Family & Friends

I didn't think I would have to draft this post for a while longer, but I guess at this point it's becoming more and more likely that we have to start actually planning for a birth. That is exciting and scary at the same time.

Jay and I appreciate all of the support that each and every one of you has provided throughout this process. It is so comforting to know that we have so many people in our lives who are just as excited to meet Joaquin as we are.

Many of you have asked about things like visiting the hospital, being present for when he is born and visiting our house after we come home from the hospital.

Here is some preliminary information for everyone:

I will be delivering at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. The Hospital is between Superior and Newport Blvd, just up the hill from PCH. The Labor & Delivery department is located on the 5th floor of the main building of the hospital, opposite the main parking structure. The hospital also offers complimentary valet parking. You can go straight up to the 5th floor without checking in with the main desk on the first floor. The hospital has free wifi access, so you can also bring your laptops/iPads. They also allow cell phones.

Either Jay or our doula, Lorraine, will try to periodically update any one who decides to wait at Hoag on our progress throughout labor to the extent possible.

The hospital has a policy that no family members may visit with the new parents/baby for at least 1 hour after the baby is born. This policy is meant to ensure that the baby gets some "skin-to-skin" time with mom and the staff has a chance to complete their basic tests and so forth.

Assuming all is well, we will be moved to the 7th floor of the hospital 2 hours after delivery. This is the "mother-baby" unit. So if you want to forego the waiting room and come to visit later, this is where you will find us. Under normal circumstances, mothers stay on the 7th floor anywhere from 2-5 days. You can call Hoag directly to check that I am still there and able to take visitors, or you can give Jay a call on his cell phone.

After we return home, Jay is planning to take 2 weeks off from work, so I will not be alone. We plan to use this time to bond as a family as much as possible and also to allow me to recover physically. Visits from family members are welcome at this time, but our home is just far too small for any overnight visitors in the guest room. So, for our out-of-town family members who would like to visit, we highly recommend the Best Western Newport Beach, which is walking distance from our place. If you'd prefer a nicer hotel that is only a 5 minute drive away, we recommend the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach, which is just north of our place on PCH.

If you have any questions, please let either Jay or me know. We hope that anyone who wants to visit will be able to do so!

Home from L&D!

Yay! I was allowed to go home! I am so relieved.

The fetal fibronectin test came back negative, which is great news. I was still registering more contractions than the doctor was happy with, even though I had recently taken my Procardia.

So, I was read the riot act by my nurse (who, by the way, was just the coolest nurse ever) about taking it easy, drinking water, taking my pills, and staying on the couch as much as possible. I'm not even allowed to go to the grocery store any more.

I was given two more shots of terbutaline, which made me really jittery and had my heart going all over again. I was also told to up my dosage of Procardia at home and take it every 6 hours, even if I didn't think I was having contractions.

I was there for about 3.5 hours. Thank goodness my awesome husband came and kept me company.

Ticker Change Thursday - 33 Weeks

Joaquin is 33 weeks today and about the size of a honeydew melon. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.


How far along? 33 weeks
Weight gain/loss: I'm up a total of 30 pounds.
Sleep? I wake up a ton to pee, but otherwise sleep is fine. However, I am now a apparently quite talented at snoring, which is making it hard for Jay to sleep (even with all of the training from Bananas!)
Best moment this week? Jay and I were watching Dexter last night and it was really good!
Movement: He's moving all over the place, which is so reassuring.
Food cravings: Brownies and cottage cheese.
What I miss? Not worrying about a premature delivery.
What I am looking forward to? Hopefully some good news this evening.
Milestones: I'm one week away from 34 weeks, which is when my OB says that babies tend to do really well if they are born.
What I'm nervous about: I have a lot of work to do by Monday and I have a stressful afternoon coming up. I am wondering how I am going to juggle all of this.

Back to L&D this afternoon

I think it's going to be a Thursday ritual for me or something! I have gone to L&D on Thursday 3 weeks in a row.

I went to see my OB this morning and she was concerned about my cervical length (which is down to 2.6-2.8cm, from 3.1 last week and 3.3 two weeks ago - I had an u/s to check this yesterday afternoon).

