Admitted…

…and discharged…all in one day.

Where do I even begin this story?  The last 24 hours has been a literal rollercoaster ride in our lives and I HATE rollercoaster's!

I’m going to start this marathon blog post off with our appointments yesterday and move forward from there.

The peri appointment was awesome!  Cullen is measuring over a week ahead and is in the 69th percentile!!!  He is about 1 lb 12 oz and he is getting chubby!  I can tell he has put on pudge because we always get the 4D u/s and you can see every detail on those.

My cervix measured 3.4 cm, so it’s closed and there was no funneling.  All great news!

We floated downstairs on cloud 9 to eat lunch before our next appointment.  I was having horrible back pains for most of the day, but I didn’t pay much attention and really chalked it up to being out of bed for so many appointments. 

Our next appointment went just as well as the first.  I didn’t gain ANY weight and I actually have to correct last weeks update…I have only gained 14 pounds in 24 weeks!!! Woo-hoo!!!

Cullen’s heart rate was 151 and blood pressure is still good.  Next up, the Ffn test.  UGH!  I’ll spare you the gory details, but it was NOT comfortable at all.  She did say that my cervix looked closed and all looked good. 

Since I was seeing the nurse practioner I decided to ask her some comparison questions between this pregnancy and the twins pregnancy.  At 24 weeks with the twins I measured 38 weeks pregnant and yesterday I was measuring 26 weeks (I am only 24 weeks along).  I measured the same yesterday as I did at 17 weeks with the twins and I am 16 pounds lighter now…WOW!  Just a few fun facts.

The longer we were gone the more I noticed the back ache and a VERY heavy feeling in my lower abdominal area.  By the time we got home I literally didn’t feel comfortable standing up.  I got on the monitor at 8 last night and by the end of the session I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes.  I didn’t want to panic, but I knew something was very wrong.  I talked to the nurse and monitored again an hour later.  I received my scheduled dose of terbutaline and we were hoping that would make a difference.  I did see some change, but I was still having so many issues with one section of my uterus.  It was hard and bulging, but part of me thought it might just be a body part.  The problem with monitoring is that it is hard to differentiate between a true contraction and baby movement.  In my gut I thought something was wrong, but I let the nurse convince me to just relax and call back at 11pm if I was still feeling uncomfortable.  Well, I decided to just go to sleep and try to relax until the morning. 

And that is exactly what I did.

At 9 am I woke up and felt much better.  I was still feeling “heavy” in the abdomen, but not as many contractions.  I made a phone call and talked to Biddy and then I headed to the bathroom. 

My world stopped turning when I discovered blood.  It got even worse when I stood up and felt menstrual cramps in my lower back and across the front in that “heavy” section.  The past came rushing back and I ran to the phone.  I called the nurse and was instructed to go to the hospital as soon as possible.  I called B and he was doing 90 to get here as quickly as possible. 

Our family and neighbors came together to get bags ready and gas up my car for B to drive to the hospital. 

Through the uncontrollable tears I talked to my baby girl and asked her to remember to say her prayers and act like a big girl for everyone.  I really didn’t have time to think about leaving her for good for the next 11 weeks, but I could barely kiss her good-bye without actually feeling my heart breaking.  (thank goodness Uncle Mike was here…he was a marvelous distraction for Ellie as we left in such a hurry)

I made it into the car and the Indy 500 began.  I know B was just scared and my breathing through contractions wasn’t helping at all, but I couldn’t take one more corner at 100 one more time!  Brandon navigated the Westpark Toll road at 90 mph with our lights flashing and he even honked through the red lights.  It was…interesting, but we made it to the hospital in record time. 

As we pulled up to the gate to retrieve our ticket, I looked at B and said, “Today we are going to change the history we have at this hospital.”

Truthfully…I never dreamed we would be pulling up to the hospital that our son died in,  praying for the life of another child.  But, there I sat, in the front seat of my car with rain stained streets and construction workers walking around…praying that the life of our precious son would be saved and we would not suffer the same tragic ending we did almost 3 years ago. 

