33w3d

So last night pretty much sucked. The contractions stopped, so the medicine did its job, but it also gave me an awful side effect. Just as the doctor had predicted it made me feel like I had just drank 12 Mt. Dews. I kept waking up and my heart was racing and I felt all shaky. Every time I awoke I would just pray that someone would come and knock me out so I could go back to sleep.
Finally about 4:30 it stopped. So I got two good hours of sleep. Once I got up I felt pretty good considering. I didn't have any contractions while getting ready for work and I did well all day long. People kept asking how I was feeling and my standard answer was good. I think we may finally have everything under control.

Of course now that the contractions have stopped I'll probably be two weeks late and they will have to induce me to get him to come!! (HeHe... I'm so funny!!) At about 3:00 I was starting to feel the effects of my restless night and decided there was not sense in over doing it so I headed home.

The whole way home I kept thinking about the things that I needed to get done. After all, I had such a good day I should be fine to run a few errands and clean up a bit around home. I knew if I was going to do anything I would need to go home and change my shoes. Once I got home I thought it wise to rest for an hour or so and then maybe take Jake with me to run errands.

So I hit the couch. About 5:00 the contractions started again. Now at this point I had run no errands, picked nothing up, just come home and sat down. So I was kind of discouraged. The first contraction I wrote down was at 5:35 and they continued every 4 - 7 minutes so at 6:06 I decided an hour of contractions was enough and I took another pill.

The contractions didn't stop as quickly as they did in the hospital but within a half an hour I noticed that they were spreading out to about every 10-12 minutes and the last contraction I wrote down was at 6:58. So much for that we have everything stopped and under control huh?

The rest of the night was slightly a blur. I just remember being miserable until I went to bed at 9:30 and let my mind forget while I slept. The medicine makes your heart race and it makes you feel like you are crawling out of your skin. It also lasts for 4 - 6 hours (in my case usually closer to six) so it is generally an awful experience.

As I told Jake, I understand why people in preterm labor get to the point where they just want to give up. I want to do all that I can for my son but I'm not sure if I can continue to do this for another two and a half weeks.

33w2d

Isn't it funny how you can start out a day with one expectation of how things will go and before the day is over it has gone in a totally different direction. That is how my today went.

I got up early hoping to be at work by 7:30. I started working on a computer project yesterday and I needed to do a few things while there were minimal people in the office. However, when I got up at 6:00 something just didn't feel right. I sat on the couch for a little while and before Jake left I mentioned to him that it felt like I was having menstrual cramps.

At about 6:30 I got in the shower thinking these were just a little bit stronger braxton hicks but they just kept coming. Since I was getting ready for work I wasn't really timing them but I could tell they were somewhat regular and no more than 10 minutes apart.

Finally when I got to work at 7:30 and they were still happening I began to get a little more concerned. After all, at this point they had been happening fairly regularly for an hour and a half. I had a tight cramping sensation in my very lower abdomen that never seemed to go away and then every few minutes I would get a tightening of my whole uterus.

At 8:00 I decided that it was time to call the doctor. Their response? Come. Here. NOW. So off I went on my merry little way. When I got there they hooked me up to the monitor. The little man was fine but the contractions were coming fairly regularly. According to the monitor every four to five minutes.

After about a half an hour they decided that they needed to give me something to stop the contractions. They were not strong but with the regularity they wanted to make sure they didn't get stronger. Unfortunately they were out of the medicine (it's on back order) so they had to send me over to the hospital to get it.

While I waited for my chariot (they wouldn't let me walk) I called Jake. I told him that I was contracting regularly and was going over to get a shot to stop contractions. He wanted to know if he should come down. I told him to stay at work until I knew something else. After all, there was nothing he could do but watch me lie in a bed and wait for the medicine to kick in.

About 9:30 or so they had me all hooked up over at the hospital and they gave me a shot of terbutaline to stop the contractions. Then they decided that they needed to do was an AFP test. Yeah... I could go the rest of my life without one of these tests and be perfectly happy!!

