After two days of the T.F.C. movement (see previous post), I had a weekend to keep my feet up and drink plenty of water–but still had a lot of contractions. I started to feel very anxious about what my body was doing, so I called in sick for Monday the 10th and went to see my OB.

She was shocked that I had even considered going back to work & told me to take the WEEK off… then she arranged for me to see my perinatologist again. Eukie is still growing strong: he weighed in a hefty 1 lb, 5 oz and his heartbeat looks good. The vaginal ultrasound showed a long cervix (5 cm); exactly what they would look for at this point in the pregnancy. However, the cervix is a muscle which can change at any point, so he said he wasn’t comfortable sending me back to work.

My mom flew down from Savannah to help out, since it’s pretty hard to function when you’re imprisoned on the couch. She’s been a real lifesaver, cooking meals and cleaning the apartment and even feeding the cats (to whom she’s violently allergic!) and changing the litter boxes.

The perinatologist sent his report to my OB, who called me just a few hours later with the news: bedrest for a week and a half, until my next scheduled appointment on the 19th. It was not fun, let me tell you! But friends from school and church dropped by to chat and distract me with smoothies, puzzles, scrapbooking materials, and all the latest news, which helped a lot.

At my appointment this past Wednesday, my OB was happy to hear that instead of 8-9 contractions a day I’ve been down to one or two daily. She was right in the middle of saying I could go back to work for a week or two on a trial basis when she began my internal exam…. and her face changed and she stopped what she was saying. She feels my cervix is still short & said that she trusts her own 20+ years of experience over a machine (meaning the vag u/s done at the perinatologist’s office) any day.

The verdict: we need to get this baby safely to 32 weeks (about December 10th) at the least, or 36 weeks (near New Year’s) even better. So I’ve filed the paperwork for disability leave from the school system, and I’m at home until January 1st. At that point, I’ll be allowed to return to work until I have him (because even if I went into labor that first day back at school, he’d be big enough to do very well out here).

Thankfully, I’m not on strict bedrest anymore! I’m on “light activity” ~so I can get out of the house, shop (within reason, no more 6-hour mall marathons!), cook, do light cleaning. I still need to take it easy though, and make sure I’m resting and keeping off my feet several hours each day.

Prayer Requests:

• Hurricane Wilma will probably make landfall in the Naples area (due West of us) around daybreak Monday. Pray for the safety of the residents of that area, and for our safety as we will go through the predicted Hurricane 1 force & tropical storm force winds and rains.
• Chris is completing his rotation at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. Please pray that his interview for a residency spot goes well & that he will have peace about it. Also pray for safe travel on his return flight(s) on October 31st.
• Pray that I can find a good balance of activity and rest, and that the baby continues to grow strong and healthy and stays PUT!!!
• My mom will be flying back home on November 1st, pray for traveling safety and blessing on her for her giving heart and gracious spirit (to put up with me for three weeks!)

…but not the Halloween kind!

On Wednesday, I was sent to the hospital to be monitored for pre-term labor. I’d had a routine OB appointment and told my doctor I’ve been having some Braxton-Hicks contractions for the last few weeks. (She wasn’t happy that I waited so long to tell her!) She did an internal exam and it appeared my cervix was shorter.

The next thing I knew, I was at the Maternity Care Center of Palmetto General, hooked up to two monitors (one for the baby’s heartbeat and the other for my contractions) and an automatic blood pressure cuff. I had an ultrasound as well, and they finally decided to let me go home at 9:30. I’d had no contractions while I was there, and even though my cervix is effaced it’s not at a dangerous level.

So for now, my orders are
*keep my feet elevated and stay seated as much as possible (I’m pioneering a new movement: Teaching From Chairs!)
*increase my fluid intake (though I’m already drinking a TON of water so I guess I’m going to float through the next few weeks!)
*call my doctor when I have contractions or pressure.

I’ve had a handful of contractions since then, and when I called my doctor she didn’t seem too concerned; I guess she just wants to be kept informed.

Please keep all three of us in your prayers. This is obviously hard on Chris since he’s so far away and can’t be here to take care of us, and I’m really missing him a lot right now. Pray that I’ll follow doctor’s orders and stay relatively un-stressed, and pray that the baby will just stay put for a while longer!!! I’ll be 23 weeks pregnant on Monday, so we want at least seven or eight more weeks (though sixteen or seventeen would be even better)! One good point is that he’s measuring big (he looks about 25 weeks) and if he ends up coming early, the bigger he is the better off he’ll be.

We saw Dr. S this morning. Chris really liked her. She’s very nice, and very talkative –hmmm, wonder why I like her so much!?– and she has a neat personality. She talks a mile a minute and blasted us with information.

I’ve been having some heart palpitations (probably related to my mitral valve prolapse) so she is sending me to a cardiologist. She will also be sending me to see a perinatologist because I have Noonan’s syndrome. (More on that another time.)

She’s happy with the symptoms I’ve been having and with my weight gain (only 3 pounds! thank goodness!) so far.

The best part of the visit was hearing our baby’s heartbeat. It was fascinating. We were really lucky, because the heartbeat usually can’t be heard this early (10 weeks) with a basic Doppler. I got teary, and Chris got a little choked up. It was a really special moment.