Baby/life update: I will NOT leave my chair until this IS completed!!!

Ok, so the last week has been hectic.  On Monday afternoon I swore I would complete a blog about the weekend.  At that point I was on bed rest and figured I would use my lap top.  Well... the keyboard kept going whacky and totally lost my post four times when it was half way done!  I got so frustrated I said to heck with it. 

I have been on my regular computer a few times since then, checking blogs etc. but could not find the urge/energy to re-start said post.  Today I am going to update everyone and will NOT get up till I am done!!  (well, unless I have to pee since I am very very very pregnant and that happens every 10 min. or so)

So... last Sunday we went to hubby's families for a picnic in the afternoon.  It was a beautiful day.  His youngest brother grilled chicken which was delicious.  We got to bring home some for later and I NEVER GOT ONE PIECE... (thanks kids!!)  By late afternoon I was feeling contractions.  About every 10-15 minutes.  I wasn't worried.  This is about a month into braxton hicks and I have until May 22...

We left hubby's sister's house around 7 and headed home.  By this time the contractions had gotten closer.  About seven minutes.  It's a 45 min. drive to our house and I just kept an eye on them.  When we arrived home the elderly lady we help with had called and needed a repair done to her gate.  Hubby made her up a plate to take over and headed that way about 8:30.  I had him take my cell with him and told him I was going to lay down because the contractions were getting annoying and laying down should stop them.  Well, for an hour I tracked them.  Lying down in the bed they became three minutes apart.  We are 45 minutes from the hospital. (sometimes it seems like we are 45 minutes from everywhere).  I called hubby and asked him to head home.  I told him we better head in.  When get got here I told him I was going to take my bag and baby's bag because surely if I had them I wouldn't need them and they would send me home.... or so I thought.

 

When we arrived they hooked up IV's, monitors etc. to the point that going to the bathroom became quite the feat with all the attachments I had to drag behind me!  I had started to dilate but only 1/2 cm.  They watched the contractions on the monitor and they just were not going away.  My doc was out of town (of course) so they called in the doctor she had covering for her.  He gave me a shot to stop the contractions (at this point I am supposedly 34 weeks 3 days), he decided to keep me overnight and give me a steroid shot for baby just in case he insisted on coming into the world and I would need another one 24 hours later.  Therefore, I could count on staying till Tuesday.

This shocked me a bit but they know what they are doing.  I was up and down, literally, all night.  They were pumping fluids in me and they go through a pregnant woman faster than the road runner can say "beep beep".   The next a.m. they brought breakfast at 7:30.  Hubby called into work in order to stay with me and see what was going to happen.  By 7:30 contractions had started again and they had given me another shot to stop them.

--- I will digress here a moment to tell you that the steroid shot in the butt was very painful.  At which point I asked the nurse "how does your shooting me in the ass help my baby's lungs?"   She explained it all but I was just being a smart mouth ---

They told me about 8 doc  had ordered an ultrasound to see if baby had moved to the correct positions (he was breech at 28 weeks) and check his size (he was measuring 2 weeks bigger at that appt. and my belly is still measuring big).  They brought my lunch at 11:30.  The nurse lifted the lid and remarked "WOW! You can actually tell what it is"  -- this tends to scare the crap out of a person!!!!!!  I got two bites in me (I had an IV in my right hand so doing ANYTHING was interesting) when the other nurse came in and said "they are ready to take you to ultrasound"   of course they are.... I'm eating!!!!  It was actually good....

So, we go down to ultrasound and meet the tech who looks like she could be my daughter.  We ask if we can have a picture since we haven't gotten ANY from our ultrasounds except at 6 weeks!!  She said "no it's against policy to give them out if it is done as an emergency".  Well... sorrrryyyy we asked!  So she proceeds to do the 45 min. exam without saying much.  At the beginning I told her he would probably measure about 2 weeks bigger based on his last ultrasound.   When she finally got done she says ..." wellll.....  he isn't measuring 2 weeks bigger.  He is measuring 4 weeks!"  So here I was 34 weeks 3 days pregnant and my son is measuring 38 weeks and 4 days!  So I asked her to convert that to a weight.  She explained it can be off 1 lb either way and for my sake she hopes it is in the lower direction because he was measuring 7 lbs 11 oz!!!!!!  So... he could be 6lbs 11 oz up to 8 lbs 11 oz.  And I had FIVE.. count them 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 WEEKS to go!!!

They took me back to my room, hubby got my lunch heated up and the nurse came in.  "well, hon, ultrasound looks great you are going home." 

At this point arrangements had been made to stay.... I asked about the steroid shot that I NEEDED in 24 hours.  She said that since I had a reg. appt. with my doctor on Tuesday a.m. they would let her make that decision.  They sent me home with a prescription for the meds they had been giving me in shot form (which made my heart race horribly) in a pill form to keep contractions at bay. The nurse mentioned my doc might take me off these the next a.m. which led me to believe my doc wouldn't have given them to me in the first place and I needed to look them up online.  When we got home hubby got me settled in bed with my laptop.  I called the pharmacy (it's about 3 pm) to make sure they had called in the prescriptions and was told they would be ready in 15 minutes.  Hubby waited an hour and took a cat nap.  Then ran down to get them.  They hadn't even started them yet.  I am supposed to have the meds at 5:30 on the dot.  My daughter has a job interview hubby has to take her to at 5 he is trying to get all this done.  Come to find out that pharmacy didn't have the one med I needed in stock.  They called next door to the pharmacy inside the grocery store and finally got them.  (I finally got to take the pill at 6:30) after reading all the precautions including "do not take if pregnant" I decided that would be my last dose. 

 

That night we had storms like mad.  Hubby went to work and I went in to the doc.  My daughter rode with me.  She immediately took me off that pill.  She said she only uses it in extreme cases and then ONLY if you are hospitalized and monitored b/c of the heart racing thing.  She then read my ultrasound results.  She said OMG!  He's already that big... even if you go to the smaller measurement he is already over a pound over the normal rate.  I asked about the second steroid shot and she laughed.  She said if they had known his size they wouldn't have given me the FIRST one (she knew he was big so if she had been there I probably wouldn't have had the first one).  She said the steroids can add weight to the baby!!!  YEEEEEE!!! Just what I wanted to hear!!! She then started going over ALL my previous ultrasounds and flipping through the calendar.  She decided I will not go past about the 6th of May.  If I go in labor before then fine, I'll have the baby, if not she will schedule to induce me!    THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU was all I could say.  I am sooooo uncomfortable!

 

The rest of this week has been pretty normal.  Laundry, cleaning, getting around for baby, napping and carting kids to and fro from here to there.  I will try to be better about daily updates.  I promise!

 

Oh... the shower went well.  Got quite a few cute outfits and diapers and wipes!  Under the crib is stacked with diapers!! :)  That's a good thing ... as Martha would say.