Since I was hooked up to all the monitors they just had me prop my hips up on an upside down bedpan. THEN to add to my fun the nurse told the other nurse (whom I assume was a trainee) how to insert the speculum and find my cervix. Need I say more? There was no part of me that was a good patient for that part. I squirmed and I cried out. It was AWFUL!!

Then once they were done I proceeded to have the longest most painful contraction I have had to date. Yeah, good times. Somewhere around 10:00 my friend Katie showed up to sit with me. I told her not to come, that there was nothing she could do, but she insisted. So we sat and chatted for awhile.

About 11:00 they decided that they should check me. My contractions had pretty much leveled out but the doctor just wanted to see if I had dilated at all. For some reason I was under the delusion that her fingers couldn't hurt nearly as bad as the speculum. I was wrong. It was pretty close to the same feeling by the time she shoved her hand clear up there and then pushed down on the top of my uterus to get a good "feel." Oh the joys I have to look forward to here in another month or so.

The good news from that test though was that I was not dilated at all. I'm 50% effaced but fully closed. Which is a good place to be considering that I am only 33 weeks. A little after 11:00 they go the results of my AFP test back and they were negative. According to the doctor who came in after that the AFP test has a 98% accuracy of predicting whether you are going to go into labor in the next two weeks.

Finally at around 11:45 they discharged me. Katie and I went to lunch and then I went home where I was ordered to lay on the couch and drink exorbant amounts of water. I ended up taking a nap from 3:00 until 5:00. Then I got up and decided that I should go have my prescription filled.

They had given me a prescription for the pill version of the terbutaline in case I had any more contractions at home. When I got to my regular pharmacy they told me that they did not have it in stock and they would have to order it. For some reason I just had a feeling that would not be a very good idea so I went across the street to another pharmacy.

Luckily they had it in stock and the pharmacist told me that if I needed to I could take the medicine every six hours on a schedule to keep the contractions at bay. I left there with 30 pills, hoping not to have to use a single one.

However about 8:00 I started feeling that familiar cramping again. I started drinking more water and rolled over onto my side. Unfortunately I couldn't stop the inevitable and about 10:00 the contractions were back with a vengeance. I decided to take one of the pills and then go to bed.

33w1d

Today was a day of pressure. While they couldn't tell for sure last week if his head was down, my guess today would be that it is. Every time I got up to walk around I could feel something pushing on my cervix.

It felt like that twinge you get when you have a pap smear, only this did not go away. Needless to say I spent most of the day avoiding being on my feet so I could avoid that feeling as much as possible.

The rest of the day was pretty un eventful. Work, go home, sit on couch. Wash, rinse repeat tomorrow!

33w0d

Today I was awakened at 4:30 with the worst headache I have ever had. In hindsight, it may have just seemed really bad because it was 4:30 in the morning and everything seems more painful when you are awakened with it in the middle of the night.

After rocking back and forth for about five minutes praying for it to stop I finally decided to take two tylenol. Of course as soon as they were down the next thought in my head was, "my stomach is empty, this is going to make me sick." So downstairs I went to get a granola bar.

Once I was up and moving around things felt a tad bit better so I decided to take a shower. After all, if I had a sudden onset of preeclampsia and had to go to the hospital I needed to look presentable!! :-) Within an hour the headache was subsiding so I came to the conclusion that I probably wasn't dying and decided to go about my business as usual.

I had a training class today in a town about a hour and a half away so I had to leave by 6:00 or so to get there for registration and also to assure that I could get one of the coveted seats WAY in the back!!

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. The class was only mildly interesting and by the time I got home after my boring day and my hour and a half drive I didn't really feel like doing much else. I took the picture frames for the baby's room to Jess and we decided on a way to hang the quilt. Then it was off to my nice comfy couch.

32w6d

This morning was much the same as yesterday. I slept in and then watched movies for awhile. About 10:00 I thought maybe I should do something productive with my day so I started pulling clothing from our closet to get it ready for Goodwill.

About 12:00 Jake decided he wanted to go hunting for awhile. So after he left I started a load of laundry and then parked myself right back on the couch. (I'm really liking this couch thing.) After about an hour or so I realized that there was NOTHING on TV so I popped in a movie and did a little kitchen cleanup.

