Hospital Update

It's been a pretty scary week. A ton happened. So I'm just going to start from the beginning and hope I remember it all.

Last Thursday (May 5th) Jason and I went to our favorite Mexican restuarant to celebrate cinco de mayo. All week I hadn't been feeling very good and had had no appitite. Who can pass up delicious Mexican food though AND on cinco de mayo. I mean really? Not me, that's for sure. Later that night I woke up with a very very upset tummy and was sick from 2 am until about 5:30 am. I was stranded in the bathroom the whole time in really intense pain. During that time, I had about 6 contractions.

Around 5:30 am I started feeling a bit better and was able to finally go back to bed. I decided to call my doctor in the morning just to make sure everything was ok. They thought that it was probably just food poisoning but since I had the contractions with it, they had me come in. They did a NST (attach monitors to my belly and to monitor baby's heartrate and any contractions I may have been having) when I came in. I wasn't having any more contractions and Mason was doing great as well. They also did another test for pre-term labor before I left. Everything seemed ok while I was there, so they sent me home with orders to drink lots of water and take it pretty easy.

Saturday and Sunday I was doing ok. My tummy was still a bit upset on Saturday but nothing compared to what it was. As the day went on I was starting to get my appitite back little by little.

Monday then rolled around, the doctor called me in the morning and said that the test for pre-term labor came back positive. Uh oh. BUT because I hadn't had any contractions over the weekend and was feeling better, they thought I was gonna be ok.

Monday night I started having contractions around 9 pm. Nothing terribly painful, but kind of annoying. My belly was just getting rock hard. After I had 7 contractions in half an hour (you're supposed to call the doctor if you have 4 in an hour) we decided it was time to call the doctor on call. She told me to drink a big glass of water and lay on my side and if it continues to head to labor and delivery at the hospital I'm planning on delivering at. So Jason got me a big glass of water and I downed it and layed on my side for about another hour. Unfortunetely, the contractions did not stop.

Off we went to the hospital around 11 pm. We had to sign a few papers and then were ushered up to L&D. They hooked me back up to the monitor and saw that I was contracting every 2 minutes. So they started an IV and gave me some medicine to help me sleep. That medicine made me so loopy! It was crazy! They had a hard time finding a vein in my hand to start the IV. The nurse had to put it in the most awkward place between my knuckles. Ouch! It hurt really bad (and is super bruised STILL). The IV fluids alone stopped the contractions and they let me go home around 5:30 am.

Most of Tuesday I slept. I was so tired from whatever they put in my IV. It also made me really cranky. Sorry Jason! We were also house sitting for my parents that day and night while they went to pick up my younger sister from college.

Jason went back to work on Wednesday morning. I was still pretty tired and ended up sleeping in until 10 ish. When I woke up, I was having contractions again. This time they were much stronger though and kinda painful. So I jumped in the shower, hoping the warm water would relax everything. It didn't. Jason came home and we called the doctor again and she told us to head BACK to L&D. UGH!

Off we went...again. By the time we got there I wasn't contracting anymore. Which was very furstrating because I felt like they were gonna think I was that first time mom that freaks out at everything little thing. The nurse wanted to blame it on dehydration and had me drink a TON of water. I knew it wasn't dehydration though. As soon as I finished all the water, I started contracting again. Pretty strongly too. It was painful! They started another IV (in the other wrist; much better this time) and gave me more of the loopy medicine. It didn't stop the contractions this time though. Bummer.

So they had to bring in the big guns. Magnesuim sulfate. That stuff SUCKS! First of all, it hurt so bad going in. Like my arm was on fire! And it made me absolutely miserable. They told me the first 30 minutes would be the worst. Which I disagree with, it wasn't that bad. It made me really hot and messed with my vision but nothing too bad.

The doctor also ordered an ultrasound to see how the litte guy was growing. So an ultrasound tech with a giant ultrasound machine came up to our room. Everything looked good on that. He weighs 3 pounds 9 ozs, which is really big for his age (29 weeks).

They decided to go ahead and give me a steroid shot, just in case he was going to come early. The steroid would help his little lungs develop faster, so if he were to be born, his lungs would be good. Oh man that shot hurt! I had to get it in my bum, which tells you how bad it hurts. They basically bad to stab me with it and then the medicine going in, stung SO BAD! Like a really bad bee sting! Worse actually. But if it was gonna help my son's lungs and give him a better chance, I would have gone though anything.

I barely got any sleep that night. Those hospital beds are so stinkin' uncomfortable and the monitors kept going off every hour cause the magnesium sulfate made my blood pressure so low. Plus everytime I had to use the restroom, the nurse had to come in and unhook all the monitors and walk me into the bathroom with the IV poll. I felt like I was on a leash. I'm so thankful for Jason, he was there to help me through everything. If he wasn't there, I don't know what I would have done.

The next morning, the magnesium sulfate had taken a pretty heavy toll on me. I couldn't see, I was really sick to my stomach, I was burning up and I was so weak. I have never been so weak in my entire life. That I remember at least. I couldn't even lift my phone to text friends and family to let them know how I was doing. I felt like I had the worst flu ever!

Our new doctor, Dr. Halderman, came in to see us later that morning. I felt bad, it was the first time we had ever met her. That would be hard, getting a new patient and having them be in the hospital threatening to go into labor. Anyway. My contractions had stopped and she told us that as long as they didn't come back I could get off the magnesium sulfate and 4 pm and then get another steroid shot. Then if I still stayed in a non-contracting state I could go home around 6 pm.

She also told us, that when I do get discharged to go home, I was gonna have to be on strict bed rest. So I can bascially just shower and get up to go to the restroom and get water and small stuff like that. Other than that, I need to be in bed or on the sofa laying down or reclining. We're going to try and get this little man to at least 34 weeks. Which is only 5 weeks away. Once I hit 34 weeks, I can start going to a few places like restuarants where I just sit. Then at 36 weeks, she said I could do whatever I wanted. So the bed rest shouldn't be too bad. It's only for a short time.

By the time 2 pm came around I was so sick and miserable from all the meds. So ready to go home! I had stayed strong the whole time, but eventually broke down and cried. I couldn't help it. I was just so sick!

Finally at 4 pm they took me off the magnesium sulfate and little by little I started feeling better. My vision and strength were slowly coming back. I was having a difficult time breathing though. That wasn't fun. Kinda freaked me out. I cried from that too. At that point I think everything was making me cry. I was seriously at my breaking point! They gave me the second steroid shot, which hurt...again. But it was nice to know that within 24 hours our son's lungs would be good to go should I go into pre-term labor.

We were discharged around 6:30 pm. I don't think I've ever been so happy to see my bed in my entire life! I slept so well that night! It was amazing! I've been taking it very easy. Jason won't let me do anything. He is taking the bed rest very seriously. And so far so good.

I'm really paranoid though. So scarred the contractions are going to start again and we're gonna have to do that all over again. I know I can do it, but it's just so exhausting and hard. It's all worth it though. Goodness gracious...the things we go through for our children.

We're moving back in my parents a bit earlier than expected. Since Jason works all day, he isn't able to enforce the bed rest. So my mom is going to help take care of me during the day. I feel so bad because I can't help pack or anything. Jason has been working so hard and all I can do is watch him from the sofa! UGH!

I think that's everything. I'll keep updating on what's been going on. I'm not going to spell check this cause it's so long, sooo sorry for the typos!