30 + 1

Well, I've been home since Monday with very little to show for myself. My mom and aunt got here on Wednesday; my aunt flew back Thursday and my mom will stay through next Wednesday.

It has been so nice to have people here. The nursery went from a bunch of boxes and stacks of unwashed clothes to a place a baby can call home. Our nephew is about a year older than our baby will be, so we have an abundance of clothes, jammies, hats, etc in newborn and 0-3 month sizes.

Food is getting cooked, laundry done, and I'm not doing any of it. I'm very thankful! I have been able to write lesson plans, record video lessons, and keep up with my students, which has been nice. Technology is amazing!

I'm also thankful for each Thursday. Yesterday was 30 weeks and each Thursday feels like an accomplishment.

I started a scarf yesterday for the baby. If all goes as planned, it will have a turtle on it. I haven't knitted in 10 years but it seems somewhat akin to riding a bike. Thanks to janet and Hannah for the yarn and the book!

And some more news

It was bound to come out eventually...we had too many ultrasounds and one ultrasound tech slipped up while talking to herself...we found out that we're going to be welcoming a baby boy into the world, whenever it's time for him to come.  We are very surprised and excited and now know we have a little less uncertainty in our lives.

Nanaa was happy to welcome her favorite cuddle buddy home, though we're still working on the you-can't-sit-on-mom's-belly idea.  So far she's gotten around that by sitting on my chest, but B was able to redirect her to cuddle next to me while I took my nap.

Sharing the news

After a couple phone calls, I had to take a nap.

Home!

I got released from the hospital this afternoon.  It feels great to be home on the couch in the care of B instead of in an uncomfortable hospital bed, albeit in the care of some great nurses.

We had some really good news today.  The ultrasound showed that the baby is weighing in at 3 lbs 2 oz.  It was a full anatomy ultrasound again (like the one we had done at 21 weeks) because I was going to be seeing the high risk specialist and they like to have their own people do the ultrasound.  So we went through the 4 chamber heart (beating at a steady rate), all the organs, and the bones and stuff.  It took so long and I was really groggy from the medication that I almost fell asleep!  But I didn't.  At one point I got to see the baby's hand move and feel it punch me at the same time.  That was pretty cool!

After the ultrasound, I met with the doctor who reviewed my chart.  She had only good news.  My cervix was actually looking better than it had been on Friday, which she said was not unusual, since on Friday the baby might have been putting more pressure on it.  She thought that I am just having a stair step like delivery, where contractions come on but abate regularly until it's time for the baby to come.  She said that after a couple weeks at home, she recommends that I go back to work as long as I don't overexert myself physically.  I can actually sit in the back on my classroom with an ipad and have it project on the screen, so that will probably be my plan once I go back. (if I do).  This doctor said that if the baby is going to come, it's going to come, and I shouldn't worry that I'm actually going to cause the labor (within reasonable limits).  She said that the baby looks healthy and big enough and since we were able to get the shots for the lungs in there, that she won't be worried if I came in tomorrow to deliver.  Of course it's better the longer I can go, and the fewer complications and less time in the hospital, the better, but she made me feel very assured that our baby will be fine.

My regular doctor met with her and came up with the game plan, which is to be on "modified" bed rest this week, meaning I can get up and shower and do some light cooking, and by the weekend go on a 10-15 minute walk per day.  I have an appointment for Monday of next week to go back in for an ultrasound and a check up, and if things still look good at that time, they'll recommend me ramping up my activity next week with the plan to get back to work the week after.

B came to get me, and on our way out we waited for the elevator.  Getting off the elevator was a team of airlifters who were coming for a baby; the nurse who was taking us out said "are you here for the neonatal blah blah blah" and they said yes and she told them where to go.  She said that the baby who had been born was even earlier than ours is now, and very touch and go.  It made us feel really lucky.

During my stay, I got to visit with Sasha and with my mom's cousin Faith, who both came to see me in the past 24 hours.  Sasha brought me California Pizza Kitchen and Faith brought me a chocolate milkshake.  Both were very much appreciated, and it was so nice to just visit with them and help pass the time that way.  Again, all the support has been very much appreciated and reassuring.  Thanks to you all so much!

29+3 PM

Brett here. Quick update that Kari hasn't had any contractions in about 6 hours, since going on the indomethacin. See image below. Also, she got to go outside in a wheelchair, and now has shower privileges, in addition to bathroom privileges.

Sunday afternoon

My contractions have slowed more but are still happening; had four in an hour last hour.  My doctor decided to add a second medication, indomethacin, which they can only try until 32 weeks.  It's a 2 day course, then I'll be back to just the Procardia.  One of the side effects of indomethacin is reduced amount of amniotic fluid, so I'm hydrating like crazy and thankful that on my Friday ultrasound, baby B had plenty of amniotic fluid.  It should build back up after I'm finished with the course.

They've decided to keep me another day for observation to see how the new drug does.  Tomorrow, some high risk specialists will be here from the University Hospital and will see me.  They will also conduct another ultrasound to check on my cervix and the amniotic fluid.  The doctor is hopeful that I'll be able to go home tomorrow evening.