So, I have to go back to L&D and have the fetal fibronectin test again and be monitored for contractions.

If the test is negative and all looks fine, then I can go back home and resume what I've been doing for the last week.

If the test is positive, then I am going to be admitted to L&D for at least 72 hours and will get steroids just in case.

I hope it comes back negative!

Wish me luck.

Late Update on OB Appointment

I went to see my OB on Friday afternoon and the news is as follows:

1. No going into work for at least 3 weeks (until I am 35 weeks), except for one meeting I have scheduled on Wednesday.

2. I am supposed to get another U/S this Wednesday to check and make sure I am not dialated or effaced. I have another U/S 2 weeks later to check growth as well.

3. If at 35 weeks I am not dialated or effaced and everything else looks good, I might be allowed to go back to the office. I will also have to pass the fetal fibronectin test again at 35 weeks.

4. I am NOT on bedrest, but I am supposed to take it easy at home as much as possible.

Oh - I forgot

My official "diagnosis" from the hospital yesterday was an "irritable uterus", which Dr. Google has told me is something that the scientific community knows little to nothing about. It is basically a condition where a uterus likes to contract a lot and can be caused by many different things (and likely some things that are yet undiscovered) and is not really "curable".

It is linked to a slightly higher chance of premature birth (18% or so versus the normal 11%) and is usually treated with bed rest, terbutaline, prometrium or a combination of these things.

Here we go again

Ever since last Thursday, I've been writing down my contractions to sort of keep track of how often I'm having them and make sure they don't increase in frequency. In general, I was having somewhere between 3-5 per hour (that I noticed).

Yesterday at work I noticed that I was having more than usual. After lunch, I started writing them down and, sure enough, I had 9 in the next hour. Hmmmmm..... So, I thought it was probably a good idea to call my OB's office and see what she said. I had been drinking tons of water and getting plenty of sleep, so I knew that was not the issue.

When I talked to nurse, she said that my doctor wanted me to go back over the Hoag to be monitored again. So, off I went. Again.

I arrived at the hospital at about 4:30 and was quickly hooked up to fetal monitors. One monitor tracks the baby's heart beat and the other tracks my contractions. After about 45 minutes or so, the nurse said "So, how many contractions did you say you were feeling an hour?" I told her about 8 or 9 that afternoon. She said "Well, you are actually having a contraction every 2 minutes, so about 30 an hour." Holy smokes.

The contractions were mostly small contractions, which is why I didn't really even notice most of them, with a few big ones mixed in (the ones I was feeling). After watching the monitor, I started to notice what the small ones felt like too.

Next the nurse gave me an injection of Terbutaline, which is a drug used to prevent or delay premature labor. She warned me that it would cause my heart to beat faster. About 10 minutes later, my heart was racing and my hands were shaking, but my contractions had completely stopped. I felt like I had just downed about 5 red bulls.

They continued to monitor me and they also had me go for another quick ultrasound to check my cervix, which, thankfully, was not dilated or effaced. A very good thing.

I was still having some contractions on the monitor about an hour after my injection, so the nurse gave me one more, which caused my heart to race all over again. Jay said I was acting extremely hyper. After the second injection, I had to stay in bed being monitored for another hour. They brought me dinner (a dry turkey sandwich on wheat - something most people would hate but I actually liked) with some grapes and fruit juice. We hung out for an hour, after which the doctors and nurses were satisfied that I was no longer having contractions and I was discharged.

I was given a prescription for Procardia, another drug prescribed to stop contractions and premature labor. I am supposed to start taking it if I start feeling contractions again. So far, I haven't felt any.

I was also told not to go to work today or Monday and to get an appointment with my OB as soon as possible to discuss what sort of work privileges I would have for the next 3 weeks. The doctors are really only concerned with preventing premature labor until I reach 35 weeks. After that, if I start having real contractions they will not stop them, so going back to work might be allowed without restriction. I guess the next 3 weeks are just critical to get through.

Update: I got an appointment today at my OB's office at 2:45. I'll update on what she says after that.