We had our 32 week appt scheduled for today after our ultrasound, but we never made it- I was admitted first! We had the biophysical profile and it looks like Emily is tipping the scales at about 4lbs 3oz, give or take some. We got the 4D u/s and got two semi-decent pics of her face, but nothing really great. She's awfully smashed in there! Then we did an u/s to check my cervix, and that's when things got interesting.

It seems during the past week I have lost 1.5 cm of cervical length and I'm now down to 6mm (yes, millimeters) left. The maternal fetal medicine doc was called in to interpret the u/s and started talking about me being admitted to lay upside down in the hospital from now until Emily is born. At one point in the conversation I finally stopped her and said, "So when are you talking that she might come out- are you thinking like, tonight?!" And she said it was a possibility because I had such little cervix left. She insisted I be driven across the parking lot to the hospital and I had to ride in a wheelchair up to the L&D floor...which is looking like it will be my new home while Emily cooks a little longer. If we can make it to 34 weeks they think that is another major hurdle, although personally I'd like to get her to 35 or even 36.

When I was admitted tonight they hooked me up to the ctx monitor again and apparently I've been having little weenie ctx (I haven't felt them) that have been as detrimental to my cervical length as the bigger ones I do feel. I am on magnesium sulfate to try and stop them- they'll do this with me for the next 2 days and then they'll quit. At that point, the ctx will either stay stopped or they will start again. If they start again I guess I'll just be monitored for dilation and we'll think about delivering her if I get started dilating.

The good news with all this is that she's already gotten the steroid shots for her lung development and also she's a girl, which I didn't know but apparently girls have an easier time with being early than boys do. It's totally scary to me to think that she could be here in days or weeks....months I guess are totally out of the question.

Tomorrow's my birthday and it looks like I'll be spending it right here, in home sweet hospital. Funny how life throws curves, huh? It definitely looks like I will NOT be returning to work before she is born- they don't even want me "serving my time" (bedrest) at home, b/c they don't think I'll be compliant enough. Truthfully, as terrible as it's going to be locked up in the hospital, it would be very difficult to completely rest-- there's just too many temptations. This is honestly the best place for me, even if it's hard to deal with.

Keep our girl in your prayers- we really need some more time to cook and hopefully we won't meet her until the last week in September or early October.

A Trip to Labor and Delivery...

First, everyone is fine-- before you read the saga. At times it does get hairy so I wanted to let you know that Miss Emily is still baking and I am back home- I don't think I've ever been so glad to be here!

So last night I was on the couch watching TV with Paul and I started getting pretty frequent contractions (ctx) and we began timing them. They were irregular, but closely spaced- 8 mins, then 10, then 6, then 5, then 4, etc. This went on for a little over an hour before we paged the resident on call in OB (a friend of ours- woo hoo!) He called back, told Paul he probably didn't need to see me, just to drink water and go to bed (it was about 10). Well, I got ready for bed, and, wouldn't you know it, as soon as I washed my face and got rid of my makeup (I hate to go out without it!!) the resident called back and told Paul on second thought, he wanted me to come in. We hopped in the car and drove to the hospital.

When we got there they hooked me up to a fetal heart monitor and a ctx monitor. The ctx were coming about every 5-7 minutes and were of varying intensity. I gave a urine sample and they ran it to the lab. Also, we did a fetal fibronectin (FFN) test and I got my first internal exam-- um, OWWW!!! They said I was dilated to 1cm and was 70% effaced, and that the baby's head was right there. Then, another doc came and did an exam, and he said I was 80% effaced. At this point I started getting concerned, b/c the docs did not seem happy about the effacement measurements...

My labs came back and showed I had a bladder infection, so they started IV fluids (I was dehydrated, too) and a bag of rocephin for the bladder issue. Paul likened the rocephin to "shooting a bladder infection with a bazooka"-- it's that powerful. My FFN test, which gives, within 90-95% accuracy, an estimate of whether or not you'll deliver in the next 2 weeks, came back negative- woo! I also got a steroid shot in my butt to speed up her lung development. At this point the ctx were still occurring, and often. They decided to admit me at 2:30am and sent me over to L&D (I had been in triage).

Once I got to my room the on call attending came in and expressed his concern at the ctx and my thinned cervix. He said that the bladder infection could be causing my uterus to be irritated and contract, but he was very upset about me being 80% (and zero station). He said the word, "Bedrest" and I fell apart. I have only had my kids for one week!! He was really nice about it and I apologized for sounding like I only was concerned about my job and not Emmy- definitely not true- and so he said we'd "play it by ear". Paul was supposed to begin work this morning in the NICU and we were very concerned that they'd kick him off the service if his own child was in there- too much of a conflict of interest, you know? At this point they were still discussing how to stop the ctx- they wanted to use a calcium channel blocker, procardia, but it lowers your BP-- and since mine is usually like 88/50, they weren't sure I could stand the dosage.

