Well, 2 more days of bedrest down and who know's how many more to go. Honestly I am a little peaved that I let them stop my labor last Friday. I see the doctor tomorrow and I am going to tell her that if it happens again I don't want them to stop it. I know what you are thinking, that Nae needs to stay in there for as long as possible but after much prayer I don't feel that way. I feel like we need to let it happen if nature wants it to happen. Many people probably don't agree with me on that one but it is how I feel. It's not just that I want to be off of bedrest either because I could choose to do that with her still in me, I just know that she will be okay if she comes and next time my body says it's time...it's time. I will say that last night and today have been especially hard on all of us. The kids are having a very hard time without Mom being able to do everything and I can tell that my mother in law is overwhelmed. I am just praying that everything happens the way it should and leaving it in the Lord's hands.

Pre-Term Labor

Last night just before 7pm I started having contractions. They were small at first but got harder and harder. The doctor had said that if I have more than 4 in an hour I need to go to the hospital. Well, I didn't want to go if it wasn't the real thing and so I waited until there had been 12 in an hour and they were getting worst. I knew if we went they would stop them and that is exactly what they did. I can understand it because she is only 34 weeks gestation and she is anemic but she is doing very well according to everyone so I wonder how long they will stop the labor. I'm not sure it's good for her to stop it if it happens again, I will have to ask the Doctor's on Monday. They monitored me and checked me. I am dilating and the contractions were coming steady and so they gave me an injection of Terbutaline to relax the uterine wall. It helped to space the contractions but it didn't stop them. So about 20 minutes later they gave me another one. Terbutaline is not a fun drug, let me tell you that. It makes you shake like crazy, it makes your heart race and the nurse put it perfectly when she said "it makes you want to jump out of your skin."
Finally they got the contractions stopped and so we were able to come home with a prescription for Terbutaline in pill form and I am to take it if I have more than 4 contractions in an hour. I will be really glad when all of this is over. We are almost there! So far today I have only had 3 contractions total and so I haven't had to take that awful medicine. I have slept the day away however because it makes you crash after a while.

Bed Rest

Today I had another appointment with the OB. During the non-stress test, the baby's heart rate was non-reactive. They gave me some juice and waited a bit longer. Just as they were about to do a BPP ultrasound, the baby showed some reaction. I had no idea what all of this meant, I just knew it wasn't how the test usually goes. I found some more information about it and if you want to muddle through it, it is posted below. During the test they also monitor contractions. Mine were coming every 4 minutes. They weren't strong but they were uncomfortable and large enough to register on the monitor. When I spoke with the Nurse Practitioner they let me know that they are going to do a BPP next Monday and that I have to be on bed rest. They are going to try to get me to 39 weeks now that the baby is no longer breech and they think that at that point I could be induced rather than have a C-Section. I just cried when I got home. I had no idea how I was going to do this. Tonight was a wreck, Matt was very helpful but the kids were impossible and I just knew there was no way that this was going to happen. Matt's step-mom called tonight and once again is coming to the rescue. I am so thankful for her. She is coming down this weekend to stay for 2 weeks. My mom has offered to come early as well and so between the two of them I may actually make it through all of this without having a complete breakdown. My guess is though that this baby is not going to wait until 39 weeks, I have been having contractions and cramping off and on all afternoon even though I have been down flat. It will be such a relief to have her here.

Reactive vs. nonreactive tests

The usual baseline fetal heart rate is between 120 and 160 beats per minute. Once the monitor is in place, your practitioner will look for certain measurements to see how the baby is faring, including if his heart rate rises when he moves. An NST is considered reassuring if there are accelerations of the fetal heart rate of at least 15 beats per minute over the baseline, lasting at least 15 seconds, occurring within a 20-minute time block. This is called a reactive NST. If these accelerations don't occur, the test is said to be nonreactive. In addition, since many women have mild contractions that they may not even notice, your practitioner will note any of the baby's responses to contractions or if the fetal heart rate dips below baseline

What does it mean if the NST is nonreactive?

A fetus who is sleeping may not demonstrate accelerations. Your practitioner will have to wait, then, for him to wake up. Although a reactive NST is a good sign, a nonreactive NST does not mean the baby is in trouble. If you and your practitioner aren't reassured by the results of the NST, or if the fetal heart rate slows down alarmingly, more testing is usually done. This might include a more prolonged NST, a contraction stress test, or a biophysical profile.

The Biophysical Profile (or BPP) is a fancy name for a prolonged ultrasound, sometimes lasting over a half-hour, that monitors the baby's movements in utero. In the third trimester, many practitioners use the BPP if they want to more closely evaluate how well the baby is doing and would like more information than is provided by a non-stress test. Sometimes a non-stress test is done the same day.

Can the next 3 weeks be over yet?

