Time is Gold

We had a scare that resulted in me being placed on bed rest. Not fun.

At 31 weeks I went to the hospital for my normal bi-weekly nonstress test. As if timed perfectly, I started having contractions like crazy right when I got there. They monitored me for awhile and were concerned. They ran a Fetal Fibronectin Test, which tests for a protein that can predict the likelihood of you going into labor within the next couple weeks. To the nurses' surprise, my test came back positive. A negative result is more reliable and gives you a 99% promise that you will NOT go into labor within the next two weeks. Mine was positive, which means that I have a higher chance of going into labor within the next two weeks. A positive result is not as helpful as a negative result, but it still increases your chances of preterm labor. The nurse said, "I've worked here nine years and this is only the second positive I've ever seen...and the other lady who had a positive delivered her baby a few days later." Needless to say, I was kind of freaking out.

They gave me several shots of Terbutaline to relax my uterus in hopes of stopping labor. Thankfully, it worked and my contractions slowed down. They did an internal exam and found that my cervix was still closed. Good news! The nurse was surprised that I was still closed since I'm having twins and was contracting. At least one part of my body is cooperating!

Since there was a definite concern of preterm labor, they decided to give me Betamethasone steroid shots to help develop the babies' lungs faster. I received two shots over a 24-hour time period.

I've been given Nifedipine to take at home to control contractions. The medicine seems to be working and each day seems to be getting better. We'd really like to get these babies to at least 35 weeks. Let's hope my body cooperates!

My body is definitely drained. It's done so much and I can tell that it's ready to be done. I'm already measuring 46cm - which is like I'm a month and a half overdue. Sound like fun? It's not. I really think that my body is trying to go into labor so soon because of how large my uterus is. I feel guilty for putting my body through so much but I'm glad it's been relatively strong for so long. Just give me 2-3 more weeks!

So for those who have been worried, I'm doing okay. I'm stuck laying down all the time, but it will be worth it for every extra day I can give these babies. We'd love to ask for your prayers in helping us make it as long as we can.

And . . . my sweet sister loaned me her laptop for awhile so I'll be able to get online again. Yay! I'm so thankful for helpful people!

And throughout all the monitoring, the babies have looked great. Not a problem with them at all, we just need to bake them a little longer. It felt good to hit 32 weeks, because then the babies had a 99% chance of everything being completely healthy and normal in the long run. They'd obviosuly need to spend a few weeks in the NICU if they were born now, but they'd survive and be just fine. So that's a little bit of comfort. :0) We're still shooting for no NICU time.