29 weeks - Off bed rest!

 

Well exactly one month after I was admitted to the hospital, I am officially off of bed rest. I had another good ultrasound yesterday (cervical length was 3.4, same as last week). That is a normal measurement and since it seems like the Procardia is working so well, my doctor took me off of bed rest and decided to keep a close eye on things with weekly ultrasounds and cervical checks. Baby girl weighs about 3 lbs 2 oz and is already growing some fuzzy hair. We got a great picture of her little foot and almost got a 3D picture of her face but she was hiding it with her hands. I am excited to be off bed rest, but still trying to take it easy. I am still having a lot of contractions and a LOT of uncomfortable pressure. I can try to go back to work when I am ready, so I have to figure out all of my FMLA/short term disability that I am in the middle of right now. (Oh so many phone calls and letters and paper work!) Since I'm still contracting, we feel more comfortable seeing how the next couple weeks go off bed rest before jumping back into work. Belly is growing and I can tell she has had a growth spurt this past week (which is probably not helping the aches and pains I'm having). Calvin likes to talk about his "baby sister" and asks me questions sometimes about her. The other day we were talking about how I'm going to feed the baby when she gets here. After a long discussion, he said, "that baby not going to eat MY boobies all gone!" Haha. He has been talking about my boobs ever since. Got to love his curiosity about EVERYTHING right now!

28 Weeks - Hello Third Trimester!

I am officially in my third trimester! I had an appointment yesterday and my cervix is almost back to normal length. Dr. Wagner told me to write a paper on how to grow cervixes because he's never seen such a big change. The problem is that we know how short it has been, and I could get back to that length pretty quickly if I don't keep doing what I'm doing. He did lift my bed rest restrictions a little bit (I can be on my feet for longer periods of time, cook light meals, etc.), but since I'm still contracting and feeling a lot of pressure he wants me to "listen to my body" and stop when I start to feel crampy or start to contract. I am still taking my Procardia every 4 hours right now. She is measuring fine and looked great on the ultrasound as usual. I've gained 2 pounds since I was put on bed rest and a total of 13 pounds so far with this pregnancy. Pretty similar to what I gained with Calvin. I was curious to see what I've gained just laying in bed all day for the last 4 weeks, but I guess my appetite hasn't been great so it's not as much as I thought it would be. I am looking forward to another "normal" ultrasound and hopefully I will be taken off bed rest and can ease back into a normal routine. Work is iffy right now, I think if I sat at a desk all day that he would let me go back to work, but he knows that my shifts consist mostly of being on my feet and running around for 12 hours. But if things stay stable then maybe I can pick up some shifts as I get closer to my due date. Next ultrasound is Friday - may be the last one for a little while if things still look good!

26 week belly

I will be 28 weeks on Thursday an my belly has definitely gotten bigger in the last 2 weeks, but this is the most recent belly pic I have for now. : )

Home! And Calvin turns THREE!

After 18 days in the hospital, I was released and am finally at home! My cervical length on Saturday was 2.4cm and my uterus was behaving so they let me go home. I have been doing well at home, I can tell when my Procardia starts to wear off but I am resting and following the rules. I am nervous for my ultrasound on Friday, readmission is always lingering over my head and I do not want to go back until I am full term and ready to have a baby... Of course bed rest at home has brought on new struggles and obstacles, like having to rely on Korey for everything instead of nurses, and having to watch him take care of Calvin on his own since I cannot help, but being here and getting to wake up with them everyday is so much better than laying in a hospital bed. We have been telling Calvin that I was in the hospital because the doctor was keeping me safe, so when we got home and I laid down he said, "Me and my daddy are keeping you safe now?" : )

Saturday was Calvin's birthday and we had a party for him that night with my family. My sister decorated the house and made food while I laid on the couch and told her what to do. : ) It was hard but we had a great time. Then on Sunday, Korey's family came over and we had another little party for him. Calvin had a great time and kept saying that he wanted "another birthday."

Updates on THREE year old Calvin:
-His new favorite cartoons are Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, which he says are "Papaw Carder's favorites."
-He tells a knock knock joke that goes like this: "Knock knock. Who's there? Don't cry, it's just a JOKE!" (The way he tells it is so funny).
-He is still working on potty training, and wears big boy underwear and pull ups during the day. He will pee on the potty (when he feels like it or we remind him, but not consistently) but will not poop on the potty.
-He is starting at the YMCA this week. We are nervous how he will do because this will be his first time in a daycare situation, but I think he will love it and it will make things a lot easier on us while I am on bedrest.
-Bedtime is a struggle nowadays, he does not want to go to sleep in his bed and it takes at least an hour of him sneaking in and out of his room before he finally gives up and goes to bed... We are working on it!
-He tells us everyday that we are his "best friend"
-He loves to build "birdie houses" right now because of an episode he saw on Mickey Mouse, and he also loves to turn anything that resembles a stick into a "sword" so he can slay dragons. He has a great imagination.
-He hates clothes and will take them within 10 minutes of walking into the house. He will not sleep with pajamas on and we have to fight to get him dressed most mornings.



