On most Sundays Eli, Luci, and I head up to my mom's house for family dinners. It's a tradition that started while I was in college and carried on when Eli and I moved closer to my parents. I had been feeling a lot of "pelvic pressure" for a little bit before we went up and was feeling a lot when we got there. I was talking to my sister Melissa about it while we watched the girls play with their kitchen.
I didn't want to seem paranoid, but it was starting to freak me out. I felt like I had a few Braxton Hick's contractions throughout the day, but nothing like labor contractions. I just thought that baby girl was stretching out her arms and legs while she still had a little room left.
Taking Melissa's advice, I called the after hours nurse at my OB/GYN's office. I described what was going on and she told me to head over to Labor & Delivery at the hospital to be monitored. I'd done that a dozen times with Luci (I had to be monitored twice a week due to my gestational diabetes), so I figured it would be a quick trip. We left Luci with Grandma saying that we'd be back soon and to save us some sopita and tacos. Lucky for us, the hospital was 5 minutes away.
We checked in and got hooked up to the monitors (a fetal heartbeat monitor and one for contractions) and then waited. Baby girl's heartbeat was strong and I wasn't registering any contractions. The nurse had me drink about 100 oz. of ice cold water and do a urine sample. After about an hour, Nurse came back and did an "internal" exam, just to make sure things were okay. She gave me a worried look and said, "You're 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced." What?! I didn't have any contractions, how the heck was that possible?
Per the on-call doctor's orders, I was swabbed for fetal fibronectin (a protein that can cause preterm labor) and monitored for another hour. There were still no contractions and my test came back positive for the protein. The nurse was pretty sure that I wasn't going to be able to go home. After the hour, I was examined again, had dilated another 1/2 cm and was 75% effaced. I was officially diagnosed with preterm labor and was going to be transported to a Provo hospital that was better equipped to deal with babies born earlier than 34 weeks. The nurse was pretty sure that I would have a baby girl by the end of the night.
While waiting for the ambulance, I was given an IV drip with fluids, antibiotics, and a bag of magnesium (which is supposed to stop contractions). I was also given a steroid shot that was supposed to help the baby's lungs develop faster. My brothers, Jake and Josh, also came and helped Eli give me a blessing and followed us to Provo with our car. The ambulance came, loaded me up, and we were on our way to Provo. On the trip down I made several phone calls to coworkers to get a sub and see if they could help with lesson plans (the perks of being a teacher).
We arrived in Provo and got set up in a room on the maternity floor. I was re-examined (stayed the same) and was left to be monitored. For a week. I was finally taken off magnesium (which made me go cross-eyed) and the IV drips and put on an oral antibiotic after two days. I had to wear some annoying compression machine on my calves to help circulate the blood. And I just laid there. The only excitement I experienced was a few contractions (that I didn't even feel) during sleep. I was given an oral medication to stop those contractions. It worked.
I was left to do lesson plans, read books (Divergent & Insurgent - books recommended by my students), watch a Law & Order: SVU marathon, and a lot of GSN. By the way, I am really good at Chain Reaction and The Pyramid. It was nice to have room service. I enjoyed carrot cake or mint fudge brownies with most of my dinners. However, by the end of my stay, I was done. Even though I had a lot of visitors, I was bummed I couldn't move. Luci was with her grandparents. I missed my brother's wedding. And I felt FINE. I was finally able to leave on Monday, after a week, and was sent home on strict bed rest.
I had an appointment with my OB, who changed my bed rest to a modified bed rest. I can now lay in bed, sit in a chair, and sit on the couch. I can even shower on my own - thank goodness! Eli is back at work. I've finished a couple of more books, watched all seasons of Cake Boss (thank you Netflix), and planned out the rest of this year for my long-term sub.
Since I really can't do much, we've arranged with the Relief Society (what the group of women in my church are called) for ladies in my ward to take care of me. I've been spoiled! These wonderful women volunteer their time and come over to visit, make me lunch, and toss some ingredients in our crock pot so dinner is ready when Eli and Luci get home. They've also helped clean and do laundry, which are all things I can't do, and things that Eli is sometimes too busy to attend to every day since he plays with, feeds, and bathes Luci.
Despite the fact that I can't do anything helpful around the house and there are days when I can't feel my rear end, I haven't gone crazy yet. The time is passing by quicker than I expected and I get a little human interaction during the day. Even though I can't hold or play with Luci, she still cuddles next to me and we sing songs and read books. And I have an amazing husband. I know this is a lot for him to handle, but he knows the importance of giving baby girl a little more time to cook and goes above and beyond.
I'm 29 weeks tomorrow. We're aiming to last 34 weeks, are hoping for 37 weeks, and will be amazed if we can hold on until 40 weeks. Here's to 5 to 11 more weeks!
I could never finish the carrot cake. It was amazing! Surprisingly, I lost weight in the hospital.
I did have an awesome view in the hospital. This was the first day it snowed here.
This showed up on my daily pregnancy countdown the day after I entered the hospital.