We got the first dose of procardia in and I was still stable, but when they came back for the next dose, my BP was 78/49-- too low. We just laid there watching the ctx tick by on the monitor. Emily showed a great heartbeat pattern- good accelerations and decelerations. Eventually Paul and I just tried to go to bed, but between all my machines running, docs coming in and out (oh yeah- one more cervical check in there, just for good measure...lol) and my nurse coming in, we didn't sleep a single bit. He drove home at 5 to let the dogs out and get my teacher stuff so I could write lesson plans in case they did make me go on bedrest.

This morning the ctx had stopped for almost 4 hours and then boom- started right up again. They got to 1.5-2 mins apart and my nurse came running in, took my BP to see if I could have another procardia, and paged my new resident. They gave it to me and I was able to get in two doses this time before my BP dropped too low again.

All day I laid in the bed, alternately crying and doing lesson plans. All I could think about was how hard a time she'd have if she were born, and how she doesn't have anything to wear b/c I haven't washed anything (not that it would fit her now, anyway) and how I just got my job and its wonderful insurance, and only have 12 weeks total from FMLA, and how I didn't want to spend 6 of them holding down the couch waiting for her and going back before Christmas, how Paul didn't get any sleep before work, how I wasn't ready to be a mother yet, I haven't read all my books, etc. I was a mess. They brought me their terrible food and as soon as the nurse left I was a blubbering mess again.

This afternoon we had an u/s to check my cervical length and the amniotic fluid around the baby. At this point, things started looking up. She had a good amount of fluid left (he said it looked normal) and my cervix was 2cm thick-- which he said was also OK. The resident was so great to us and let us use the machine to try and look at her-- it even had the 4d feature!! So we got a sneak peek, but she is so far head down, and so smashed in there, that we couldn't see anything more than an ear!! But what an ear it was- as soon as we saw it it was like a "Eureka!" moment and we were shouting, "There's an ear!! There's an ear!!", like we didn't expect to see one or something...lol. Hopefully next Monday when we have our real u/s at the perinatal center our tech will know some kind of trick to get better pics. Her body was so crunched we weren't able to get an estimate of how much she weighs, either, b/c the doc couldn't get enough pics to see.

Once I got back to my room I didn't have another contraction for 5 hours. Paul had gone home to let the dogs out and told me to call our friend the resident and "plead my case" to go home. The doc totally agreed- I'd had a second bag of rocephin, the second steroid shot, 4 bags of fluid (I think I peed 100 times!) He did NOT prescribe bedrest- he said some of our older OBs who treat very conservatively push bedrest but modern research doesn't show that it's actually that helpful. (Now, of course, if I had been dilated to 4 or so I'm sure they would have done it). He said it's common to be at 1cm for several weeks, sometimes even more than a month. I was thrilled that they were going to let me go home (I haven't slept since Friday night- got up Saturday at 8) and that I don't have to leave work after only teaching 5 days. Also, I think I'm going to start washing Emily's clothes and packing a bag for the hospital, just in case. They seemed certain that we will make it to 38 weeks or maybe longer, but this was mighty good scare. I'm so glad our little girl is safe and sound. I have been given strict orders about activity level, keeping up my fluid intake (which I'm terrible about) and not getting overexerted.

Keep us in your prayers- it look like everything is going to be OK, but this was scary and we feel like we had a close call. Our princess needs more baking time! I'll keep you posted, of course, if anything new arises.

30 Weeks- 3/4 Cooked!

HOLY MOLY-- I'm 30 weeks today! I can't believe that Miss Emily will be here in 10 weeks or less... it's so incredible.

She also has a new trick, which I have learned during my last two days sitting through teacher inservice training (BTW, I got a second grade job-13 kids! woo!) Anyway, I've been crossing my arms over what used to be my chest, but now is a shelf, and she kind of "surfaces" and come up and rubs against my arms. It feels amazing! Then, today, we were talking about sexual harassment and the grievance policy, and I swear, she must have been standing up in there, because I felt her body parts in my crotch, ribs, and both sides, all at once!! I was sitting there with this ridiculous grin on my face (I'm pretty sure my new principal thinks I'm immature or something and can't handle sexual harassment policy...LOL) but I couldn't help it. It took everything I had to not burst into giggles- she was like an octopus in there!!!

