Sorry, I know I am long overdue for an update here, and a lot has been going on. So here goes:
On March 8, I had my 28-week growth ultrasound with the Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist (or perinatologist; MFM or peri for short). Baby looked great; measured 3 lbs, 6 oz (still 70th percentile), all anatomy seemed to be as it should be, and amniotic fluid level was fine. Unfortunately Little Oatmeal decided to be a stinker and hid his or her face as if s/he was running from the paparazzi, and so we got no good pics (and I was really hoping to see those chubby cheeks again, ah well). However, the tech managed to get this shot (I guess she felt bad for us and wanted us to have some memento):
No surprise this kid will have big feet (seeing as how I wear a size 13N and DH's feet are bigger than mine), but I do hope there was some magnification in that image, or I might have as much trouble getting the feet out as the head, LOL.
When the ultrasound was over, the doctor asked me how things were going. I mentioned that I was feeling some cramps down low, and had been since the evening before. On Monday, March 7, DH and I had gone for our last childbirth education class at the hospital, which included a tour of the maternity ward. While walking around, I'd noticed a lot of pressure and menstrual-like cramps at my bikini line, but hadn't thought much about them, since they were very similar to cramps I'd had a month ago, which had been attributed to round ligament pain (granted I'd ended up going to L&D for them, but they hadn't been contractions). When I got home from the class, it was late enough that I figured I'd just drink a ton of water and go to bed, since those had been the instructions last time. Well, the cramps never really subsided and even woke me up during the night, so I knew I should mention them at the appointment the next morning.
Little did I know, I was not crying "Wolf!" this time (wasn't last time either, as it was the OB on-call who told me to go to L&D to get checked out, but it was still hard to know if I was overreacting or if this was something serious). Since the cramps weren't letting up (and such cramps are a possible sign of preterm labor) my peri decided it was worth taking a look and doing a fetal fibronectin (fFN) test to see if anything was really going on. So he took the fFN swab, did a manual check on my cervix (the first time I'd ever had a male doctor, which was a little weird at first, especially with DH in the room too), and also had the tech measure my cervix with an internal ultrasound.
The verdict: my cervix was high and closed (good), but had shortened to 1.8 cm (not so good; ironically, this was downplayed a bit by the peri, as he only commented that this was "shorter than I like to see"). And off I went to L&D to get monitored for contractions. Oh wait, before I got carted off to perinatal triage (they sent for a wheel chair for me, even), the doc gave me the fFN test tube and told me to hand it directly to the nurse that admits me (we'd get the results faster that way). He also said that, provided the fFN test comes back negative and the monitoring goes well, I should go home, not go back to work for a week, and instead I was to "act like a slug, akin to the morning after partying too hard at college." Then I should come back in and have my cervix measured again.
So off to L&D I went, and they hooked me up to the monitors. DH actually had to leave to go to his hernia surgery follow-up appointment (everything looks great, thank goodness), so I spent some time connecting with work to let them know I was not going to be in this afternoon after all. About an hour into monitoring, the nurse came in carrying some tubes and bags and a syringe and said, "We're going to put an IV in, because you're having contractions." What??? I AM??? Whoa. I couldn't feel them at all; yet, apparently, they were coming every 4 minutes. "But these are Braxton-Hicks, then, right?", I asked. "Nope," the nurse said, "they're the real thing."
So when DH called to check on me, and I told him what was up, we both freaked out a bit (well me more than him, I think). He wondered if he should just get something quick to eat (it was lunch time), or go home, gobble some leftovers, and grab our hospital bag. Thing is, we don't have a hospital bag packed yet! I was only 28 weeks... figured I had at least another 8-9 weeks before needing to get that ready. I started to lose it: "I don't want a March baby... I want a May one!" But DH, ever relaxed under pressure, said, "Why not? We'll manage, whatever happens." I still felt like 28 weeks was way too soon to be going into labor, but knowing that DH was on an even keel helped calm me down quite a bit.
A little later, DH arrived, and we got the fFN test results back: NEGATIVE. Woo hoo hoo and then some; this meant it would be extremely unlikely that I would go into labor within the next two weeks!
Contractions started to settle down too. They were still happening, but had spread out to about 6 minutes apart. I asked why I was having real contractions, but yet they weren't doing anything. The resident OB said, "Some women just have them." Later the nurse said that "for some reason, your uterus is just irritated." Ah, an irritable ute. I've heard of those, but never knew what they were. Now I do. Introducing: Gertrude the Irritable.
They said I could go home, and that I should make an appointment to see my regular OB on Thursday or Friday, and then come back to the peri the following Tuesday.
And so began my week of modified bed rest. Or so I thought.
To be continued...
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