All About Family

I have been thinking that I needed to separate my business blog from family stuff, so here is the new address. I am hoping to get a few posts in while I lay around on bed rest. So here is the lowdown on why I am on bed rest:

This baby has been in a hurry since October, I know that sounds a little crazy, but just walking the 1/3 of a mile from my car to campus at BYU was causing contractions. Fortunately I only had to do it 2 days a week, so I just dealt with it. However, my last day of class, I had 3 contractions on the way back to my car. I was so grateful that I did not have to make that walk again! So from the end of November on I have been doing what Mike calls "self directed bed rest." No lifting, no running, and just listening to my body. That meant a few days here and there entirely on the couch, but not everyday, and I was still able to make dinner and get errands done.

That all changed last Sunday. Saturday night I decided that I was feeling pretty lousy, and Mike had the gambo so I told Grandma we would not be attending stake conference. I am so sad we missed it, I love stake conference, but glad I made that decision. I contracted all day Sunday, averaging about 4 contractions an hour. Finally, as we ate dinner and watched the Super Bowl I got up to 5 contractions in an hour (actually I had been there for 2 hours without realizing it.) I was really ornery, my poor kids had been chopping veggies and being exceptionally helpful while we got dinner ready, but I could not talk nicely. They are such good sports, they did not snap back or get grumpy with me. They must know me or something, Lol!

All of these things combined to make me realize it was time to go to Labor & Delivery. I know, you are thinking, but you were only 29 weeks and 5 days. That is what I kept saying in my head, but at some point you have to face facts if you don't want to be too late to Labor & Delivery. So, we packed the car with my bag and things to do thinking we would be back within a couple of hours and headed out.

We arrived at Alta View and they put us in a room for "monitoring." Do you ever feel like medical things are in your head? Well I did, because we had exactly 0 contractions for 2 hours! Nice, I love how that works! However, in the first hour we were there they checked me and said I was dilated to a 1+ (the contractions must have been doing something!) They also did a test I had never heard of called Fetal Fibronectin or FFN where they swab the cervix for a specific protein. A positive result suggests that there is a good chance the baby will be born within the next 2 weeks. Dr. Esplin told me it is a more accurate negative than positive result, but it is worth taking precautions.

So, after 2 hours we were anticipating heading home because I had not been contracting, and suddenly a nurse appears with a bracelet and pops in an IV. She informs us that I will be staying the night. Now one of the nice things about being on the monitors in L&D is that you can see whenever the nurses chart, because it shows up on the graph, so we had seen the positive result from the FFN, but had no realized that it meant drastic measures. To top things off  I started contracting, not just a couple either. Within an hour I was at 8 minutes apart lasting about 80-120 seconds. For those of you who don't know that is well on the way to active labor. So, they started giving me IV antibiotics, administered a steroid shot, and started Nifedipin (aka Procardia.)  It took the full 4 doses of Nifedipin to slow things down, but it did not completely stop the contractions. Poor Mike was still feeling lousy, I should have sent him home for the night because we did not get any sleep. Finally around 2 a.m. things had slowed down and we were both sleeping, and registration has the nerve to call. Don't get me wrong, my years as a CNA at LDS Hospital taught me the hospital is not for rest, but really, a 2 a.m. call from registration! And the person on the other end had the nerve to ask me if it was a "good time to register." She was lucky I have worked hard to curb my vocabulary over the years, because I was able to bite my tongue and get through the call. At that point I think we both gave up on sleep. So we spent the night watching a "Pawn Stars" marathon on History. Thank goodness for a little distraction. Mike left about 6 a.m. to make sure the kids got to school, knowing that the Dr. on call would not be in until between 8-9. The nurse told us she expected us to be released in the morning and that we would have to come back for a second steroid shot at the 24 hour mark. That sounded fine, I just wanted my bed at that point!

Around 9 Dr. Larsen came in and stayed for all of 30 seconds, he informed us that he wanted me to stay all day until I could get the steroid shot at 9:30 p.m. I think Mike wished he had not come back at that moment, he could have been in bed asleep. I sent him home, and tried to snooze, but that was virtually impossible. The baby hates being monitored (can't say I blame the little one) and was continuously kicking the monitor off, so someone would have to come in and fix it. I got to the point where I was holding it in place whenever I was awake.

Around 11 they came in with another dose of penicillin and told me that they were going to move me to a postpartum room as soon as this dose was done. I was super happy, because the beds there are more comfortable, and the rooms are not charged at an hourly rate like L&D. So, just before noon they moved me. The room was nice, the food was decent and somehow I survived until Mike got back about 7:30 p.m. I really am grateful for the care we received. My nurses were very kind, and attentive, even though the floor was completely full. In the last 4 hours I was there the baby song went off 5 times. Crazy! I appreciate the technology we have today, the fact that they could stop my contractions, so that we can try to hang on for a few more weeks. The longer this baby has inside the healthier it will be. I am also grateful for nurses that were willing to be straight with me when I asked questions, we found out that Alta View can only deliver you after 34 weeks, so if they had not been able to stop my contractions I would have been transported to IMC. When I discussed with my nurse that we had been debating whether to go straight to IMC or not she was very supportive of us making that choice, and even said she would if we had another night like Sunday. So, the good news is, even when you only get 30 seconds of face time with the on-call Doc the nurses are always there to back you up.

By the time 9:30 rolled around we were both, so ready to go! My back was killing me from trying to stay still for the monitors, and from the beds. I think the staff was surprised by how quickly I was in my own clothes and pushing the button to leave, frankly I don't usually move that fast right now, but I was motivated.

They had called in a Rx for the Nifedipin and Mike was able to pick that up earlier in the day, so we had one more day's worth of that, and an appointment with Dr. Smith scheduled for Friday. Somehow he always leaves town when  I need him, Lol!

Tuesday I called my sweet friend Diana Esplin, whose husband is a perinatologist at IMC, and asked her if I could talk to Sean. He called back within a few minutes and was very reassuring. He likes Dr. Smith, and told me not to change doctors, but to be ready to go to IMC if we felt we needed to. He said he likes all of the doctors in the group he is in and that is where we would be assigned if we decide to go there.

I feel so blessed that we are surrounded by people who care about us and are desiring to help out in any way they can. We are really doing well, I can see the wear and tear on Mike as he tries to keep up with work and everything I usually do but he is as loving and attentive as can be. The kids have been a great support too, bringing me whatever I need, even as they get ready for school each day. What a great family I have!

Friday we saw Dr. Smith, it was nice to finally get on track for the things we had talked about all pregnancy. He gave me a PRN (as needed) maintenance dose of Nifedipin and also set me up for steroid shots. We are trying them again even though I reacted to them with Michael, because the track record is so good for them. Dr. Esplin had suggested that I make sure it was not compounded in Castor Oil and see if that would make the difference. The pharmacist was very accommodating (we had to go clear to Riverton to get the vial) and made sure I got sesame oil instead.

When we got home I called my friend Diane Franke and she came and gave me the shot. So, now every Friday until we have this little one I will be enjoying a poke in the butt. I hope my kids know how much we want them and treasure them, because we sure go through a lot to get them here!

I have not been great about keeping up with photos while I have been at school, so here are a few from our trip to Yellowstone August 2011. Maybe the blog will inspire me to be more on top of them!

So, that is the bed rest saga, if you have any questions feel free to comment, and we will answer them. We still do not know the gender of the baby, really we are not holding out on anyone, I promise!