The wheelchair ride was almost as fast as the car ride and in no time I was in L and D treatment being admitted.  My name was already on the board and my room was waiting for me.  After changing, I was immediately hooked up to the monitors.  I was in excruciating pain.  I honestly thought I was going to deliver in the car on the way because I was having such horrible back labor.  In the hospital room I would have to pull both legs up to my chest because my abdomen was hurting so badly.  I didn’t know how much longer I was going to last and thoughts of delivery were passing through my mind.  Strong contractions every few minutes is probably one of the scariest things a mom can go through.  I finally gave a urine sample after the nurse mentioned that it sounded like I had a Urinary tract infection (UTI).  I am pretty sure I rolled my eyes at her suggestion b/c there was NO WAY a UTI would cause that much pain and that many contractions.  In the meantime, they drew blood and administered extra doses of terbutaline.  One was by shot b/c I had hit the limit on my pump!!!  Once my contractions slowed to about 4/hour I was sent down to the ultrasound room to check my cervix and look for funneling.  

The u/s was long because they were training a new tech, but it was thorough.  Our miracle had a great heart beat and he was moving all around!  We have been blessed to have tons of wonderful u/s in our time, but this one was one of the very best I have ever seen.  We got to see Cullen yawn (a BIG yawn) and then we saw his lungs expand and contract!!!  He is “practicing” breathing already!  It is much too early for him to know how to breath on his own, but the fact that he is strong and healthy enough to begin practicing at 24 weeks is an amazing feat.  It was an unbelievable site to see.  He was swallowing and sucking his thumb and…well, he is just absolutely perfect!  His feet are measuring 4.14cm…so, almost 2 inches long!  They measured my cervix by abdominal u/s and transvag u/s.  The first measured 3.4 (same as yesterday) and the second measured 4.2 with NO SIGNS of funneling!!!  It was all good news, so we went back to L & D with a little weight lifted off of our shoulders. 

On the way, we saw a very good friend’s MIL, who is a director at Women’s.  We were very blessed to have her do so many wonderful things for our family the last time we were at the hospital, so it was comforting to see her today. 

She said she was glad we stopped her and she was on her way into a meeting about the March of Dimes with the different department chairs in the hospital.  I told her about our family team success and she asked if I would mind “wheeling” into the meeting room and addressing the group of people inside.  She thought we might be a good start to getting them “pumped up” for raising funds for March for Babies.  So, in my wheelchair with NO make-up, NO bra and morning hair, I gave our story to a room full of about 35 strangers all sitting around a meeting table.  I cried…and so did a few of them, but our story is REAL.  Our family directly benefited from MOD and there we were again.  At 24 weeks pregnant fighting for the life of Cullen we were taking advantage of meds to stop labor…research for such meds funded by the MOD.  We are a prime example of why it is so important to donate what you can afford.  In the middle of this scary, heart stopping moment we could have made a difference to someone in that room and that made it worth it. 

After my sub-par public speaking experience I was wheeled back to my room and I got the best news of the day.  There was blood in my urine…they suspected a UTI as the culprit for the days issues!!!  Hallelujah!  I have never been more excited about an infection in all of my life.  My report from the radiologist was great and my OB wrote 2 Rx’s for the UTI.  I was given a list of “not to do’s” and told I was being discharged!!  So, almost 6 hours after it all began it was coming to an end.

I am tired, grateful, relieved, cautiously optimistic, but above all I am still pregnant and Cullen is still growing.  I am blessed.

To top it all off…I got the Ffn results on my way home…it was negative!  So, with 99% certainty I will NOT go into preterm labor in the next 14 days.  I am trying to trust the statistics and pray about them being correct.  All we can do is keep praying…

May Your faithful love rest on us, for we put our hope in You.

Psalm 33:22

Your prayers are so appreciated and your favors are blessings to our family.  Thank you all!

Blessings,

Angie