About a month ago I thought I had the best pregnancy. The day I hit the second trimester my nausea went away completely. I felt great (just the normal tiredness) and was able to get everything done around the house and take care of Kinsey at the same time. Then a few weeks ago I saw a perinatologist (who specializes in high-risk pregnancies) for the second time and he was concerned that my cervix was shortening (it started at 3 cm and went down to 2.6 cm in 3 weeks). For those of you who don't know what this means, after the cervix shortens to a certain point it then dilates and labor begins. Clearly no one wanted this to happen as the babies would not survive or would have many health problems. The perinatologist decided to put me on modified bed rest (aka as little activity as possible with a 1 year old) and 2 medications. In just one week on this regimen my cervix grew to 3.8 cm. Wahoo!! I was even given permission to go to my sister's wedding in Florida the next day.
Kinsey and I got back from Florida on November 11th and I was scheduled to see the perinatologist the next day to see how my cervix was doing. Although I got permission to go to Florida, I was still anxious to get my cervix measured again because I felt like I overdid the "bed rest" in Florida a little. To my dismay, I received a voicemail saying my specialist did not accept my new insurance. I met with my OB last Friday and we were trying to find a new specialist ASAP that would work with my insurance as well as someone who is affiliated with a hospital my OB can deliver. He found someone who could meet with me on Wednesday morning (today).
So this morning I dropped Kinsey off at a helpful friend's house and headed out to my check-up without Eric since he has been very busy lately. After all, it was just going to be an ultrasound to check my cervix length. As far as we knew, the babies were doing great and the only concern was me going into labor way too early. A tech measured my cervix and it was a 2.9. I was happy with that number because it didn't go down too low. Then I met my new perinatologist, Dr. Finley, who said maybe 2 or 3 things to me the entire time. He was checking out some other stuff with the babies and was very focused on the ultrasound. I wasn't a fan of Dr. Finley by his first impression.
During the ultrasound I got really hot and felt like I was going to pass out. Dr. Finley had me move to my side and continued the ultrasound while the nurse handed me a wet washcloth. It still took awhile for the sick and hot feeling to pass, but eventually it did...slowly. The doctor had me move to my other side to get a better angle for the ultrasound and before I knew it I heard him say something about the heart rate of Baby A being really low. He told the nurse to get a wheelchair and said I could put my pants back on. Yup, I was naked from the waist down. I watched him leave the room and waited a second for someone to close the door so I could put my pants on. No one closed the door and a second later the wheelchair was in my room. Dr. Finley said there was no time for pants and he rushed me into the chair and booked it out of the room to a labor and delivery room. I held it together pretty well because everything was happening so fast. In the elevator I asked Dr. Finley how low the heart rate was and he said it was 100 when it should be 110 to 160. I started tearing up but was still trying not to cry. I was so worried about my baby and my pregnancy emotions have been getting the best of me this past week.
When I entered the labor and delivery room I was placed in the bed and there were 7 or 8 people working fast around me, trying to put monitors on my stomach, and asking me if I had leaked fluid (which I hadn't). I heard Dr. Finley say the heart rate was 70-100 so maybe he was sparing my feelings before. The possibility of giving birth today was brought up. I even met the doctor who would deliver if my baby's heart rate didn't go back up. That's probably when I lost it. My whole body shook for about a half hour. The tears wouldn't stop and I called Eric to have him come to the hospital in case we were having our babies today. People kept coming and going and I discovered that Baby A barely had any fluid around her. That's why they were asking if I leaked anything. So there were two issues going on with our baby girl--a low heart rate and no fluid to protect her. Baby B was doing fine, so the question is, "At what point do you intervene if one baby is thriving and the other is not?" I'm 24 weeks and 6 days today, which is still very early to deliver. Although both babies would probably survive, they would have a lot of problems.
After Eric arrived, the baby's heart rate had stabilized and they admitted me at Overland Park Regional. I was supposed to deliver at Shawnee Mission, but I have learned that things never go as planned. It's probably for the best since they have the highest level of NICU here. My babies are currently being monitored as well as my contractions which I don't have yet. I'm told that I'll be here "awhile." Whenever I ask what "awhile" means, no one can give me a straight answer. It's just too early to tell.
Today was the longest I've been away from Kinsey and I missed her like crazy. She was more confused about where I was when she visited then to spoil me with hugs and kisses. Maybe tomorrow.
She also really loves my water bottle.
Eric's mom flew in tonight to take care of Kinsey while I'm in the hospital. I'm sure I'll still be here for Thanksgiving but I'm really hoping I won't be here as long as Christmas. I'm already uncomfortable in this hard hospital bed and bored. We appreciate any prayers sent our way!! And thank you to our neighbors who watched Kinsey today as well as my siblings for the flowers :)
When I entered the labor and delivery room I was placed in the bed and there were 7 or 8 people working fast around me, trying to put monitors on my stomach, and asking me if I had leaked fluid (which I hadn't). I heard Dr. Finley say the heart rate was 70-100 so maybe he was sparing my feelings before. The possibility of giving birth today was brought up. I even met the doctor who would deliver if my baby's heart rate didn't go back up. That's probably when I lost it. My whole body shook for about a half hour. The tears wouldn't stop and I called Eric to have him come to the hospital in case we were having our babies today. People kept coming and going and I discovered that Baby A barely had any fluid around her. That's why they were asking if I leaked anything. So there were two issues going on with our baby girl--a low heart rate and no fluid to protect her. Baby B was doing fine, so the question is, "At what point do you intervene if one baby is thriving and the other is not?" I'm 24 weeks and 6 days today, which is still very early to deliver. Although both babies would probably survive, they would have a lot of problems.
After Eric arrived, the baby's heart rate had stabilized and they admitted me at Overland Park Regional. I was supposed to deliver at Shawnee Mission, but I have learned that things never go as planned. It's probably for the best since they have the highest level of NICU here. My babies are currently being monitored as well as my contractions which I don't have yet. I'm told that I'll be here "awhile." Whenever I ask what "awhile" means, no one can give me a straight answer. It's just too early to tell.
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| All strapped up. |
We're hoping the ibuprofen I was on is what caused the lack of fluid. If that's the case, then maybe Baby A's heart beat keeps dipping because she doesn't have enough padding. This is the best case scenario.
1 comment:
I don't know you, but I did hospital bed rest and they gave me an egg carton pad to put on top of that hard hospital bed. Maybe you can make a request? Good luck!
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