32 weeks and a helicopter ride

A few weeks ago I said to my husband, "I have a feeling the babies are going to come when I'm either 32 or 34 weeks." I am 32 weeks now. Tuesday night I started having contractions pretty regularly, they weren't strong at all, so I whined around awhile before I finally sucked it up and called the doctor. Honestly, I was considering just going to bed and ignoring them because they didn't feel like much at all. But, to put my and my husbands mind at ease I figured I would call. Of course, they sent me to labor and delivery to be monitored.

Prior to this latest episode of preterm labor I was 1cm and 80% effaced, when I arrived at the hospital the nurse checked me and I was a "loose 1cm." They hooked me up to an iv and said they would check me again in an hour, an hour later I was 2cm, so the doctor was called. When he arrived he checked me and I was a "loose 2cm," so my cervix was definitely making changes. At this time, the contractions still didn't hurt that much but some were pretty uncomfortable.

Since our hospital is fairly small and there is no NICU, my dr. made the decision to send me to a hospital about and hour and a half away. The nurse told me I would be taking an ambulance down and that one of them would have to travel with me, which I was fine with. Then, the dr. comes in and tells me that no, I will not be traveling my ambulance, I will be traveling by helicopter. This is when I started to freak out. I have no desire to ride in a helicopter, ever. They freak me out. Within about 20 minutes the helicopter arrived and I was strapped to a stretcher and loaded on, scared to death. Since the helicopters are so small, my husband was not allowed to travel with us and had to drive down. The ride took about 25-30 minutes so it wasn't too bad, but I had a death grip on my cell phone the whole time. I'm not sure why my cell phone is my comfort item of choice, I guess I'm addicted to it.

When I arrived at the hospital I was 4cm dilated. After spending way too long in the smallest room, with the most uncomfortable bed ever, they decided to move me to labor and delivery. I spent most of Wednesday in labor and delivery being monitored. The twins were both doing great, but I was still having contractions. I was given several doses of procardia, but the contractions continued. Luckily, I hadn't made any more changes, I was still 4cm and 80% effaced, baby a was about -2 station. So they moved me to an antepartum unit. So I got to lose the IV, the monitors, and the bed here is way more comfortable. I was checked again this morning and I am holding steady at 4cm, they contractions have stopped for now. But, they decided to keep me until I am at least 34 weeks. When and if I make it to 34 weeks they will reevaluate. They said they will talk to my Dr. at home and see if they week comfortable taking 34 week babies, if they do, then I should be able to go home.

So now I'm at the hospital, which is great, I want the twins to have the best care possible if they do come early. But, I miss Isabel terribly, since I'm over an hour away from home it isn't easy to get her here. Luckily, my dad is bringing her down this afternoon, I can't wait to see her. I bawl every time I think about being away from her for the next week or two. Jarrad is going to get a hotel room here for the weekend so Isabel and him can be right here and then I can see her more.

So far I have had 6 needle sticks, and 7 different peoples hand's in my vagina, I'm a dirty girl.

How about a belly pic? This is about a week old, but you get the idea.

29 weeks and bed rest

I woke up on Friday, not feeling all that great. We had an appointment set up to get Isabel's pictures taken, so I sucked it up got ready and took her to get her pictures. She did wonderfully and I am so excited to see them, she looked adorable!

On the way home from the photographers I started to notice I was getting some contractions. They weren't unbearable, but more painful than my normal Braxton Hicks contractions. I didn't mention them to Jarrad because I didn't want to worry him. When we got home I laid down and drank two bottles of water in hopes that the contractions would subside. Unfortunately they didn't. Jarrad finally talked me into calling the doctor and they told me to head straight to L&D. I did not want to go, I was afraid of going out there, being hooked up to the monitors and being told I was crazy and I wasn't actually having contractions.

When we got to the hospital and I got hooked up to the monitors it was obvious right away that I was indeed having contractions, and I was having a lot of them. They gave me fluids in hopes that maybe I was dehydrated and that would stop the contractions, unfortunately it did not. When the doctor arrived he checked me, I was 1cm dilated and 80% effaced. This is when I started to get nervous. I was given a dose of Procardia to stop the contractions, the first dose didn't really do much, so twenty minutes later I was given another dose, once again no real change, twenty minutes later I was given my third dose. At this time the contractions had slowed down a little bit, but I was still having them. The doctor checked my cervix about an hour after my first dose of procardia and luckily I had made no more changes. There was talks of sending me to a hospital about an hour and a half away because our hospital does not have a NICU. I did not want to go to another hospital, having these babies at 29 weeks was not an option for us! I was given an ambien to sleep, which made everyone on tv have two heads and the curtains start moving towards me. Jarrad, of course found this hilarious as I was batting the curtains away from my face.

The next morning I was still having some contractions, they seemed to not be as strong but they were just as regular. Once again the doctor checked my cervix, still no changes! Thank the Lord! I was kept several more hours so they could monitor my contractions and the babies. Around 1:00 the doctor came back in and decided to give me a steroid shot incase the contractions continue and the babies come out sooner rather than later. I was also given a prescription for Procardia to take every 6 hours around the clock, and I was sent home on modified bed rest.

So far bed rest hasn't been too bad, but it's been the weekend and I've had lots of family around. Monday will be my first day on bed rest home alone. The hardest part is not being able to interact with Isabel the way I'm used to doing. I have a follow up appointment with my Dr. tomorrow and am hoping that everything is still going well. I will do whatever they tell me to do in order to keep these babies cooking awhile longer.

I learned a very important lesson this weekend, always listen to your body. Don't be afraid of looking stupid. It is better to be safe than sorry, I'm so glad that I went to the hospital when I did and I don't even want to think about the "what ifs."