I worked on that for a little while and then decided to head to Wal-mart for a few essentials, mainly garbage bags and paper towels. I was only in Wal-mart about 30 minutes but apparently that was WAY too long for the little man. I started having contractions there and they continued once I got home.

So, I planted myself back on the couch and started drinking water. Jake got home around 7:00 and we ordered pizza and then I headed to bed. I told him before I went to bed that he probably shouldn't drink anything in case I needed to go to the hospital. However, by 10:00 the contractions had subsided and all seemed quiet on the baby front.

32w5d

Yesterday Danette and I went shopping for SEVERAL hours in the morning and this morning I paid for it. I was sore in my hips but more importantly I was swollen. My shoes were tight and my ring didn't want to come off. So once I finally got it off I put it on the bathroom counter and left it there for the remainder of the day.

Speaking of the remainder of the day, I spent most of that in bed. I went with my sister to get her hair highlighted so I was gone from about 8:30 - 11:00 but by 12:00 I was asleep again and I think it was around 2:30 or so when I finally emerged from bed.

At that point I headed for the couch where I sat on my butt until around 5:30 when I went to dinner with my mom, sister, and her fiance. So much for a productive day huh?

32w2d

I had my 32 week appointment with the nurse practitioner today. It was pretty uneventful. My blood pressure continues to be low, 132/62 and his heartrate was right on target. It is running around 150 but goes up to 160 when he hears the doppler. For some reason he still does not like it and always moves as far away from it as he can.

After that she ended up checking me for a yeast infection because I told her I may have one. She agreed, so I have a prescription that I had filled this evening.

Other than that, I measured at 33 centimeters and she said everything else looked good. She tried to feel for his position and THINKS he is head down but said with me being only 32 weeks she can't be 100% sure about that. However, she said I shouldn't worry because he has until 36 weeks to make up his mind.

30w4d

Apparently the newest fun game is to stick a head or butt (it all feels the same to me) under mom's ribs and then see her squirm as she attempts to unlodge it and find a comfortable position. This was my dilemma for most of the day today.

I would get up and walk around and get him to move for a little while and then as soon as I would sit down and start to work again back into position he would go.

After work Jess and I went out to do a little shopping for his room. We took back a couple of totes and got a few different ones. We also looked for corner shelves but had NO success in finding those. She wants black corner shelves to display the quilts and baby blankets people have made for us but we are not having any luck finding any. The few that we have found are not deep enough to put the blankets on.

30w2d

Today's word of the day was heartburn. Every time I ate and even when I wasn't eating I kept having to munch on Rolaids. At this rate they are going to be my new candy for the next 10 weeks. I never thought I would enjoy that chalky goodness so much!! :-)

30w1d

The newest symptom today was a lack of ability to breath!! He seems to have moved up a little and when he shifts just right I have a really hard time catching my breath. I keep having to shift my position or lean backwards so that I can take a deep breath.

I felt like all day long I was moving around and shifting backwards just to be able to get anything done. Maybe I am finally moving into the stage where I'm going to get ready for him to be here so I can try to get the control of my body back!!

30w0d

I had my 30 week appointment today. Once again the most exciting part of the whole thing was the wait!! I saw the same doctor today that I saw last time and once again she was an hour late. I'm hoping she's not the one who delivers me... I don't need her to be an hour late for that too!!

My appointment was at 10:00 and I came with a full bladder because inevitably I always go before I leave work and then can only squeak out a little bit for the sample they want. Unfortunately that meant that by 10:30 I REALLY had to go!! I kept thinking it won't be much longer, you can just wait. Finally I decided no more.

So I went back, gave my sample and returned to my wonderful little cove in the waiting room. About 5 or 10 minutes later they finally called me back. I left my shoes on when I got on the scale hoping to gain me a few pounds. Since last time I have gained 2 pounds... with my shoes on. Although the last time I went I was wearing Jake's really heavy sweater so maybe that and the shoes balance out.

Either way it was not the five pounds I had been ordered to gain but it was weight none the less. My blood pressure was fine 108/72 and they told me that my glucose from last time came back fine. Mine was 114 and I guess normal is between 89 & 139.