 

"Reading" his birthday card



 

"It says it's my birthday, and I need to put my clothes on,

and I done eating, and we need to open these presents."

27 weeks and good news!

I had an ultrasound yesterday and after looking at a (healthy and perfect) baby, they measured my cervical length. It went up to 2.4cm (it was 2.2 when I got admitted!) and no funneling when they did fundal pressure. The cervix is dynamic and can change in size but usually not by THAT much. Everyone was pretty surprised! And I was so happy to finally get good news after laying in bed for 2 weeks. The doctor came in afterwards and said that if I stay stable (no more contractions) and my cervical length is still good on Saturday that they will let me go home. I was so surprised and so excited. The procardia seems to be working now that I'm taking it every 4 hours, though I get crampy after about 3. But since they are no longer changing my cervix the doctor thinks I can do strict bedrest at home and come in every week for cervical lengths.

Cal turns 3 tomorrow and I want so so badly to be at home as a family on his birthday. I am praying everything looks good tomorrow. The thought of another week (or more) in here is kind of unbearable at this point... Fingers crossed!!

Day #14

I've officially been in the hospital for 2 weeks. It is dragging by but I'm glad to still be pregnant. Ultrasound last Friday showed that cervix is now 1.05 (down from 1.5). They did "fundal pressure" during the ultrasound' which means they pushed on my belly to simulate a contraction, and my cervix showed funneling (opening from the inside) down to 0.7cm. So not the greatest news. But baby girl still looks great. Her biophysical profile was 6 out of 8, which is expected for a 27 weeker. They measure fluid, movement, "breathing" or practicing using her lungs, and heart rate. The only thing she didn't get points for was practicing breathing, which is expected at this point. We saw her do it a few times but not for the 30 seconds required to get "points" for. They did not do a weight estimate this week. Still continuing the same plan of care for now. I still contract every night around 7 or 8. Tonight they were a little more uncomfortable than usual but they gave me my Procardia early and they stopped.

I got to see Calvin twice this weekend and again yesterday. He likes to visit me in the "hops-ital." He has been telling everyone about his Mickey Mouse birthday and I am allowed to throw him a party here on Saturday in the atrium. I am so excited to spend his birthday with him. I can't believe he's going to be 3 years old... He always cracks the nurses up when he visits, he is such a little entertainer. He loves that he can order food to the room. I got him some sausage yesterday and when it was gone he kept asking for more and I told him that it was all gone. He said "I will press those buttons on that phone and I will ask for more sausage." :)

26 weeks!

I am 26 weeks pregnant today! I have been in the hospital for 10 days now. Last night was another Nubain/Phenergen night. I had contractions every 2-3 minutes for 2 hours straight and the Procardia didn't slow them down so I had the option of taking the Nubain and Phenergen or restarting Mag. I do not want to be on Mag again and luckily the Nubain and Phenergen stopped them (and again knocked me out for the rest of the night). I have had a headache for the last two days but it's just a side effect of the Procardia, and it's the least of my worries I only had a few contractions today. Dr. Wagner decided to take me off of the TOCO (contraction monitor) continuously, so now I am on it for an hour, 3 times a day. We are also listening to baby for 15 minutes, 3 times a day. I can put myself on the contraction monitor at anytime that I think I'm having them as well. It makes me nervous at night though because I sleep through them sometimes. We will see what the ultrasound shows tomorrow, those orders may change after that. I am happy to have had a couple breaks from hospital food the last two days. I had Panera and Noodles and Co for lunch. I am so sick of hospital food and I haven't had much of an appetite (which is a big change for me, this little girl has had me eating nonstop since the beginning of my second trimester!)

Calvin came and visited me today. He had a doctor's appointment because he has impetigo again. He was so energetic and funny. He talks nonstop and loves making everyone laugh. When he left, he put a sticker on my nose and kissed me and said "I love you sticker nose!" We all cracked up so when he was walking out he turned around and said "See you later sticker nose!" Silly little boy... I miss him so much. Taking it one day at a time though.

I will update everyone after the ultrasound tomorrow! Praying for good news.