Hey all. James and I decided this was not the kind of stuff we wanted to post on facebook for EVERYBODY and their dog to see, but for the few faithful of you who actually read my blog, it's a good way to update you on the latest goings in in my uterus...
So, for those of you who don't know, on Wednesday I went in to Labor and Delivery on the advice of my OB because I had been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions, like more than is considered normal. My belly also felt really tight often enough that I was starting to be uncertain of what was and wasn't a contraction, and I was starting to get worried about what was going on. Charlotte very sweetly took Rigby for what ended up being a loooong day at the hospital for me.
Predictably, they put me on monitors for a non-stress test. Baby Emme (because that's her name, folks, Emmeline Helene) had a higher heart rate than they wanted to see at first, but the nurse thought perhaps she was just really active right that moment and would calm down. They put me on an IV to help baby if she needed it and monitored my contractions. Turns out, I WAS having a lot of them! My nurse was an awesome lady named Kris who actually was there when Rigby was born (she even stayed late on her shift to see his arrival), so that was comforting. The resident came in to check me out, and it seemed at present that the contractions weren't causing me to dialate yet, which is good. They ran some blood tests, including a fetal fibralnectin test, which is used to predict the likelihood of me going into labor in the next 2 weeks. Those came back (after 3 hours, mind you) negative, although my white blood cell count was a little high. Also, they measured my amniotic fluid and found that I had a higher than normal amount. My OB ended up coming in and telling me how the tests had come back, and that things were looking pretty good for the moment, but she was going to put me on a drug to slow down or stop contractions. That way, I would know things were abnormal in the contraction department if i continued having them even though I had taken the drug. Then, out of the blue, she hit me with these dreaded words: strict bed rest.
Sound familiar? look back to the two weeks preceding Rigby's birth. Cautiously, I asked what that would entail. She said the same as last time- only getting up to pee, no cleaning, no walking, no lifting or taking care of baby #1.
Ugh!!! someone please tell me how you're supposed to raise a toddler on such restrictions?
Anyways, she told me she wanted me to come in on Friday (today) for another NST and to measure my amniotic fluid levels again. All I had been told at that point was that higher than normal levels of fluid are sometimes associated with gestational diabetes.
So today I went in for my tests. Thankfully, I didn't have any contractions this time, so that was great. Normal fluid levels are between 10 and 26 and mine was at 26.1, just outside of "normal." At this point, for the first time, I was informed that high levels of fluid can be associated with fetal death. The thinking goes that with all that extra fluid to swim around in, cord accidents can be more likely. This, of course, freaked me out. My levels were lower than on Wed, but I will likely be monitored throughout the remainder of the pregnancy to see where they go from here, and i was told to be vigilant about kick counts to help make sure she's doing ok.
Next scary thing: the nurse told me that she wanted to see 2 accelerations of her heart rate in 20 minutes and they had only seen one because she was asleep. So they buzzed my stomach. Nurse #1 didn't think the variation was enough, so Nurse #2 came in to look at the NST results. She immediately said, "she's only 27 weeks? Oh, well this is enough variation for her gestational age." And she watched baby girl for a few more minutes and decided to send the results off as "normal." A perinatologist will look at the results and send them on to my OB. At that time, they will decide if I need to be monitored more closely, or if they are satisfied with the results.
So, the bottom line is, everything went pretty well, except there are still some unknowns out there that leave a neurotic worrier like me plently to freak out about. Since you are my near and dear ones, I'd just ask you to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. My next appointment is Friday, I'm hoping my OB will tell me she's happy with the results and I can go back to picking up my 15-month old.
