by Jessica on December 17, 2009
First off, thank you all so much for your kind comments, it means so much to us that people are thinking about and praying for us and Knox!
Well, after a sleepless (literally) night on Procardia, the doctor came into to see me this morning. Basically, it was not working to stop the contractions, I will still getting them every five minutes this morning. So, they switched me over to Magnesium Sulfate through an IV. I can honestly say, that it was horrendous stuff. Right when they put it in, my hand where the IV is started to burn so bad I thought my vein would explode. I was instantaneously hot and felt horrible. I just cried, it’s so overwhelming to get pumped full of all of this medicine, have it not work, and worry about your baby all day long.
Luckily, the mag sulf. seems to be working, now. They are allowing me six contractions per hour, and I don’t think I’m having that many. I generally have them when my bladder is full or when I move too much. They are planning to give me another steroidal shot for Knox’s lungs this evening, then I have to stay in the hospital for another 24 hours. Hopefully, I will be out of here tomorrow if the contractions subside and my cervix hasn’t changed any more. They won’t check me again until the morning for fear of causing more contractions. I am unsure of where we’ll go from there, but I am sure bedrest would be in the picture for a while. I am praying so hard that my cervix hasn’t dilated any more because then I honestly don’t know what we’d have to do, other than staying in the hospital.
Right now, all I am hoping for is that Knox stays an inside baby for at least several more weeks!
by Jessica on December 17, 2009
Because I am dilating and effacing and writing this post from the hospital. I ended up calling the doctor’s office and setting up an appointment for an NST this afternoon. The contractions were still coming at around 6 or 7 an hour and were lasting for several minutes each time. I went in at four and got hooked up to the monitor. The nurse came back after 20 minutes and said “Well, you’re definitely contracting.” I had about seven contractions in the 20 minutes I was on the monitor. Guess they believed me at that point.
She told me the doctor would check my cervix to determine whether these were BH contractions or real ones. They did an fFN test first thing (still haven’t heard those results) and then she checked me. She asked “So you’ve never been dilated?” I told her no. “Not dilated at all?” I guessed at this point what was going on. I was dilated 1 cm and was 50% effaced. She said she was admitting me to the hospital overnight, trying to stop the contractions, and if they can, I can go home tomorrow.
Obviously, the second she left the room, I cried. I called Trevor immediately and he left work right then. They had me get an ultrasound of my cervical length, I think it was around 2.5 cm. Then, they sent me across the parking lot to the hospital. When I got to the hospital, they started an IV on me (not bad at all) and got me on fluids and an antibiotic. Then, they gave me a shot of steroids for Knox’s lungs into my thigh (again, not bad, I barely felt it) and started me on Procardia for the contractions. It’s in pill form and I have to say… not impressed. I am still having a lot of contractions at this point. I know they were starting off with something mild and will increase the med strength if needed.
I am here for tonight, and the doctor is supposed to come by and check me in the morning. Please say a prayer that Knox stays put for at least a few more weeks! I want to meet him, but not quite yet. This is definitely a very scary situation, but I am trying my best not to freak out and remain positive. I am hoping that my cervix has not changed at all tomorrow and they can figure out how to stop these contractions, which are obviously not BH. I am so, so glad that I was pushy and kept calling back. I knew something didn’t feel right, and I will always trust my instincts from this point forward. Stay put, Knox!!
