Hospital Trip and Baby Shower

So I've had an eventful past couple of days. This morning I was just drifting off to sleep around 2:30 when I started have contractions. I also discovered that my mucus plug had fallen out. So I lay in bed for a couple of hours timing the contractions (every ten minutes) wondering what I should do. As the contractions became more frequent I woke Mike up around 4:30. I called the doctor and she said it was up to me if I wanted to go into labor and delivery. They wouldn't stop labor since I was past 34 weeks, so I might want to see if the contractions intensify. I waited another couple of hours and they got stronger and closer together. So we called Kelsey (sorry for the early morning wake up!) and she came out to watch Emma. At that point the contractions were 3 minutes apart and I could hardly breathe through them. It was a bit scary going in wondering if the baby was coming today. So I check in and get all hooked up to the monitors and of course the contractions slow down. They monitor me for a few hours, see that I'm not dilating, and then send me home. Of course I'm still having random painful contractions, so it's been a long day. I was told to expect to most likely be back in real labor within the week, so we shall see what happens.

In other news, our church family threw us a baby shower this past Sunday. Basically it was a diaper shower. We are trying to use mostly cloth diapers this time around. And while cloth diapers are cheaper than disposable over time, the initial investment can be overwhelming. So the group pooled resources and got us set up with a decent start of cloth diapers. It was really cool to be taken care of that way and we had a fun time at the party. The pictures are of a game to teach Mike and Luke how to use the old school style cloth diapers (not what I am using!) and Char's disturbing test of their proficiency. Thanks all for the shower!

Belly Pic

Me looking huge wearing the monitor thingy.

32 Week update

So I made it to 32 weeks which is a really good thing. Babies born at this point have a really good chance of survival without longterm complications. The big benchmark/goal is 34 weeks (Emma was born at 34 weeks to the day). The doctors say they won't do much to stop labor after that point.

Anyway I went in for another ultrasound today and that turned into a rather interesting experience. I go to the maternal/fetal specialists for my ultrasound so it's way more in depth each time than a typical one. But of course as I went in today, I was feeling out of breath and my heat was pounding - normal life these days. But while I was there I started feeling much worse. I got dizzy, nauseated, and my heart rate shot up. I could hardly breathe and had to interrupt the ultrasound a few times to stabilize myself. This of course worried the nurses and doctors. Then we saw through the ultrasound that the baby is measuring big - really big for 32 weeks. He weighs approximately 6 pounds already and looks closer to 35 weeks. (no wonder I feel huge and my maternity clothes are getting small). And there is a ton of extra amniotic fluid (which is kinda weird since I am not diabetic). This is good in a sense because of all the preterm labor issues, but bad in regard to how my body will be able to handle getting even bigger with all the heart issues I am having.

The doctor immediately checked me into a hospital room (ultrasound is right next to labor and delivery) to do a stress monitoring test on the baby. So I got hooked up to five different machines meant to monitor both my and the baby's vital signs. Everything looked okay, especially once my heart rate started going down. But my resting heart rate was still elevated, so the doctor is talking to my other doctors about getting me on drugs to reduce it (yes I have multiple doctors for all this, it's kinda crazy). He says the pregnancy (since the baby is a boy) needs to go at least 3 more weeks, but that he is not sure if my body can take that or be able to deliver safely. So I am waiting to hear if the doctors think I can handle the drugs and if that will actually help with anything. Exciting times. Oh and Mike and Emma were there the whole time. Emma was a tad confused by the whole thing, but enjoyed watching cartoons in the hospital room. And so the pregnancy adventure continues...