29 weeks and more mixed news

I’ve had a couple of people ask me about what is going on with all the things I’ve posted on twitter so I am going to attempt to put it all here.

This week started out fine. Monday when I went to work I had a couple of contractions off and on, but lately that’s been about the norm. We had an all hands meeting at noon where they provided lunch. Normally this statement would be pointless, but as we were sitting there I felt 2 stronger than normal contractions. They subsided and I ate lunch (Domino’s pizza). Later I kept feeling them along with feeling nauseated. I just figured it was the pizza not agreeing with me and didn’t worry. Around 2:30 pm they still hadn’t stopped so I called my doctor’s office. I told the nurse what was going on and she said that I needed to go home and take 5mg terbutaline and try and rest. So I tried to do what she said as much as I could with a 2.5 year old who wants to play. The contractions were every 10 minutes or so even on the terbutaline and finally around 8:30 that night they started to subside and I got some sleep. I was then woken up at 3:30am with more so my night of sleep was cut quite short.

I went into my doctors office on Tuesday and when the nurse saw me she asked what was wrong and I told her. So she goes ahead and does the normal checks. When she gets to Dot’s heart rate it was much higher than it should be (170’s) so she stood there monitoring me for a few minutes and eventually the heart rate went down and then back up. She said it was most likely from the contractions.

So when my OB came in once again he seemed very concerned. I talked to him about what happened the night before and what was going on. He checked me again and I’m the same as last time (fingertip dilated but cervix is still high and thick) which is good. After talking for a few minutes we came to a verdict:
1.change of medication from terbutaline to procardia that I take every 8 hours around the clock.
2.I will take the medication like this until I hit 34 weeks. At that point if I go into labor he won’t stop me.
3.not on bed rest, but limited activity. So no more walks at lunch and I have to take it easy. He did ask if he needed to take me off work which I told him no to since I have a desk job and I don’t really do anything strenuous. Basically the last thing I’m really allowed to do is the Swim for Melissa this weekend but after that is over I have to come home and rest for a while.

So now the new goal is to make it to 34 weeks not 36 weeks. He has no clue why this is all happening though. I’m healthy, but my body just isn’t tolerating the pregnancy for some reason. That puts me having her more around the middle of September. I have none of the history or other previous conditions that would predispose me to preterm labor so this is all still unknown as to the exact cause.

So now we wait. I honestly haven’t figured out what is worse though; having the unexpected surprise that Butters had to go to the NICU, or the knowledge that there is a good chance if Dot is born before 36 weeks that she will also have a short stay in the NICU. Honestly I don’t want to find out but I have a feeling that we will understand once again too well about the things and procedures and routines there.

So how are we coping? Well at times I’m not sure. Butters is too young to understand at this point. Right now the only thing he probably notices is that I can’t be up as much or go on long walks with him anymore.

With the events of the CCHA rejecting the UAH Chargers application this week W has been kept very busy with helping organize a fan base (http://saveuahhockey.com/ and @saveuahhockey on twitter). By his own admission, this is helping keep his mind off things. Its better that he have this distraction right now than let himself think about what is going on too much.

I’m coping but sometimes not too well. I go to sleep every night and wake up and it’s the first thing on my mind. Every time she moves I am reminded of what is going on. When I can stay busy at the office, things are better, but lately work has been up and down. Some days I’m really busy and others I’m just not and that’s where my mind starts drifting back to what is going on with my body and her. The medication has stopped a good bit of the contractions but tends to let them through when its about an hour before my next dose. Also I've learned that I can't be up for more than about 3 hours before I start getting bad cramps/ contractions and have to rest. Generally, the side effects are not too bad. The worst of it is the swelling in my legs from my knees down and the hot flashes. Other than that, I don’t feel near as bad as I did on the terbutaline.

I guess right now we have come to accept the fact that there is a good chance we will see the NICU again. With the possibility of her being born early we are just preparing ourselves to see it again. I am actually seriously considering going and buying a pack of newborn onsies and leaving them in the package with the receipt. I figure if she is bigger or doesn’t need them I can always return them and if we do have them I’m sure we will be able to do a small load of laundry and get them washed if needed.

So that’s where we stand right now. I know this was much longer of a post than anyone probably ever cared to read but there has just been a lot going on and I didn’t feel like breaking it up into multiple posts.