Also, she gets hiccups 4-5 times per week now. She had them today during the meeting, too (I couldn't tell you one thing I was supposed to learn today. I was waaaaay too distracted by the circus in my belly!!)

Eek- next week I'll be down to single digits!! : O

My Baby Shower!

So yesterday we had my baby shower and it was terrific! We had it at our house, so I spent all day Friday and Saturday AM cleaning like a mad woman. I think it might have actually qualified as "nesting" in some regards (like refolding everything in the linen closets and polishing my kitchen cabinets....neither of those were probably necessary for hosting a baby shower-LOL!) Anyway, my friends Katie and Terri were the actual "hostesses" and they came through with flying colors. We had enough food for an ARMY (sandwiches, veggie trays, fruit trays, banana split salad, cream puffs, chips, custom M&Ms that were pink and white and said, "It's a Girl" and "Emily Claire" on them-so cute!- and probably some other dishes I'm forgetting). Also, the cake, which was beautiful AND amazingly delicious, came from the place where I ordered our anniversary cake-- I think his business is going to pick up A LOT after my shower b/c everyone was asking who made it!! :)

As far as gifts go, we fared very well- we are so lucky! We got two Diaper Genies (we are returning one and buying her swing instead), two bouncers (we're keeping both- one for the bottom two floors of our house and one for the upstairs), lots of diapers and wipes, a tummy time mat, some mirror-plaything that can be strapped to a car seat or crib and plays songs, the travel system (stroller and car seat), a little dishes set with a baby plate, cup, and bowl with little baby animals on it, a ton of little girl clothes, bibs, burp cloths, socks, booties (WVU booties-- woo hoo!), gift cards, AND we had the Great Unveiling of the cradle Paul's dad made for her- which is incredible!! I had no idea he was so talented (apparently, neither did he- he had never built any furniture for anyone--only the step stools he made for all the women in the family!) but the cradle is amazing. We already put it in our room and set up the bedding for it (which he also picked out). Also, my friend Katie made the most adorable blanket EVER for Emily- Paul and I agreed that it was our favorite gift (well, with the cradle).

We played a funny game at the shower too- kind of a spin off of "The Newlywed Game" but I thought I'd share it with you. Paul and I filled out questions about each other, the baby, parenting styles, etc. and then the hosts read the questions aloud during the shower. The guests wrote down what they thought our responses were. The questions we used ranged from simple things like "What is the baby's name?" and "When is Allison due?" to harder ones like "Emily just left for her first date. What do Paul and Allison do?" and "How old will Emily be when she's old enough to wear makeup?" to sentimental ones like, "Why does Allison think Paul will be a good dad, and why does Paul think Allison will be a good mom?" Paul and I filled the questions out separately and gave them to my friend, so I hadn't heard the answers until yesterday. Some of them were hysterical! I've copied and pasted a little snippet so you can see what I mean (this is from my friend's answer sheet which had our responses):

Who will be the "strict" parent?

Allison: Probably me. I think Paul’s going to turn to mush when he sees her. She’ll totally be able to work him!
Paul: Allison. <--- EVERYONE at the shower picked ME to be the strict parent!! How old will she be when she is allowed to wear makeup? Allison:Probably about 13-14/junior high time. But not too much! Paul: When she’s 12, or whenever they transition to middle school b/c the other girls will be wearing it. Princesses need makeup. <---hahhahaha...oh, Paul. Too funny. Why does Allison think Paul will be a good dad? Why does Paul think Allison will be a good mom? Allison: I think Paul will be an incredible daddy because he’s such a great husband. I know he will be an active part of Emmy’s life and will take an equal role in parenting her as well. He will be eager to watch her grow up but hopefully she won’t grow too quickly! He will be so sweet and loving to her. Paul: I think Allison will be a good mom because she doesn’t like to work and will probably talk me into letting her stay home. She did a great job with her kids at school and babysitting so I think she’ll do fun things with Emily. I don’t think that she’ll be a really great mom because I think she’ll give in to Emily too much. (can you believe the first part? I get such a bad rap, ya know?!) LOL. After everyone left yesterday I mentioned to Paul that I'd been having frequent contractions all day. We pretty much just chalked it up to overdoing it (I did work very hard to get things ready and to clean the house) but last night as we were lying in bed I kept getting them- first, about every 20 minutes, but then we had an hour of every 10 minutes. The were not extremely painful but more uncomfortable than usual and were waking me up. He is on call today and I did NOT want to go to the hospital last night and be there all night long, only for him to have to work for 30 hours straight today/tomorrow, so I wouldn't let us go. We paged the on-call doc in OB and it turned out to be a close friend who said if they got any more frequent than every 10 minutes I was to come in immediately. Thankfully, after about 2.5 hours of watching the clock and waiting them out, we both fell asleep and I suppose they ended b/c the next time I woke up it was to the alarm at 6am. I was so relieved but have been given strict orders from Paul today to not do ANYTHING....we got really scared last night. It's like, every week I get a little more secure, because her survival chances go up (our hospital's NICU has a 99% survival rate at 29 weeks) but at the same time, she is NOT ready to come out yet. We both were very nervous last night- he was pushing to go to the hospital but I'm glad I didn't. I am going to take it easy today and relax- in addition to all the physical work I did to prep for the shower it has also been a stressful week-- so I'm hoping that is why they started. Stay cooking, Miss Emily!!

