Bed Rest

Today I am 31 weeks and 4 days.  It has been a LONG 53 days here at UAMS but well worth the effort.  Although 31 weeks is far from ideal, it is a great deal better than 19 weeks (when the contractions began) or 24 weeks (when Samuel was born.)

At 28 weeks, an ultrasound revealed that my cervix was gone...100% effaced and 1cm dilated.  Not much has happened since.  We haven't had a follow-up ultrasound, I haven't had an exam, and I have hardly moved from the side-lying fetal position that my uterus seems to appreciate.  The goal is to do as little with me as possible so we don't 'stir up' the contractions.

I'm still not bored.  I probably would be if I felt better.  Each day is such an ordeal to get through...the contractions really wear on me and the pelvic pressure is extremely uncomfortable.  By this point, everyone knows I'm a 'chronic contractor' so I feel like a broken record anytime I bring it up.

Bedtime is my favorite time of the day.  I take a small dose of Ambien each night so that I can sleep and so the contractions calm down.  I hate taking medicine (we are also doing Procardia every 6 hours), but I keep telling myself that if Annalee was not in my belly, she would be receiving much more medication than that.  Better to take the medicine and keep her baking a while longer!

It may take me months to process all we've been through during this pregnancy.  When we were sent home from Willow Creek at 20 weeks, I cried and cried, thinking that we were about to deliver a baby that had no chance at survival.  At 23 and 24 weeks I cried for my family, for Annalee, for our future.  Although Samuel's outcome was phenomenal, we know it is not typical.  At 28 weeks we breathed a small sigh of relief.  She wouldn't be a micro preemie.  At 31 we feel like we are on the downhill slope of the pregnancy.

Despite our continued prayers for a full term baby, I can only take this pregnancy one day at a time.  Today is better for her than yesterday.  This afternoon is better than this morning.

On Monday I will have another ultrasound to check on baby girl's growth.  I'm always concerned about her weight since my belly is so tiny.  Hopefully there is a 3+ pound baby hanging out in there somewhere!  Unless something unusual shows up on the ultrasound, I'll be heading back to camp on Tuesday regardless of how dilated I am.  32 weeks doesn't feel safe...but it feels safer than the last time they tried to send me back to camp.

We know that God has His hand on this pregnancy.  There is no other explanation for how we've stayed pregnant for so long!  Will you continue to join us in praying for more time and for a healthy baby girl?  We truly appreciate it!