27 weeks and another doctors visit

So I had my next appointment this week and things were mixed.

First off the good news. Baby Dot is doing great. My doctor was happy with her measurements and her heart rate was right at 140bpm.

My wieght is climbing, but no big worries. I'm up to 146lbs and my blood pressure was 120/70 which is all good. For once this past month I didn't weigh myself at all. I actually just knew that I was maintaining a healthy diet, walking about a mile and a half 4 to 5 days a week, and generally staying active. So when I saw the weight gain I wasn't worried at all for once.

So here's the news that wasn't great.

For the past month I have been having some problems. At my last doctors visit I mentioned that I had felt some pretty uncomfortable contractions and Dot seemed to be very low. At the time no one thought it was a big deal but over the past month things have stayed the same. I've had on average 5 contractions a day with a lot of braxton hicks and the low pressure has gotten worse. I havent said much about this because I didn't want to worry or scare anyone but W and I have been dealing with things day to day as they happen.

So when I went into the office today I mentioned the contractions to the nurse and then to my doctor. Luckily my doctor is great and took my concerns seriously. He immediately said he wanted to check and make sure I wasn't progressing and that the contractions while real were hopefully having no affect. He did check and I have started to dialate already. Not even a centimeter yet, but as he put it finger tip. Luckily other than that everything else is fine and I am no where near ready to have this baby (cervix high and thick which is good). He also prescribed a drug called Terbutaline. Basically its a drug normally used to treat asthma but is also common in treating preterm labor contractions. The plan is to take it only as needed to stop the contractions. The side effects are tolerable so far in that the main things that happen are my heart racing and feeling flushed. I think I can deal with these as long as the contractions ease up for a while.

The odd thing about all this is I wasn't told to stop any of my daily activities. Since the contractions come if I rest or active he said there was no reason for me to stop walking everyday or staying as active with Butters as I can. Also now we are offically going to every 2 week visits. He originally said a month, but reconsidered after what we talked about. He is starting to want to keep a closer eye on me for a while just incase these contractions don't get any better.

Also now there is more talk of me making it to 36 weeks rather than full term. With all the contractions and what not the goal is now more than ever to just make it to 36 weeks. For me that means 9 more weeks of being pregnant and I will have reached a goal. This also means that after my baby shower in Moody on the 9^th I am not traveling out of Huntsville at all. With everything going on its just not in my best interest to go very far.

The news today was shocking for both W and I. I hated calling him on the phone after it all and having to tell him. I hated going back to work and trying not to think about it. Right now we are doing our best to stay positive about it all. We are doing our best to take things one day at a time and not think about the possibilities of having another NICU experience.

So while this was news that I debated sharing here I think its for the best. I'm not asking for anything but understanding that I had to get this off my chest and talk about it in some way, shape or form. I'm sure both baby Dot and I are going to be fine and in some way she is just trying to beat her older brother in how many grey hairs she can give daddy early on! :0)