31 Weeks

My mom and I have a joke about things always being about us... but when have children nothing is every really about you anymore (right, mom?). It is always about those small people first and then it is about you.

Starting from way before I knew I was expecting, this pregnancy has been complicated. We passed through week after week of tandem vomiting and colds with my toddler for all of September, October, and most of November. The issues became more complex for me in week 26 with my emergency appendectomy, and came to a head last week during week 31...

I was have difficulties making my typical 1 mile trek from my apartment to my mother-in-law's house for lunch and back due to contractions. Braxton Hicks, I convinced myself. However, by Sunday it was evident that I needed to slow down my pace a bit, and by Monday it became clear that what was going on was not normal.

On Monday I made a last minute emergency appointment with my OB/GYN who took one look at me and uttered two words that will change the rest of my pregnancy... "preterm labor" (albeit he said them in Spanish, not English).

The cause? More than likely my surgery (although this will never be completely verified).

He spoke directly with my mother-in-law (who accompanied me to this appointment) to make sure there were no misunderstandings. This was serious and not a single word could slip through the cracks. Every instruction must be followed to the letter...

I was in preterm labor with risk of progressing in to active labor and a preterm birth.
This is very serious.
I was to receive a steroid shot that very hour to help boost the baby's lungs in case of a preterm birth.
I was to buy a second round of steroid injections to be put in the following day to finish helping the baby's lungs mature.
I was prescribed 3 days worth of tocolytics (nifedipine, a calcium channel blocker) to see if they could stop my contractions and told not to move from my bed for 3 days (except to go to the bathroom).

The next 3 days were filled with very little sleep and lots of worry... with hours where I had contractions every 10 minutes and times where my body decided it wanted to do what it was supposed to be doing (which is not having contractions!).

By Wednesday I was losing it and we had to go back to the doctor. He was still very concerned about my contractions, but felt that a preterm birth was no imminent. He prescribed one more day of tocolytics plus several extras in case of very strong contractions and switched me to a progesterone pill. Lastly, he put me on what I call house arrest and as much rest as possible until the baby is born...

Wait, what?! I can't take my toddler to the park, cook for my family, do laundry, go for a walk, or leave my house until this baby is born?!

I lost it right there in the doctor's office (thank goodness we had left Kesh with my mother-in-law). Tears, inability to speak in Spanish, the works... In fact, I was so stressed by this all that my heart rate was at 140 (a normal range is from 60-100bpm), and the baby presented with an elevated heart rate as well...

My OB/GYN insisted that I be taken out in a wheelchair, and that was that.

So, here I am, at the end of my first complete week of not leaving my house (other than my doctor's appointment) writing this entry. I am still alive (obviously), and the baby has yet to make his appearance (thank goodness!).

My mom is taking extra time off work to come and help us out. With a very active toddler who needs lots of attention (and lots of up and down and running around) we need all of the help we can get. I am so fortunate that I have a mom who will drop everything to come and help out! She arrives in less than a week and will stay through the beginning of May. (I am SO grateful for you mom1)

I am thankful that I have not given birth yet, but have to be frank that the next 5-7 weeks (hopefully it's that long) are going to be some of the hardest of my life. I miss being outside. I miss walking. I miss taking Bugs to the park. I miss cooking. I miss going to the store. I miss being a part of everyday normal life. But in the end I know this will all be worth it!

Here's to making it to 32 weeks! Let's keep cookin' little man!

Left: 32 weeks with this baby
Right: 32 weeks with Kesha