If you've been staying in touch or keeping up on Facebook, this is old news to you by now (feel free to skip it). But, just in case you missed it, and for the sake of having it recorded somewhere, here's the story:
The week after Thanksgiving was pretty normal - we made plans for parties and shopping was well under way. I was really excited about all of the things I had planned for Tink - cookies, mailing her letter to Santa, Angel Tree, and shopping for our friends and family. Unfortunately, Baby J had something completely different in mind!
I woke up at about 1am on the morning of the 7th having contractions. I was sure it was a false alarm, and tried walking it off and getting some water. At about 2:30, I decided I should wake R up and call the doctor. By 3:30, my sister was here to stay with Tink, and we were headed to the hospital. K asked if she should take Tink home with her when she woke up, and I assured her that we would be back by then (yeah right).
By the time I was checked in at the hospital and hooked up to a monitor, my contractions were 8 minutes apart. They started with a steriod shot for J's lungs, and found that I had dialated to a 1. Things slowed down a bit after a shot of Terbutaline, but they started up about 3 hours later. Then, the real fun began. They hooked me to an IV and started Magnesium, which slowed my contractions, but made me feel like I was just waking up from fainting. I also had to have my vitals checked every hour and my blood drawn every six hours, which makes rest pretty difficult! After a pretty uneventful day, we decided that R should go home and get some rest and let Tink sleep in her own bed as I settled in to an antepartum room.
I did well throughout the night, and the doctor decided to try an oral medication - things remained calm, and a sonogram showed that my labor hadn't progressed! We were all excited, and the doctor talked about sending me home on Thursday.
Unfortunately, I woke up contracting about about 1am the next morning. They tried Terbutaline again, but for some reason, this round sent me straight for a close encounter with the porcelain god - if you know me at all, you know that this is my LEAST favorite thing! Getting sick bought me another round of Magnesium, this time without any food. Luckily, all of the excitement didn't phase J in the least. His heart rate was steady, he continued to move and kick as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on, and I still had no labor progression.
Because things continued to look good through all of the excitement, they decided that I would probably rest better at home. On Thursday morning, the doctor took me off of the IV and checked me over one more time before releasing me to go home. I never imagined that I would leave the hospital so quickly (and still pregnant)!
The next month brought a LOT of time on the couch, movies and magazines, and help from wonderful family and friends. I was bummed to be missing out on all of the Christmas fun, but SO thankful for the extra weeks for J to grow and that Tink is too little to remember this entire ordeal. I am officially 36 weeks today, the doctor expects J to be in great health whenever he decides to come, and I'm slowly re-entering the world. Don't expect anything too exciting, though - contrary to what you would expect from spending four weeks on the couch, I'm exhausted! We know we couldn't have made it without all of your prayers and help, and we are truly greatful - we promise to keep everyone updated, especially when J decides to make his grand appearance!
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