We've had a bit of a dramatic past few days:
I was really stiff and sore all day Monday, including some abdominal pain, but I attributed it to all the stairs and floaties from the weekend and thought nothing of it. I woke up Tuesday and all the other soreness was gone, except the lower abdominal pain. It wasn't awful, but I decided if it got worse or I still had it Wednesday, I'd call my doctor. I went to work on Tuesday, and around 4:00 I texted Mom to see if she thought it could just be growing/stretching pains or maybe something else and she advised me to call. So I called and my nurse said it could be stretching or possibly dehydration and to drink lots of water and try to take it easy, and call or come in if it got worse. By 6:30, I was having a hard time walking. So I called for a replacement and Justin came to take me to the ER. I went up to OB and they tested for a bladder infection and hooked me up to a uterine activity moniter and a fetal moniter. The nurses were having a hard time getting the baby's heartrate on the moniter and the Doppler, since it's still so tiny, was very active, and was turned the wrong way. So they finally decided since baby was so active, baby was fine and they gave up trying to get the heartrate. Lab results came back that I didn't quite have a bladder infection, but could develop one, so they gave me a liter of fluid over a couple of hours to try to flush it out. In the meantime, while the nurses were looking for baby, they noticed that I was starting to have contractions, which started after I got to the hospital. So then they gave me a shot of Tributeline (sp?), which is supposed to calm the smooth muscles and should help stop the contractions. The nurse also checked my cervix, and I wasn't dilated at all, which was good. The shot seemed to work, so when the IV was done around midnight, I was discharged, told to take it easy on Wednesday, and call if I had any pain. So we went home and I tried to get some sleep. I slept for maybe an hour before I started having alot of pain again and eventually woke Justin up with all my tossing and turning. He called the hospital and it just happened that my doctor was on the floor that night and he said to come in right away. They weren't concerned about it being a bladder thing anymore, since I'd been going to the bathroom frequently. So about 4:30am Wednesday we were back in OB, hooked up to moniters, and looking for baby. I was given another shot of Tributeline around 6am since the contractions weren't getting any better and they just kept an eye on me. Finally my 4th nurse of the ordeal found baby just long enough to get a heartrate, and it was in the 150s, which is great. So again, no worries about baby, just me! My doctor was busy delivering babies so he wasn't able to come in and see me, but the nurses did a great job of keeping him informed. They gave me some breakfast, and my doctor decided he wanted me to come in today to have a fetal fibronectin test done (I'll explain that in a bit), and when I felt comfortable, I could go home. By about 9:00, I finally dozed off for a hour or so, and woke up with no more contractions, just some very stiff and sore ab muscles. I was discharged again by 11, told to take it easy all day and drink lots of water and call if the contractions started again or if I had any other symptoms of early labor. One of my dear friends was already in the hospital after having her little girl on Monday, so we stopped to say hi and 2 of my best friends were there as well. Justin called in to work and we just vegged all day and tried to get some sleep. I woke up this morning feeling much better, only a little sore. We went in right away to have the fetal fibronectin test done and were told we'd get the results this afternoon. Basically, the fetal fibronectin test can tell you whether or not you're likely to deliver in the next 2 weeks. Basically, fetal fibronectin is the "glue" that holds baby to the uterus, and it should remain in the uterus from weeks 22-35. If it's dectected in vaginal secretions during that time, it means its leaking and could indicate the body is getting ready to deliver. If the test comes back negative, it mean there is a 99.2% chance you won't deliver in the next 2 weeks. If it's positive, extra precautions are taken and you basically wait and see. Mine came back negative! Yay! I do have to have this test done every 2 weeks until week 34, so we're now playing the rest of this pregnancy somewhat by ear. My doctor did have me take off work through the weekend, since I'm still a little sore, and that gives me time to recover and for things to settle down. Then, as long as I'm up to it and nothing happens before then, I should be able to go back to work on Monday.
Keep us in your prayers, I'll do my best to keep this updated as we go!
Michelle
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