Big Scare

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Let me start by saying everything is ok. I guess I will start at the beginning. 

Just after lunch on Friday while at working waiting on a baby to catch I started contracting every 4 mins, very mild. I drank lots of fluids and decided it was best to wait until after her birth to become the patient myself. Around 10 pm I finally got on the monitor and was contracting every 2-3 mins. We did 2 liters of IV fluids in hopes that they would slow down but it didn't touch them. We tried an oral medication which also did nothing followed by a shot of terbutaline which finally stopped the contractions. My cervix was not dilated. I went home and caught a few hours of sleep.

When I woke up Saturday morning the contractions were right back to every 3-4 mins, still mild. Went to the office for an ultrasound to check the length of my cervix (it was great) and I still wasn't dilating. Got another shot to stop the contractions and started taking procardia every 6 hours. Each dose worked for probably 4-5 hours so it seemed like progress. At this point baby snowflake was feet down. 

My back up doc took me off of call for the weekend and my awesome friend and fellow midwife Vanessa covered that night. Felt pretty good all day Sunday. 

Monday morning I was feeling great, took a shower and felt something drip. Looked down to see the one thing any pregnant woman really doesn't want to see... red. It was light and looked like spotting but I knew I needed to be evaluated. When I pulled into the physician lot at work I felt a gush. I hurried myself to labor and delivery, tears streaming, and went to the bathroom. It wasn't my water breaking, but it was blood. On the monitor everything looked fine aside from my regular contractions. We notified my OB and got an ultrasound ordered. 



We were fortunate to have a very capable ultrasound tech to perform my ultrasound. She had worked previously in a high risk OB clinic performing ultrasound. Awesome! She did find a 3 cm bleed (abruption) on the ultrasound. My OB ordered steroids to help mature baby snowflake's lungs and magnesium to stop the contractions and to help protect her brain. 

Fortunately MUSC accepted my transfer and my chariot arrived 30 minutes later. It was a long, hot 2 hour ride to Charleston but my paramedic was very friendly. We finally got to MUSC and up to labor & delivery.



When we turned the corner into Labor & Delivery I was surprised to see a familiar face. Pamela Dosier was opening the door for us. I had worked with her on Labor & Delivery at Georgetown. I was immediately relieved. My nurses have been great. My first nurse Trixie had a similar adoption story to Brennan's adoption. She did labs, another IV and got me on the monitor. 

The 2nd year resident did a speculum exam and didn't see any active bleeding and my cervix was still closed. She did an ultrasound and couldn't see any bleeding. The MFM was in next and did another ultrasound. She too didn't see any active bleeding but could tell where the placenta had previously separated. I was still contracting every 2 minutes but my blood work was really good. They kept me on the magnesium over night and did repeat labs which were still great. The 1st year resident also stopped in to say hello. Her mother is my boss 😀

The OB attending Monday night was yet another familiar face. Dr Lazenby started a Centering Pregnancy program at the same time as we started ours. She immediately remembered me and I was again at ease. 

After shift change another MFM came in to speak with us. I had met Dr Sullivan last year. He leads a mobile simulation lab for OB emergencies so I remember him as well. Again I was reminded that I am in good hands. He basically said either the contractions will calm down and I will stop bleeding or they will continue and I will eventually start bleeding again or the baby will go into distress. Shortly after a wonderful NICU Nurse Practitioner came in to discuss every possible scenario we could encounter if we delivered a 27 week preemie. I thought Adam's head was going to explode but we were grateful for the information.

Monday night we got almost no sleep thanks to continuous monitoring of our little snowflake, IV's beeping, constant trips to the bathroom and a very restless mama. The good news is that we woke up today (Tuesday) with little to no contractions. I got my second dose of betamethasone, the mag turned off and my lovely nurse got me a bagel with cream cheese from the nurses' lounge. 



I'm starting to feel much better off of the magnesium and am grateful I don't have to call my nurse every hour to escort me to the bathroom. I ate a terrible hospital lunch followed by the best Starbucks Frappachino ever. Fortunately MUSC has a Chick Fil A, Subway and little pizza place. Not to mention Panera is 0.8 miles away. 

As for now no bleeding since 1030 am on Monday, no regular contractions since Monday evening and baby snowflake is quite content on the inside. I was moved over to the antepartum unit around noon and will stay here until they feel it is safe for me to return home. I've heard anywhere from 3-5 days. My first familiar face, Pam is my nurse. 

We are very fortunate that Adam's parents are taking care of Brennan while we are away (for those of you who don't know MUSC is 2 hours from home). She is in the best of hands and sadly doesn't seem to miss us much at all. 

I guess that's it for now. Praying that my uterus stays calm, the placenta stays securely attached and that baby snowflake keeps on growing. It will be a scary couple of weeks knowing that it's not safe for baby snowflake to be delivered at my hospital until 34 weeks but still being 2 hours from MUSC and the NICU. Please pray without ceasing. 

The one thing that is getting me through this, (besides the support of my husband) is knowing that this is somehow all a part of God's plan. He brought us to embryo adoption, he helped our donors find us and he put baby snowflake in there the very first try. We have to remain confident in His plan for this baby. I know that He's got a lot in store for her little life and He isn't going to give up on her now. 

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.



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