Hiccups!

Today at my real estate meeting I felt Emily having hiccups!! I noticed that she was really active and then realized that the movements were very rhythmic, so I started timing them. Sure enough, every 3-5 seconds I felt a little flutter!! I sent Paul a message that said, "Reason number 1 million why I love Emily-- she has hiccups in my belly!" It was sooo cute- and it made her seem so real!

20 Weeks- Halfway Cooked!

We had my normal OB appt last week (for 20 weeks). As usual, I am a member of the Walking Dead with a BP of 88/56. Yep, barely standing..lol. I still haven't made it back to my pre-pg weight (still 3lbs under where I started) and my doc said he's giving me until next month (24 weeks) to gain weight or we'll be having "serious talks". I am eating, people! :)

Then we got some GREAT news- he wasn't satisfied with some of the u/s shots from my 18 week u/s, so he wrote for another one!! We went back the same day and got good pics of her heart, spine, profile, foot, and double-checked that she's still a lady- and she is!
Her nursery will be completely done by the end of the summer. Paul and I have already bought her crib and changing table and are looking for a dresser (we didn't like the one that matched her set). Look for pics of the nursery sometime before school starts again.

Other than that, no news. She is moving like a wild woman every day and Paul can feel her on the outside now...yay!

The Big Reveal- Who's Inside?!

Today at 3pm we had our ultrasound to find out our baby's gender. I will start out by saying that I was very close to driving to my perinatal center last night and sleeping on their doorstep because I was so excited to see our little one today! All day at school I was so distracted- thinking about the baby, who it would be, what it would mean for us when we found out, my usual nervousness about something being wrong, etc. I started drinking a bottle of Mountain Dew at 2 pm (*interesting fact- I found out the other day that it takes about 1 hour for nutrients to reach the baby) so I began 1 hour prior to the appt and ate a couple small pieces of candy too. Apparently caffeine and sugar make my baby extremely wild, because we had an AWFUL time trying to get pictures!! The baby was moving so much it was almost impossible to get decent pictures-- the tech even commented several times that it was the MOST difficult scan she's ever done! Haha!

We got all the major anatomy done- everything EXCEPT gender- and the tech tried to explain to me that she was going to do a vag u/s to try to get that picture (the baby was completely breech, with genitalia facing down). The conversation went something like this:

Tech: "Allison, I don't think I'm going to be able to get the gender--"

Me, with HUGE tears in my eyes: "B-but, I can't LEAVE without knowing!! You have to try again!"

Tech, laughing at my interruption: "What I was going to say was that I don't think I can get the gender without doing a trans-vag on you. "

Me, leaping off the table: "OMG- I'm sorry! Let me go take off my pants!"

So then I run and use the bathroom (this makes the THIRD trip during the u/s!) and lost my pants. As soon as she "wanded me", you could see ALL of baby's genitalia.........and we are new members of the P-I-N-K team!! There was no denying it, once we were in the right position. Paul and I are so excited and I was personally so relieved to know-- Paul even commented to the tech that he was so thankful she tried hard for us, and that he "didn't want to go home with her [me] if we didn't know because of all the tears that would follow!" He knows his wife, that's for sure.

I am thrilled to know for certain and so excited to begin looking for things for a little lady. We will call her Emily Claire (Claire is my middle name). We have had her name since we were dating- which is nice, since we didn't have to think about it at all. It was so nice to finally know "who's inside"!! Woo hoo!

PS- Sorry for the suspense in getting to the final answer. I figured after how hard she was on me I had to build up to it, know what I mean? :) So there you have it...our little girl! :) Yippee!!