Thursday night was a normal night. Chase was moving and shaking in my belly up until midnight when I went to bed. I woke up on Friday for my regular weekly OB appt and noticed that Chase wasn't moving and my stomach was as hard as a rock. I also had terrible cramps. I drank an ice cold gatorade and laid on my left side, like the docs tell you to do for decreased fetal movement. I couldn't feel him once and my stomach was still as hard as a rock.
So I asked the doctor at my 10:30am appointment and he send me right over to Labor and Delivery at the hospital. He wanted me to be put on the fetal heart rate monitor and contraction monitor. I called Matt and he walked over from his work (he works in the hospital). We both were thinking that we would be out of there in an hour and everything would be fine. Well much to my surprise, the reason that I wasn't feeling Chase move was because he was being smooshed by my contractions. This is my first baby, so I didn't know what contractions felt like. Mine were getting up to every 1-2 minutes. The nurse came in and said, "Honey! You are in preterm labor!" They quickly gave me 2 injections of Terbutaline (which is supposed to help stop preterm labor) which made my heart race over 140 and didn't even keep the contractions down. So they switched to Procardia which is another medication to slow down contractions. I had one dose (10 mg) , then double dose (20 mg) at 6pm. They discharged me later that night, around 8:30pm or so, with an RX of the 20 mg to take every 6 hours.
We went home and I took the 20 mg Procardia and felt like crap- still contracting, migraine headache, racing heart, hot flushed skin, itchy hands and feet. I hadn't slept because of the contractions so I finally woke Matt up around 2:30 and said we need to go to the hospital! We rushed out the door and arrived at Shady Grove Hospital at 3am Saturday and was there for about 12 hours. I am dilated 1 cm already. The doc said that because I am so petite, my little body might do better with 10 mg every 4 hours. They gave my first shot of steroid for Chase's lungs, discharged me for the night around 3pm or so (it was another long day in the hospital), and said I had to go back at 7am this am (Sunday) for the second shot just in case he comes early.
So, just as we think this is under control....we wake up (after not sleeping too well) and leave the house at 6:30am for the second steroid shot. I told the nurse when we got there that I couldn't shake this flushed feeling and I didn't feel great from the Procardia. I was due to take my dose at 7am, so I swallowed it right before I had my second steroid injection. Well, as soon as the nurse injected me in my hip, WHAM! My heart goes up to close to 170 and wont come down. I started trembling and shaking. They had to do an EKG and had me on full blown oxygen. They said I have Tachycardia and that I am in the grey area of having a hyperthyroid (low TSH level prob caused by pregnancy). This is probably why my heart is racing in reaction to these meds. They want to see how it goes and test my TSH levels again in about 3 weeks. We were finally discharged (for the 3rd time in one weekend) just now and I am on strict bed rest and have to drink at least 3 liters of water a day. That is going to keep my uterus more relaxed and reduce contractions.
So now I am on 10 mg of Procardia every 5 hours and hopefully, he said they may reduce to every 6 hours next week if all goes well. Maybe I will even be weaned off of it in the next few weeks. We need to do everything we can to keep him safe inside my belly for 4 more weeks! The he can come out and play! The side effects suck but it is part of the journey I have to go on to bring Chase into this world safe and sound. So if itchy, tingly hands and feet, fast pulse, hot flashes, flushed skin, and headaches will do that, I am in! I don't like it one bit, but I can do it.
I am so blessed to have such a loving and supportive husband and family. I couldn't do this without them. Matt was by my side the whole weekend reassuring me that everything would be fine. He was scared to death, just as I was, but he really stayed strong and determined to get through this. I couldn't ask for a better husband. He is my rock.
Our families are so great! My mom still threw my baby shower today even though I couldn't make it there. All of my aunts, female cousins, their kids, inlaws, grandparents, etc are there celebrating our little man. It makes me happy to know that this many people are excited about his arrival! My mother in law brought some of the catered food over that I was so excited to have at the shower. We had Panera, so I had to have a doggy bag of my own.
My mom is going to come over tomorrow while Matt is at work and bring some of the gifts from the shower for us to open. She is going to stay with me all day and keep me company. I am so happy that she lives so close (10 mins) and that she can be here with me during this scary time.
Ok, I just took another pill and I am going to try and take a nap. I will update you all after my appointment with the high risk doctor on Tuesday.