I get to take a shower this afternoon, and a wheelchair ride to go outside and get some fresh air is supposedly in the works.  I haven't left the room since Friday afternoon, so I'm very excited about this.  B is going to make a run home soon to get me a change of clothes and to check on Nanaa.  He's going to go to work tomorrow morning at least.  He'll probably work from home Tuesday and Wednesday, and then my mom is coming on Thursday to stay with us and help me out for awhile.

If anyone has read any good books lately, I'd love recommendations.  Also, any recommendations for Netflix movies or tv shows, or tv shows on Hulu would be great!  Love to you all.

29+3, AM

29 weeks, 3 days, morning update:

B writing here.

Everyone slept really well last night with the time change, except the overnight nurse, whose 12-hour shift became 13 hours, then became indefinite because she got called into a labor delivery right as she was getting out.  Big thanks to all our hard-working nurse and doctor friends out there.

The monitor showed that K had a few contractions overnight, but not enough to alert the Doctor.  K has still yet to feel any of them herself.

Then in the past hour she had 6. That is more than the Dr is comfortable with, but they're blaming it on being the end of that medicine dose.  The contraction-slowing pill is called Procardia, which is also a blood pressure med I guess.  She just got the next dose right and went 15min without a contraction, and that's where we're at now. They've decided to give her "bathroom privileges." So we'll see how she does walking around a little bit. There was talk of possibly sending her home today, but it will depend on how she does this afternoon.

K is excited to get out of bed for the first time since Friday afternoon, but I think she'd take issue with telling a pregnant woman it's a "privilege" to make all those bathroom trips on her own again. :)

Thanks for all the well-wishes everyone. Makes family and friends seem close, even if physically far away.

BB + KB + bB

A Halloween Fright

Hi all.  It has been a busy 24 hours in Bridgelandia.

I had a routine OB appointment yesterday afternoon, where I mentioned a few things that worried the doctor.  After an exam, an ultrasound, and a fetal fibronectin test, it was determined that I was at risk for pre-term labor. I'm currently at 29 weeks (and 2 days).  The ultrasound also showed that the baby has plenty of amniotic fluid and doesn't appear to be in distress.  Although it was a scary circumstance, I felt lucky for the chance to see the baby again -- got to see the brain hemispheres really closely and got a good look at the face.

I was admitted to the hospital and B got here from work within 5 minutes of me.  I was immediately hooked up to two monitors; one checking the baby and one monitoring my uterus for signs of contractions.  I was given a shot of steroids for the baby's lungs and got my second shot two hours ago.  At first, the baby sounded great and my uterus wasn't doing anything...until I sat up to eat dinner.  Then, even though I couldn't feel it, my uterus started contracting.  The monitor showed regular contractions, at their height about 6 minutes apart.  Anything more than 4 in an hour is bad news at this stage.  The nurse came in immediately and hooked me up to an IV with fluids because sometimes just being hydrated helps slow contractions.  They got closer together though so the doctor started me on magnesium sulfate to stop contractions.

Luckily, between getting the IV started and the magnesium going, B ran home to grab some stuff for staying overnight.  The first 15 minutes on magnesium were really rough and I'm glad he wasn't here for that; I felt like I was on fire and couldn't get comfortable.  The nurses here helped immensely with my symptoms and my doctor went to get cold washcloths because the nurses were so busy.  When B got back I was finally situated and comfortable, though nauseous.  We stayed up until maybe 11 and then slept, there is a sleeper sofa in our room so B could stay with me...it was a long night with a bad spell in the middle, but B and the nurse helped me through it, and my contractions halted and they were able to reduce my dosage of magnesium which made me feel much better.  After 24 hours of little to no uterine activity, and my dosage of magnesium sulfate stepping down, they've taken me off the meds entirely and now we're just waiting to see if the contractions will remain stopped.  I haven't been allowed to stand up since 6 pm yesterday; they make sure of that by putting in a catheter.  At first, I was grateful to not have to get up to go to the bathroom, but now I'd give anything to take a spin around the hallway.

Since going off the magnesium, I had a few contractions, so now I'm on a pill that will hopefully keep things calm.  We both forgot the name of it.  I'll take it until 32 weeks.  Tomorrow morning the goal is to take the catheter out and let me walk around a bit to see if that changes uterine activity.

Assuming this medication works and we're not meeting our very tiny baby (if it's on schedule, it's the size of a butternut squash and weighs 2.5 pounds) in the next few days, I'm definitely going to be on bed rest for the next week, and likely longer.  We won't be traveling home as planned for Thanksgiving.  We'll take this all one day at a time, knowing that each day inside is a big bonus for the baby's development, particularly the lungs, putting on fat for warmth, and brain development.  I'm sorry that we haven't been able to reach everyone individually to tell them personally, but stay tuned for updates and know that we are touched by your support.  We feel very fortunate to have all of your in our lives and especially to have each other.  Every day an adventure.

Spirits were high when we first arrived

Needy Nanaa when B got home to grab stuff

Last night after getting connected to everything

Also, B thinks the baby pic is especially fitting for Halloween if you look at it vertically.  Do you see a lady? (probably a witch)  Happy Halloween!