What a night! Is this baby just determined to be born now?

Last night was quite a night. I spent my entire evening in labor and delivery.  Not exactly what I had planned for my evening...

On Wednesday morning I woke feeling as if I had the stomach flu.  I was nauseous all morning, my stomach hurt, and I just didn't feel quite right.  I honestly thought if I took a couple of extra strength Tylenol I would start feeling better, but by 10 am I realized that I better call my hubby to come home and take the girls to school so I could go rest.  Luckily my hubby was able to get home in time to get the girls to school and I spent a few hours trying to "sleep off" whatever was going on.

However, by about 1:30 still feeling nauseous I began to realize that my stomach was hurting because I was probably having contractions, although they didn't seem very strong and I was still questioning whether I just needed to go to the bathroom.  I tried to drink lots of water and lay on my side, but by 4:00 pm at both the urging of my hubby and my sister, I called the doctor.  I was told to immediately get myself to labor and delivery.

Once at the hospital I learned that not only was I having contractions, but they were 2 - 3 minutes apart! At this point, I could feel my stomach go hard, but I felt mildly uncomfortable.  The nurse had me give a urine sample to determine if I had a UTI, and then did an exam to see if my cerclage was still in place. Because I have only had ultrasounds to determine cervical length and check on the cerclage since the cerclage was put in place, you can imagine my fear at having an actual exam with a speculum in place.  She tried to be gentle, but it hurt and she had to do a swab to check for a yeast infection as well as a swab to do a fetal fibronectin (Ffn) test to determine if I was in pre-term labor.  This is an interesting test as a positive result can actually be a "false positive". Part of my wondered why we were bothering since I had all of the symptoms of preterm labor, but apparently it is something standard that they do between 24-34 weeks if you begin having contractions like I was having.  To read more about the test please visit the March of Dimes site:  Fetal Fibronectin Test

After the exam, which determined my cerclage was still in place I had to wait for an hour on the results of the Ffn test.  My contractions were not slowing and I was now feeling uncomfortable from the exam.  The doctor immediately ordered a Terbutaline injection in an effort to get things slowed down.  What a terrible drug with horrible side effects.  Its primary use is for treating asthma and emphysema, but can used in pre-term labor to relax the muscles in the uterus helping to delay preterm labor. To read more about the medication please visit the following site: Terbulatine and Preterm Labor. 

After the first injection, I felt delirious as if my eyes were going to bulge out of my head. I felt very woozy and drunk. It did nothing to slow my contractions.  In fact, they began to come on very strong and very hard and I did my best not to panic.  My sister Candace was with me and she did her best to keep me talking and help me not think about everything. The doctor came in to tell me that if the Ffn test came back positive they were keeping me overnight for observation even if my contractions slowed. He said that if it came back negative for preterm labor they would probably send me home if they could get the contractions under control. I silently said a prayer and hoped the contractions would stop and that the test would be negative.

I was given another shot of Terbutaline and again it did nothing.  By now, I was in a lot of back pain, the contractions were now 2 minutes apart averaging 60 seconds, and based on the baby's movements he seemed to be experiencing all of the same side effects I was having from the med.  Then his movements slowed and I began to panic some more when I felt him pushing on my pelvic bone. The nurses were getting ready to do a shift change at this point and my original nurse came in to alert me that the terbutaline was "not working!" Really?  Because I wasn't sure... She told me they were calling the doctor to find out next steps.

Now a few hours into my visit to labor and delivery, and having had two injections of Terbulatine that did nothing for my contractions, the doctor ordered four doses of 10mg Procardia tablets to be given orally every 15 minutes. (This is what I was given when I went in around my 20th week when I started having contractions early on.) The Procardia I take at home is also a tablet, but it is extended release and does not deliver the medication to my system all at once. The nurse came in to tell me my Ffn was negative.  Hallelujah!!!   However, I was still having contractions and they were very painful. Was the test really a good indicator?  After all, I was now in a lot of pain.

After the first two doses of Procardia, I began to feel the all too familiar "Procardia headache" to add to my already drunk feeling from the other injections and my contractions were still coming on hard. So the nurse came in and moved me from my back to my side.  After a few minutes I did start to feel some relief, although was still having contractions and was seriously wondering if tonight was going to be the night to deliver my baby boy. I realized at this point I better alert my hubby, who was at home trying to get our girls fed dinner and get them to bed.  My oldest was having a panic attack because it was bringing back memories of when mommy went into the hospital with her sister to be "routinely checked" and didn't return for 16 days! It was all I could do to comfort her and to help her understand that everything was going to be ok.  I so wanted to give her a hug, but she finally calmed down and daddy was able to get her interested in a Tinkerbell movie.

After the fourth dose, the nurse had me reposition so I was now once again laying on my back.  I had a few more strong contractions, but she said that I was now showing mostly uterine irritability. Contractions last more than 40 seconds, whereas uterine irritability last less than 40 seconds. The doctor decided that if I felt like my contractions were not as intense and I felt comfortable, I could go ahead and go home with the understanding that I needed to call if anything changed and I needed to strictly rest.  I decided that I just wanted to go home and be in my own bed.

Last night I didn't sleep as I did have some very strong contractions off and on through the night, however this morning finally felt some relief from contractions. I've just felt very worn out most of the day and the baby seems as if has been worn out too. Thankfully my hubby was able to take today off from work so he could care for the girls and get them to school, but I worry that he now won't get as much time off when the baby is born.  The baby has been moving today, but his sleep/wake schedule seems all off compared to when he normally kicks me and moves around.  This afternoon, I did start to have some very strong contractions again, but they seem to have slowed down tonight. I hope that he can hold out for a few more weeks, but I just have a weird feeling his birth is coming soon.  I really, really hope I am wrong as I want him to have the advantage of growing for a little longer. 

If anything else happens, I will keep everyone posted... I am hoping this weekend will be a calm and relaxing Labor Day weekend with no actual labor!!!!!!!!