It appears we might have blamed the wrong culprit for the contractions on Saturday. Trudging through the snow probably exasperated things, but after my ultrasound with the perinatologist yesterday morning, the cause of the contractions has become more clear. My AFI (amniotic fluid index) was up to 35 (it was 30 last week and anything above 20-25 is considered high). After the ultrasound, she connected me up to a monitor and found my contractions consistent at every 3 minutes. "I know you don't want to hear this, Jennie, but we need to check you in down the hall." (L&D - Labor & Delivery). Great. I got a shot of betamethasone to help mature baby's lungs (and another shot today) and they tried the Terbutaline shot again. This time it only worked for 30 minutes. After taking procardia and then upping the dose of that and still not seeing much of a reduction in contractions, my ob informed me he was keeping me there for the night.
So, after a night in L&D (trust me... those beds are meant for activities other than sleeping), I'm finally home with a prescription for Procardia and orders for bedrest. We now have to decide whether to do an amnio reduction on Monday to reduce the amount of fluid in my uterus. That could help in eliminating the contractions. But the risk is that it might break my water and cause me to go into labor. I'd really like to see if these meds will help with the contractions long enough to keep us from making that decision too early.
At least I'm home. Hospital bedrest stinks. I hate that I can't pick up Nathan, but if he'll climb up into my lap, at least we can snuggle. Mark will be home from Chicago late tomorrow night. We're blessed that by God's grace, my mom is here this week. After Mark returns, we'll start making plans for Nathan for next week.
Please continue to pray for a 2008 baby for us (2007 would be scary), preferably mid- to late-January. Thanks!
Pumpkin Patch 2018
6 years ago
5 comments:
I would love to play with Nathan next week! If you would like some help with anything, please let us know! I am CNA certified as of this past summer(thought about the whole nursing thing) and would love to help you guys any way we can. Please reach out to us for extra help! Are you Mark or Nathan allergic/intolerant to any foods?
No food allergies in our house, but heavy tomato stuff hasn't agreed with my stomach lately. Thanks for offering, Natalie. I know Nathan would love to spend time with you. Just give me a ring and let me know your schedule. You're a huge blessing to us!
Wow, Jennie...what a weekend you had...I will be praying that these contractions are reduced by the medicine and that baby Dickens hangs on for a few more weeks! Thanks for keeping us updated! Love, Kelly
Hi Jennie,
Thanks for sharing your heart so honestly. You may be tired of hearing "I have a friend who's son..." But we do have very dear friends whose 10 year old son has Downs. They have started a foundation called The Elisha Foundation. They live in Oregon and hold retreats for families with special needs children. Would you care if I send your blog onto them? Tamara's a great person to talk to and probably has a ton of info.
Cami
Your post hits way too close to home. I had a very similar experience to yours, except I was 25 weeks along when the preterm labor started and the docs made me stay in the hospital in Madison on bed-rest. I am wracking my brain to remember the drug they gave me for the preterm labor- it isn’t one of the drugs you have mentioned. I recall a side effect of this drug was reduced kidney function in the baby which, I was told, is not necessarily worrisome when your labor is due to excess amniotic fluid. That particular medication, together with the amnio fluid reductions (I had 7 or 8 reductions), kept me pregnant for another 11 weeks which was a big deal since my baby, like yours, needed surgery following birth for a duodenal atresia. If you have any questions about the reductions or otherwise, please feel free to contact me. I am thinking of you.
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