32 Weeks

The 32nd week of my pregnancy turned out to be a bit more eventful than I had hoped, but it all turned out alright in the end!

Such a frightening picture, but I'm just keeping it real here. Hospital life wasn't glamorous!

Last Wednesday, 31 weeks 6 days, I started feeling contractions regularly. I started timing and noticed that they were 3-5 minutes apart for over an hour. My doctor had told me that was the magic number, so I called Mike and asked him to come home so I could rest and see if they went away. We went back and forth all evening, but by the time the boys went to sleep we decided we'd better go. We got someone to watch the boys and headed out.

By the time we got to the hospital I was feeling pretty silly, because I hadn't felt a single contraction since we got in the car. Still, since we had already made the drive I decided they may as well just hook me up and check me out. Sure enough, when they got me on the monitor it showed I was having regular, strong contractions. That night I ended up getting three shots of terbutaline to help the contractions stop, and they sent me on my way.

By 11:00 the next morning, 32 weeks to the day, the contractions were starting up again. I was really hoping I was just making them up, but sure enough over the next couple hours they were still there. So, we got the boys settled with our friends and headed back up to the hospital. Sure enough, the contractions were back, and at this point we had to start thinking about more drastic measures to get them to stop as well as what to do if they wouldn't.

Since I was still only 32 weeks, the most important thing was for the girls to get steroid shots to help with their lungs. You get the shots over the course of 48 hours, and in the meantime they hook you up to a magnesium IV to help with the contractions. I had already had magnesium one time so I knew what I was getting into. That stuff is the devil's drug. But, you do what you have to do, right? I mean, I'm not going to say I didn't cry a little...ha!

Over the next 48 hours I was kind of in a drug induced, can barely keep my eyes open to talk to you daze, but I held out hope that they would magically stop the IV early. I'm not sure why I had that in my head, but I should have given it up. When they came and took the IV and catheter out Saturday night I was so excited! I was still contracting, but it was more like every 10 minutes, which they will take.

So...I may have broken down a bit when they woke me up at 3 am Sunday morning and told me the contractions were starting up again so they had to put my magnesium drip and catheter back in. I don't think it was pretty, ya'll. By that afternoon I started to go loopy again, but I prayed that when my doctor showed up Monday morning the magnesium madness would be over.

Sure enough, Monday morning, my regular doctor got back from vacation, got me off the magnesium, and got me on a kinder drug. He moved me to the antepartum wing where they could still monitor me but I wasn't as hooked up to all the machines. We pretty much decided we would do what we could to stop the girls from coming early, but we wouldn't go crazy. All of the nurses who stopped by to see how it was going couldn't believe I had been on magnesium for practically 4 days...it was intense. I am thankful to the doctors for keeping these girls safe, but those days are nothing I want to relive!

So far the new plan has worked. In fact as of yesterday (Thursday, 33 Weeks) they decided I could go home on bedrest! I am still contracting, but unless they get really strong I think these girls may just hang in there. This whole week their heartbeats and bio-physicals have looked great, and they have handled everything really well.

Whew...longest explanation ever, but I like to record everything so I remember. I am thankful to be home with my boys, and we'll see how long these girls stay put!