean up the dishes in the kitchen, etc. I feel badly, but there's nothing I can do about it.

This morning my mom took the kids for their 6 month dentist appointments. Ian just had a (free) quick exam. In December he'll have his first "real" appointment. Nadia had her third "real" appointment (cleaning, flouride, etc.). It was no big deal! Ian loves playing with the train table in the waiting room while Nadia is having her appointment. The hygenist said I need to start flossing their teeth. It feels so weird to be missing out on these events (their haircuts yesterday and dentist appointments today). I know these seem like very mundane activities, but I am accustomed to being there with them for these events. I'm hoping the bedrest won't last too long, but given how little it takes for me to start having contractions, I have a feeling the bedrest might not end until I give birth. It's a bit overwhelming to think I might be on bedrest for months, but if that's what it takes to keep him inside a reasonable amount of time, it's worth it.

Around 11am I received a panicked call from the woman who had volunteered to drive me to my appointment today. It turns out she thought I was asking for help for an appointment next Thursday. She wasn't available to take me today. At 11:45am the four of us piled into my car, and my mom drove us to my appointment. We arrived a few minutes late, but that didn't seem to matter as we were in the waiting room for about 45 minutes before they took us back for my ultrasound. My cervix shortened from 2.6cm (Monday) to 2.3cm (today). I had some painful contractions yesterday around 5pm, which were probably the culprit. They hooked me up to the fetal monitor for awhile after the ultrasound because I mentioned the contractions I had yesterday. As a frame of reference, the cervix is supposed to be about 4.0-4.5cm long at 23 weeks. They usually stitch it together if it's less than 2.5cm at this stage, but it would be too risky in light of my placenta previa. Needless to say I am still on bedrest until the next appointment. I need to start making childcare arrangements for next week. Beth is going to help out tomorrow morning, and then she's taking my 2 kids plus her 2 kids to Knoebels in the afternoon. I had originally planned to take them, but she's going to take them since I can't.

The appointment was chaotic because the kids were NOT on their best behavior (particularly Ian). He screamed quite a few times (one time for 15 minutes straight). We were in the doctor's office for almost 2 hours. From the time we left our house until the time we returned home, six hours had passed. My mom ate a little spaghetti and then got back in the car to drive to Maryland. By the time she gets home, she will have spent almost 8 hours in the car today. That's true love!

I didn't get much information on his anemia, but the doctor didn't seem concerned so I am guessing it either stayed the same or improved. Next Thursday I'll be sure to ask for specifics. The kids hopefully won't be at that appointment. I meant to ask her if I should continue on all the supplements they had me on in the hospital (calcium, iron, and colace in addition to the prenatal vitamins). I also meant to ask why they decided against putting me on Procardia when they took me off the Indocen (both help prevent contractions). I did remember to ask what I should do if I start hemmorhaging again. I wasn't sure if I should go to the same hospital I went to last week (no NICU) or drive straight to Harrisburg. She said I should drive straight to the closest hospital, but I know that a micropreemie's chance of survival goes down a lot if he has to be lifelighted to a NICU. My thinking is that if something happens between 24w0d and 26w3d, I'll go to Geisinger and ask for him to be transferred to Harrisburg as soon as that can be done without jeopardizing his life (we'll pay a fortune for the time spent at Geisinger, but if it saves his life, it's worth it). If something happens between 26w4d and 34w6d, I'll go to Geisinger and just stay there (because we'll be on Blue Shield that whole time). If I don't need to be hospitalized again until at least 35w0d, I'll go to the hospital I went to last week (that doesn't have a NICU). What I was unsure about is what to do if something happens between now and next Wednesday. I asked the doctor that today, and she said go to the nearest hospital. I said, but they don't have a NICU. She said you could die on the way here if you are bleeding that badly again. So I did a little research online this evening, and I read one thing that makes me think Geisinger might accept a baby as young as 23 weeks. Since they don't want me to drive to Harrisburg if I'm hemmoraghing, I think the compromise would be to go to Geisinger and pray they'll try to save his life. It seems I won't be making any more emergency trips to the hospital I went to last week unless I made it to 35w0d. I'm still praying I'll make it until 35w, but if that can't happen, I really hope I make it until at least 26w4d.