Hospital stint #2

I don’t know that I can really recap everything that’s happened in the last 48 hours… or if I really want to. But here’s the basic idea: I went to my Maternal Fetal Medicine appointment on Tuesday afternoon and found out that while my cervix was measuring around 1.2 cm, it went down to around .8 if I had a contraction, which I (luckily) had during the exam. If they wouldn’t have seen that, I don’t know what would have happened. So I was admitted to the hospital right away. They ended up doing steroid shots to help mature the boys lungs just in case I went into labor anytime soon. From what I understand, they do that three times total. I got a two doses over the time I’ve been here, so I will get one more right before we deliver (which could still be months away at this point). They also started me on a magnesium drip to help calm my angry uterus, which was the absolute worst part of all of this. I felt like I had the flu- hot flashes, moments of nausea, tired to the point that I couldn’t even open my eyes and focus on things, or even talk ( and you know it’s bad if I can’t talk!!).  I had to use a bed pan, which meant every time I had to go to the bathroom, I had to page the nurse and have her help me. My pride went WAY out the window with that!! They are pumping me full of fluids and the little guys are stomping and punching my bladder, so I had to pee every hour on the hour. My awesome overnight nurse, Lisa, was super sweet and was always more than happy to help me. Thank goodness for her. Kim, the daytime nurse, is still very nice but not quite as warm as Lisa was. I’m going to be here into next week, so I’m sure I’ll learn lots of names around here. I digress. I got about 45 minutes of sleep over night, mainly because I would just settle in and then one of the many things I was hooked up to (inflatable tubes that went over my legs for circulation, BP cuff, IV and Mg drip, and fetal monitor) would start beeping for one reason or another. Or the boys would wake up and start kicking, which would cause a contraction or at least keep me awake. Or it would be time for me to take meds. On and on. Either way, I finally got another 45 minute stretch of time around 8 a.m. which made me feel better. I’m much more awake now because the meds are wearing off and I think it’s just lifting my spirits in general. I just hope I can keep this up. The boys are doing fine, and growing well- my belly button popped out since I’ve been here. I’m so glad they are growing. As usual, I just hope my body will comply! No clue what we are in for at this point, but if I can at least make it to week 28, that is my main goal right now. I’ve heard encouraging stories about babies born here at 24 and 25 weeks that have been perfectly healthy after a few months in the NICU, which is very reassuring. I think we are right where we need to be. I know that these little Hetrick boys are very strong already, and I have reason to believe that if they were to come out anytime in the very near future, they would fight like hell to stay alive. Before I forget: I got a negative result on the fFN (Fetal Fibronectin) test, which measures whether or not the body is preparing for labor. Scoring negative is good because that means that my body is not showing signs of that right now, so I’m very glad to have ‘failed’ that test. J I failed my first glucose test so I get to take another one in the next few days to find out if I have gestational diabetes or not. Anyway, things are going fairly well for being stuck in the hospital. My doctors are awesome, and I feel blessed that I’m still pregnant and in good hands. And I’ve had so much love and support from family and friends that it’s hard not to be encouraged by everything, not matter how many tests they run on me or how much I feel like human pin cushion. Totally worth it, and it’s only temporary. More soon!

-Ash