Unfortunately, Paul's grandfather passed away on Sunday, so we drove up to Pennsylvania on Tuesday to attend the funeral Wednesday morning and then drove back. It was nice to see the family and we were so glad we were able to attend the funeral, but it definitely took a toll on me. I ended up sleeping most of Thursday instead of working because my body needed to rest.
On Thursday I was 34 weeks along. I thought I would be more excited about that milestone, but it turns out I really just want to get to 36 or even 37 weeks. On Friday morning at 3:45 am, I was awoken by a contraction. I continued to have irregular contractions for the next 2 hours, which Paul timed for me. On average, they were about 3-5 minutes apart and lasted around 1 minute each, but it was hard to really determine when they started and ended - it's not as easy as the books make it sound! We were definitely concerned because they were so close together, even though they weren't painful, because I know some women have really easy contractions that still cause them to dilate.
I called the doctors office, but I had to leave a message because I didn't have the after hours number. Finally we stopped timing them and tried to sleep - I wasn't able to because they were strong enough to keep me awake. Around 8:00, a nurse returned my call and asked me to time them for the next hour. I had 4 within 30 minutes, so I called back and they asked me to come in to the Labor and Delivery floor.
When I got to Labor and Delivery, they monitored my contractions, Brooke's heartbeat, and my blood pressure for a while. My bp was a little high when I got there, which I expected, but it went down while they were monitoring me, so that was really good. I was still having irregular contractions, so the doctor checked my cervix and found that it was slightly dilated (< 1 cm) and slightly effaced. He also checked Brooke's position and found that she had dropped into my pelvis some, which I had thought might be the case on Thursday because she just felt lower for some reason. They decided to keep me for a few more hours so they could check me again to see if I had progressed. After a few hours, the doctor checked my cervix again and at that point I was dilated 1 cm. Because I had progressed a little, they decided to keep me overnight to make sure I didn't go into labor.
After a few more hours of waiting in the small triage room (the same room I was in when my bp was being monitored when I was induced with Brady), the doctor checked my cervix again and it was still 1 cm, which was good. They decided to put me in a room on another floor instead of in the Labor and Delivery section since I wasn't progressing. In the meantime, Paul had to pack our hospital bag at home since we hadn't gotten a chance to do that yet. It was on the to do list for this weekend, go figure :)
Paul got to the hospital soon after I was moved to my new room, and he brought yummy food, so I didn't have to eat hospital food. It was awesome. The room was really big, so that was nice. Luckily they only had to monitor my contractions and Brooke's heartbeat sporadically, so I wasn't too uncomfortable, and I was actually able to get a good amount of sleep. The contractions had slowed down, so I wasn't feeling them very often, which was also good. This morning they rechecked my cervix and it was still at 1 cm, so they let me go home. Thank goodness!!
It was a little bitter sweet leaving the hospital without Brooke. I was SO happy that she hadn't been born this early because she probably would have had trouble breathing and possibly other complications, which would have been hard. I definitely want her to make to at least 37 weeks, at which point she would be considered full term. However, I am so ready to meet her and have her at home, so it was disappointing that it wasn't time for that yet. Also, the drive home was more difficult than I expected. I started crying while I was driving because it brought back memories of when I was discharged from the hospital after having Brady and again I was coming home with no baby. However, this time Brooke reminded me on the way home that I was coming home with a baby, she just isn't out yet, which is a good thing :) So even though it was hard remembering how I felt after Brady, it was definitely wonderful that she didn't make her appearance quite yet. And more good news is that my body is definitely more ready now for when she does decide she is ready to be born, so hopefully that means labor and delivery will go smoothly.
On Tuesday I am seeing a midwife, so hopefully that goes well. I'm hoping they check my cervix at my regular appts from now on since I'm already dilated some, but we'll see. I'm also hoping I will now go to the appts weekly instead of every 2 weeks, so that they can keep an eye on my cervix. This whole dilation process is definitely not cut and dry! I just pray that Brooke decides to continue marinating until we hit 37 weeks to reduce the risk of possible issues.
Tomorrow is my second baby shower and I'm super excited for this one too! I am really looking forward to celebrating Brooke's upcoming birth with all my neighborhood friends!
Latest bump picture - the bump is huge!!!
1 comment:
I'm sorry you had such a stressful weekend, but happy that Brooke is still baking away! She'd better stay in there for at least 3 more weeks! :)
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