What a week!

Oh my! I don't even know where to begin.  This week has been one of the most intense in my pregnancy.  It has been full of firsts, set backs, and scary situations. On Wednesday we had our follow up appointment with Dr. Gonzales. We began, a usual, with an ultrasound to check the little ones heart rates and fluid levels.  They got high praise and we were feeling pretty good until they checked my cervix.  I'd gone down again, to a scary .43 cm cervical length.  Less than half a centimeter!  Dr. Gonzales came in and informed me that we would go ahead and do the first steroid shot to help develop the babies' lungs then I would return the following day for the second shot and a fetal fibronectin test.  

That night I slept maybe two hours.  I could not shut down and sleep!  I did a lot of praying and thinking. I mulled over the news we'd gotten.  My back started aching and my Braxton hicks contractions escalated. By morning I was a nervous wreck. Donny left for work and I tried to rest, but I couldn't shake the feeling that those backache pains and that frequent tightness in my belly were not good.  I even thought I felt a tiny fluid trickle. I called my OB nurse several times until right at 8:30 (when the office actually opens- I told you I was a nervous wreck) I was able to leave a message. I called Mom and ended up bawling on the phone to her. I called Donny and asked 

 to come home. The OB nurse returned my call at that point.  She had worked it out for me to come straight in to Dr. Gonzales' office.  

When Donny got home, I threw on a dress and shoes, grabbed my purse, and waddled to the car.  We rode in tense, mostly silence to the hospital. I imagine all the scary scenarios that were whirling around my mind were tormenting Donny too.  We pulled into the valet parking and an attendant helped wheel me to the doctor's office.  They found me an empty exam room to lie down in until an ultrasound room became available.  Ginger, Dr. Gonzales' nurse practitioner came in and listed to my symptoms, she said that we would go ahead with the fetal fibronectin test and give the second steroid shot, then I would be admitted to the hospital.  

A fetal fibronectin test is a swab test of the cervical fluid looking for a substance that can be found before labor.  That substance, fetal fibronectin, is like a glue that connects the amniotic sack to the uterus. It is present in cervical fluid early in pregnancy and then again late in pregnancy before delivery.  If the test is negative then the pregnancy will last a while longer.  If it is positive 2/3 deliver in the next couple of weeks, 1/3 deliver later.  A negative test is actually more telling than a positive test.  

We got into an ultrasound room and checked the babies -great as usual. Then I got in the stirrups and the did the swab (I HATE SPECULUMS).  Finally, I got the second steroid shot. After that I was loaded into a wheelchair no wheeled to my new temporary home on the sixth floor in High Risk OB.  In the room I donned a lovely hospital gown (read this dripping with sarcasm), had a contraction monitor strapped around my big belly, and added a pair of blue compression stockings.  I was given pills(I don't remember what they were called) to relax my uterus and hooked up to IV fluids.  

Every nurse we interacted with was wonderful. They did everything possible to make us feel at home and supported. The fluids made me balloon up, have trouble breathing, and made my heart work even harder to move the already high volume of blood around my body.  My back and stomach muscles ached.  Getting up to go to the bathroom was an ordeal of unplugging the IV pole, disconnecting the contractions monitor cord, and detaching the air hoses to the compression stockings.  I had to have Donny steady me and manage the IV pole as I walked.  

Needless to say we didn't sleep well that night. Every time I had to go to the bathroom I had to wake Donny.  My monitors beeped for paper refills, the stockings alarmed if we didn't reconnect quickly enough, and when the IV bag ran low it dinged too.  Dr. Routman, another OB from Dr. Straughn's practice, stopped by the next morning and informed us that our fetal fibronectin test had come back positive.  Not exactly what we wanted to hear, especially since Dr. Dr. Straughn was out of town until Monday. Dr. Gonzales came to check on the babies with a portable ultrasound.  They scored their usual A+ from him, then he turned his attention to me, asking questions about my treatment so far.  He frowned at the fluid bag on the IV pole, "why is she getting fluids?" The nurse explained that it was to make sure I didn't dehydrate and  I added that I'd had three bags of fluids. "No, no, no." He said as he shook his head, "she is already having to deal with extra blood volume from the babies.  She is pumping extra blood.  Take her off the fluids, they are making her heart work too hard!"

Well, over the next couple couple of days as my body got rid of the extra fluid in my started to feel much better.  My contraction monitor came off.  I was allowed to take a shower (with help). The IV port came out.  I am still getting daily ultrasounds (Dr. Gonzales even made special trips in over the weekend to check the babies). I'm feeling pretty good, eating like a pig, and sleeping a lot.  This room will be my new residence until the babies arrive, but I just feel blessed to be surrounded with such an amazing support team, all rooting for healthy babies.  Thank you for your prayers, messages, meals, and support! Let's help these Mottlets grow and stay put for several more weeks!