Well, I hope your celebration was more festive than ours... DB and I got to ring in the new year with Dick Clark this year... in a hospital room in Charleston. Certainly a year end "celebration" we will never forget! We did take time to make a quick video for our babies :)
So it turns out that I've been having contractions for almost two months - and had no idea! I actually wrote about them on this blog back in mid November! Well, at the time I just wrote about seeing the babies poke around in my belly... turns out that the reason I've been seeing my stomach raising and moving so dramatically was because I was contracting. So, from what I understand, I could see the babies because everything around them was tightening and they were more visible. Crazy!
Here come the details - kinda long :) But I did leave out a lot of the TMI!
On Tuesday I was re-reading one of my multiples books, and I got to the part about preterm labor and contractions. I'd read this info before, and my doctors have explained it to me many times, but for some reason when I read it on Tuesday I started to think... Plus, for some reason the part about first-time mothers not really knowing what to look for stuck with me :) So, we went in for our weekly shot on Wednesday at 9am, and I mentioned it to one of my doctors. She immediately put me on the monitor just to check everything out... and what do you know, I was having contractions every 7-10 minutes! What the?! From there, it got interesting...
So, my body is good, the other tests look good, we should be good! Right? Well, the contractions were still about every 10 minutes, so the risk of my body going into labor was still there even if it was low. We then started meds to decrease contractions - it's pretty cool, they're similar to meds for high blood pressure, from what I understand they help some of your major organs to relax - and I got a shot for the babies. This shot was the first thing I've recieved that really is specifically for their bodies, and not for mine. It helps their lungs get stronger, faster, just in case they come early. From what I understand, their underdeveloped lungs is one of the most scary things about babies coming early. (Okay, just a little TMI... after the last week, I literally have 3 needle holes on each hip! Shots in the bootie are okay because then you don't have to see the needle... but they're not kidding about it hurting! I can't even imagine getting this stuff shot into my arm!)
And then, the fun news... MUSC wants to see me. My doctors agree - if anything were to happen, I would need to be up there anyway, so off we go... in an ambulance! Yes, really! Go figure, the one thing DB actually found exciting about that day and he couldn't go with me. Poor guy! Honestly, it's not the most fun to ride in an ambulance, but the women who took care of me on the trip were awesome!
From here the story gets pretty simple... lots of monitoring the babies and me... an ultrasound to check out their movement, actions, fluids, etc... and lots of laying around. DB brought a few comforts from home, including photos of our dogs, a few books, and he even remembered clean underwear and toiletries :) At 7:30am on Thursday we are told that by that afternoon we'll know next steps... anything from being discharged today to being here for a while. Again, what?! This is so crazy because before being poked and prodded for the last day or so, I really thought I felt just fine!
Good news, by 2pm the contractions had slowed down, I got the follow-up shot for the babies lungs and a prescription for the meds to slow the contractions, and they sent us home :) YEA! Now it's off to a few days of recovery... lots of rest. Babies, big momma, and dad are all doing well :)
1 comment:
WOW! what a crazy couple of days. glad to hear you are holding on to those babies. every single day counts! rest, rest, rest! thinking about you and hoping things go amazingly well. let's see another belly shot soon!
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