Oh man...that's about all I can say right now. Well technically I can only whisper it because I am sick and have lost my voice. Do you know how hard it is to get kids to do what you need them to do when you don't even have a voice?
I am going in for an appointment at the OB's office today and I must say I am very frustrated. I go in for a non-stress test and then I am supposed to see the doctor. When all of these problems started the doctor made it very clear that I HAVE to be seen by a physician and not a physicians assistant. I also needed to see the doctor because they were going to schedule my C-Section and the perinatologist had some other things he wanted me to discuss with them. I also had some complaints (no big surprise there) about the communication or lack of communication between the two doctors and their offices. I don't know why this has me so anxious, I guess because I am sick and pregnant and trying to take care of three very energetic kids. Can't these next 3 weeks be over yet?

The Lord Truly Answers Prayers

Thought you might find this interesting. This is a picture of the ultrasound that they do every week. The peaks at the bottom are what measure the amount of anemia that the baby is experiencing. You would not believe how hard it is to get these measurements sometimes, they have to be exact and they have to have multiple images to measure. Sometimes I have to hold my breath so they can get it exactly right.


This really isn't meant to be a negative post so if it seems that way, keep in mind that I am just exhausted. I went to the perinatologist today. I called before hand to see if I was going to see the doctor or just the stenographer. I was very frustrated when I was told I was only scheduled for the ultrasound because I had questions and my routine OB had sent me with some questions as well. They did the growth ultrasound and checked the central cerebral artery blood flow AGAIN to determine the anemia. Good news is she is holding steady where she was last week and her growth looks good. Most babies with anemia tend not to grow very well but she seems to be doing fine. All good news. I also noticed this morning when I was taking a bath that I could no longer feel Nae's head in my ribs and wondered if she had turned...Sure enough, she is no longer breech, she is head down. Guess those contractions have been doing something! I told the stenographer that I had a bunch of questions that my OB wanted answered and started firing away. I knew that if I asked her enough questions she would eventually get the doctor and she did! He wasn't a whole lot of help. He did tell me that he is going to let me go 2 weeks before he sees me again which is good and bad. Good that she is doing fine, bad that my routine OB wants me going every week. Then he gave me some questions to ask her when I see her on Tuesday. I am so frustrated that the two of them are not asking each other these questions directly and I plan on telling my OB that when I see her. They are going to let me know first thing next week when the C-section will be scheduled. I am wondering if maybe we can get away with an induction because she is doing much better than they thought she would be...that would be so nice. Either way we are scheduling a C-Section or an induction. In the meantime I am absolutely exhausted. I am emotionally spent. But this will not last forever, the longest it could last is 3-4 more weeks, so there is a very positive side to this. The Lord truly does answer prayers because the doctor said she is doing better than most babies in her situation. Now I wish I could just speed up time so this part would be over...I'm exhausted.

New Attitude

Tomorrow I see the perinatologist AGAIN. My regular OB told me that she wanted to schedule the C-Section so I have to ask him if we are going to do the amnio or the in-utero blood transfusion. If so they need to do it soon so that we can get this little one here. I have a feeling she is going to try to come early on her own. 2 nights in a row we have thought that maybe I have been in labor but after a couple of hours it stops. I refuse to go to the hospital until I know it's the real thing because the one that we have to go to is an hour away. We can't go to one closer to our house because none of them have a NICU. I am getting very anxious to have her out of me. I just don't feel well and she doesn't either so let's get us both feeling better! After good advice from a mother in our ward, I have decided to stop trying to keep up with this house. Today, instead of worrying about making sure everything is clean and picked up and yelling at the kids in the process, I have napped and watched movies with them and napped some more and have been reading. I have not had to yell at them at all! I love it! I realized too what an adverse effect my frustration and out of control mood swings have been on my little kids when Ivan said "shit" and then had to come ask me if it was a bad word. Man I have to do better. I have been out of control for about 2 weeks now and that can't be good for anyone, especially the baby. So it is CHILL time for me. I will keep up on laundry and dishes and feed the kids and just relax, the house will not fall down around us in the meantime and when help comes I will have plenty for them to do.

Takin' It Easy

Well, Naomi may be coming soon. 2 nights in a row I have had about 2 steady hours of contractions and hard ones at that. I go in on Friday to have her anemia checked and then they are supposed to schedule the C-Section but I think they better check me to see if I am dilating. We are getting down to the wire now and I have decided that I am going to stop trying to get my house "ready" for me to go to the hospital. No matter how much I clean it is just going to get messed up again. I wasn't even really doing for myself, I was doing it so I wouldn't be embarrassed when My mom and Matt's step-mom come down. I don't even think they will care and if they do then oh well. I am just going to relax and focus on my kids and the little things that have to be done but other than that I am going to take it easy!