Once the nurse left it was another 15 to 20 minutes before the doctor came in. She noticed the weight gain and told me that she would give me credit for the two pounds and not lecture me. Woo hoo. She then measured me and he is still right on target. I measured between 29 and 30. Then we got to hear that wonderful heartbeat of his. It was at around 140 when she put the doppler on but once he heard it or felt it his heart rate sped up to around 160.

I also asked her about the leakage. She told me it was perfectly normal and it means I'm going to be a good milk maker. Well woo hoo... I can't gain weight but I can make milk!! Kind of makes me feel like a dairy cow. :-)

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful until I was driving home and decided just for fun to rear end a Dodge. Luckily I had my seat belt appropriately positioned and when I got home I pulled out the fetal doppler and all seemed to be well.

I did call the doctor's answering service and left a message for the on-call doctor. It is amazing, when you call with a regular question it can take you an hour to get a call back but mention the words car accident and your phone is ringing within 5 minutes.

He told me as long as the baby is moving and I'm not contracting, bleeding, or leaking fluid I should be fine. That made my fears ease a little but I think I will probably still worry about him for the next 24 hours or so. Right now I am VERY glad that I did not send back that fetal doppler last month like I was going to. I think we will be using it frequently.

29w6d

Today I managed to knock a large amount off of those gift cards!! I got all of the baby's books put away yesterday but they only took up two shelves of the 5 shelf book case so I wanted to get some cubicals to put on the bottom two shelves.

While I was out and about I also picked up a few packages of diapers and a storage cabinet thing for downstairs. We have a lot of blankets for this little guy and if I just put them in a basket the cats will think it is their new kitty bed. So I have been trying to come up with a way to store them.

My first thought was to buy a trunk but the cheapest one I found was $80 and they went up from there to close to $200. So while I was looking around yesterday I found a wood storage cabinet with doors and thought to myself, for the price I think this will do quite nicely.

Once I got home I did manage to get a large majority of things put away or at least organized in the baby's room. All that is left now is a few boxes of our old stuff that needs to be sorted and put into totes to head upstairs. All in all I think we are getting there. Slowly but surely.

29w5d

So since I purchased all of the pumping accessories last night my body apparently decided that it was time to get the party started. I was up in the baby's room today putting things away (or at least as much as I can do since we are not officially setting up the room for a couple of weeks) and I noticed a funny sensation.

I look down and sure enough, I'm leaking. I know the books all say that this can happen around the 30th week, sometimes sooner, but I was hoping to hold of at least for a little while longer. Luckily it is just a smigeon and so hopefully I won't have to wear breast pads for at least a few more weeks.

After I spent most of the day putting things away Jake and I went over to our friends house where I made him load up a lot of the things we purchased from them that they had been storing in their basement. So tomorrow... I get to unload and put more stuff away!! Yeah!!

Does it ever end??

29w4d

So this evening I began my spending of the Target gift cards. It's amazing how quickly the little things add up. I still haven't even begun buying essentials I'm still buying decorations and storage items.

Tonight I bought a few more picture frames for the baby's room. (An idea that Jess has, I will just have to post pictures when it is all put together.) I also bought all of the parts for the breast pump we borrowed. Jake's step-sister had a really nice pump but obviously I needed to replace the breast shield and storage containers.

It felt so weird to be buying that stuff. However I think it was less awkward for me than the kid behind the check out counter. He looked like he was in highschool and he greeted me so pleasantly. Then up on the counter I set baby hangers, picture frames, and all of the parts for the pump. Suddenly he was a lot quieter. Poor kid!!

I only hope that the day comes quickly when I too can embarrass my son that effectively!! :-)

29w2d

Eeekk!! I just signed up for our baby classes. That makes things seem a little more real. We were going to go in November but they recommend finishing when you are 36 weeks so it is fresh in your mind. Since neither of us really wants to go to class for 5 weeks we have decided to go to the one day class so it made more sense to push it back to December when I would actually be closer to 36 weeks.

On top of that I also signed up for a breast feeding class. I asked the person who signed me up if it was mainly just mothers that came to that or if the partners also came. She recommended the support person also attending. Jake will love that!! Oh well, two days out of his life will not kill him.