Dr. Update

DJ and I went and met with my OB doc this afternoon and heard relatively encouraging news. She said she's still fairly optimistic about me making it close to term because the cerclage is still intact, and I had a negative test result for the fetal fibronectin test they did last week. I am on fairly strict bedrest (only allowed to be up for showers and quick meals) for at least the next month. If at 31 weeks things haven't gotten worse, I can probably start increasing my activity some. If I make it to 36 weeks, they'll let me do anything I want. She said it's pretty difficult to give specific odds, but basically my chances of making it to term are quite slim but she is optimistic that I can make it at least close to term. Keep the prayers going - we know they work!

Also, my parents left early Wednesday morning for Florida for my cousin's graduation. My mom called today and informed me that they were at the hospital! My dad's arm was quite swollen and after a trip to the clinic, they were redirected to the ER. It turns out he has a blood clot from donating blood earlier this week. They are admitting him overnight to make sure the blood thinners start taking effect. He should be released tomorrow, but it is questionable whether or not he'll be cleared to fly home on Saturday. Too much excitement this week!

And...BEDREST!

It's official...I'm now on bedrest at 27 weeks (Brecken was born at 27 weeks, 5 days.) I went in Tuesday for my biweekly ultrasound to check my cervix, and I now have new funneling and have shortened from 3.9 to just 2.1cm (in 2 weeks)! :( Grrrrrrr.... The cerclage is still in place, which is a good thing. That probably prevented this from happening any sooner and kept it from shortening any more. At the ultrasound imaging center, they called the oncall doctor who informed me that I needed to be done working and be at home on bedrest, and that I should go see my doctor this week at her next clinic day. I'm meeting with my regular OB this afternoon, so I'll post again later with further details. Right now, I've just been told that I need to be in bed at all times except for showers, meals, and brief occurrences. PLEASE PRAY FOR BABY TO STAY IN FOR A LONNNNNNNNNNNNG TIME (like 10 more weeks!) More details to come after my appointment...

Never a Dull Moment

The "excitement" continues... I'm sort of embarrassed to admit (even though I know I probably shouldn't be) that DJ and I went down to the hospital a week ago Saturday (5/12) for me to get checked out. I was feeling an occasional tightening in my abdomen and was worried that it could possibly be mild contractions starting, plus (what pushed me over the edge to go in) was the fact that I had fairly intense vaginal pain every time I stood up on my feet. Once again, thankfully everything was fine! I also had my usual ultrasound check that next Monday evening, and that showed that my cervical length was still in stable condition and everything looked great...such a big relief (for a few days anyway ;) I'm starting to realize it's going to be a lonnnngggg few months with me agonizing over every little pain/change I feel! With Brecken's pregnancy, I literally didn't feel a thing and was then rushed to the hospital when they discovered that in 2 short weeks my cervix had almost completely vanished. Therefore, every time I DO actually feel pain, I start to think that more must be happening than last time because last time I felt perfectly fine and look at what had all been happening! Even though I don't like going in just to hear that everything is totally fine (and that I'm pretty much paranoid), I know that I would forever feel guilty if I didn't get things checked out and later found out that things had started to progress in the wrong direction.

Today I had my usual clinic check-up and everything looked great again. Because of my history, the Dr. did do a fetal fibronectin test to determine my likelihood of a preterm delivery in the near future. The results are already in, and it was thankfully negative which is GREAT because that means I have a 90% chance that I won't deliver within the next couple of weeks (I said to myself this test BETTER have a negative result!) If it would have come back positive, that result would not have been as definitive - a positive result is only about 50% accurate. If it was positive, they would likely have restricted my activity and possibly given me steroid shots for baby's lungs just to be on the safe side. I'm sure they'll run the test again in a few weeks.

Brecken has also been adding "excitement" to our household over the past couple of weeks. About 2 weeks ago, he had an ear infection in both ears, and the right one was so bad the doctor said he had blisters on his ear drum and it was about to rupture. Thankfully, we got the medicine in just in time and we never saw any fluid drain that would indicate a ruptured ear drum! However, he was quite crabby to say the least - I don't think we've ever seen him act as sick as he did with this particular ear infection! Then last week he developed a terrible rash, which has cleared up in some spots but has spread to new areas. We initially thought it could possibly be related to the antibiotic, but he had this same exact rash almost one year ago to the date and he wasn't on any meds at that time. Plus, he's been on this same antibiotic a couple other times w/o any issues at all. DJ is taking him back to the doctor tomorrow morning to hopefully find a solution since none of the ointments we've tried seem to help, and the antibiotic was done on Friday. Thankfully DJ's work schedule is more flexible so he can take Brecken to the doctor (even though it kills me as a mom to not be there!). I guess I also have enough of my own doctor appointments to deal with right now. In fact, I now call Mondays, "Medical Mondays," because every single Monday I have two appointments - an injection plus either an ultrasound or a clinic check-up.

We were very busy this past weekend with a trip to the Como Zoo on Saturday morning and then a wedding. Sunday was church and trying to catch-up on house stuff (as well as a much needed nap ;) For Memorial Weekend, we'll be staying home this year because I am not allowed to leave the Twin Cities area ALL SUMMER :( With my history, they don't want me to be too far away from Abbott Northwestern & Children's in case I would deliver early again. Out-state hospitals just don't have the capabilities of caring for tiny preemies. Hopefully, it's just an extra precaution and we won't be dealing with the NICU this time around! (even though the Children's NICU is fabulous)

Well enough rambling...enjoy this beautiful spring weather!

Easter Pics (finally)

A pre-Easter egg hunt