[activealli]

To keep everyone updated from my post of "Measuring large for such a small person", I saw the perinatologist today, more ultrasounds, 3rd day of extended fetal monitoring. So far no more bad news. There are no OBVIOUS signs of downs syndrome (though the only way to tell for sure is by an amniocentisis, and its too risky with the premature labor, costs outweight the benefits) and all other organs, heart, brain, palate, etc all seem to be ok. My labor hasn't progressed and the medication seems to be helping stop my early labor contractions and I haven't dilated past 1.5-2 cm. Next week we will meet with the neonatal surgeon and have weekly checkups with the perinatologist for monitoring. If anything changes, Ill be on bed rest in the hospital until I deliver. BUT now Im on COMPLETE bed rest at home. No errands, no grocery store trips, no walks, no swimming, no chores, and even told to stay hydrated, but not TOO hydrated so Im not making too many trips to the bathroom! Im at 29 weeks now and hoping to make it to 34 weeks before I deliver, then they said they could loosen up my restrictions. That could mean at least 4.5 weeks of complete bed rest. For an athlete and busy body (hence my screen name activealli), this is going to be TORTURE! Im also extremely uncomfortable sitting and resting because my over inflated belly is cramming my ribs, my hips and also causes a lot of pressure against the vena cava. Luckily the medication that stops the contractions, also seems to mellow me out and give me sort of a "flu medicine" kind of effect. Not normally something I enjoy, but when you cant do much, feeling groggy and out of it is a blessing, rather than restless and annoyed.

Anyway, anyone have any ideas of new hobbies I can take up from the couch? Any one know of any bed rest forums to talk with other ladies? I am googling stuff but not really finding anything that anyone currently posts to.

Thanks...

 

[Ms. B. Sprout]

So glad to hear some good news on the testing front.

I hope some bedrest-experienced mamas can pop in here and give you some good tips. All I can give you is sympathy! I hope the next 4.5 weeks go by without incident and in relative comfort for you.

This is not the same as bedrest, but when I was pg with my first and then in bed nursing a lot, I embarked on a reading project. I decided to read all the Pulitzer-Prize-winning novels. They are listed here.

Feel free to vent anytime! Keep us posted!

 

[Bokonon]

DDC crashing - Sidelines.org is a great resource.

Good luck!

 

[mareseatoats]

This sounds silly, maybe, but I really liked listening to books on tape and coloring. I actually watched Friends and colored in a Christmas Sesame Street coloring book when I was in early labor with DD

.

 

[time4latte]

Glad to hear the good news. It's not something I've experienced, but maybe picking up some crochet or knitting? I crochet and I would probably use some of that time making hats, booties, buntings, sweaters, wool longies, blankets ... make a couple of different sizes and if you're just learning it would keep the brain occupied. You can order yarns, hooks, a darning needle, patterns (although I've been able to find a ton of free ones at http://cache.lionbrand.com/freePatterns.html) right online. Some things I've made in what little spare time I have, I know I'll hang on to for when my boys are grown for their babies.

Just a thought- something to throw into the mix.

 

[activealli]

Thanks so much for all the ideas and support. I finally told my close friends up here in Oregon and they are forming an action team to come and visit me and take care of anything I need. Luckily both my husband and I work from home, so we are very lucky indeed that I will never be alone. I used to crochet, but never learned anything but a scarf, so thank you very much for the patterns and ability to order yarn online. I think my discover card is going to take an online hit over the next few weeks. I would love to make baby Aiden a blanket to take him home with. I used to love to color. I am going to order a few off amazon and some crayons! Of course Ill need to get some work done, but its really hard to get much done with all this on my mind, along with the medication making my head fuzzy!

Thanks for the sidelines.org recommendation.

Side note: I am so thankful for my wonderful husband. He drove me by this amazing veggie burger cart in Portland on my way home that I was DYING to try after reading about it in Vegetarian Times and picked me up a burger on my way home from the specialist yesterday, as my final bit of "outside" before I got stuck in the house for the week. While he is busy right now getting as much work done as he can done before things get even crazier when I go into labor/surgery/etc, he has made date night plans with me to pick up food and watch a movie at home. Last night he tucked me into my bed (we have always slept in separate bed, he has the tendency to unconsciously push me out of bed...) and laid with me for ten minutes and rubbed my belly and promised Aiden we were not going to let anything happen to him and tells him we will love him no matter what. We have been through a lot together and I am thankful our relationship is so strong and have the support from one another.

Ok Ill stop rambling! Its only 7:30 am and Im already bored and woke up with enormous hip pain and a pulled ligament. Its going to be a LONG day!

 

[kylaskye]

I was going to suggest coloring! No fair.

Ravelry.com is also very good for free patterns. More than the lionsbrand website, IMO. Tv, reading. Writing. If you have a laptop, surfing the net. I've been looking up recipes and writing them down to help with meal planning, and that takes up a good chunk of time, too.

 

[Ms. B. Sprout]

How ya doing today, mama?

 

[activealli]

Hanging in there I guess... spent last night in the hospital on observation. I started feeling a lot of tightness around 5pm last night and decided to go over for observation. Since this is my first baby, I am not really sure what contractions are supposed to feel like, but now I am paranoid because I never knew I was having contractions when I got admitted on Wednesday. I just felt tight and more tight, but nothing with any regularity or clear start/stop to it. They hooked me up to the monitors and it looked like a crazy snake. I was having tons of contractions. There was no space between the contractions, but they were not too big or regular, just basically my uterus going nuts. So they had to give me medication to stop the contractions every 20 minutes until they got under control and decided to keep me overnight to see if they were truly under control with the medication before they sent me home. Almost got transferred this morning to another hospital to get an amnio reduction, but since there was no cervical change or change in dilation they decided it could wait because they dont want to risk complications from the amnio reduction. I was sooo glad when they sent me home!! I was scared I wouldn't get out (still a possibility, but taking it just 1 day at a time). The nurse came in and told me to hurry up and call my husband before they change their mind again! While Im not happy to be in the hospital 4 out of the last 5 days, everyone has really been great. My nurses and doctors have all been really sweet and understanding in such a scary situation. My nurse this morning owned a local boarding facility and had many many horses of her own and we blabbed for way too long this morning!

Spent most of the day sleeping on the couch. Its really hard to sleep in a hospital, especially when someone comes in mid labor screaming "HELP ME" at 1:30 in the morning and was screaming bloody murder next door. I wasnt sleeping anyways, but it didnt help!

Ok, ill stop rambling now! My friend stopped by for an hour earlier and brought me some pet food supplies for all our critters and got everyone fed. Im glad to have good help in times like these, but its sooooo hard to let other people help me! Im definitely one of those busy bodies and asking for favors/assistance is a big issue with me, but I dont have a choice right now and my friends are forcing me to take their help. I kept trying to get up to help my friend this morning and she kept yelling at me to sit still. haha.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be 30 weeks! Another great milestone!

 

[mareseatoats]

What hospital are you working with (if you don't mind me asking)? I've had a really wonderful experience with Emanuel. I was really surprised by how pro-midwife the OB was. I was born at Emanuel and it turns out that he had started working there only two years before I was born! Kind of cool. I'm glad to hear that things are going well... it seems like no changes to the cervix is really a positive sign. Thanks for keeping us all updated! You're often in my thoughts.

 

[activealli]

I have kaiser, so I have been going to Kaiser Sunnyside for most things, like the observation, but will need to go to St. Vincents for the delivery because they have the NICU unit and kaiser doesnt. But, we live about 5 minutes from Kaiser Sunnyside, and St. Vincents is about 30-45 minutes or 3 hours depending on traffic so the plan is to go to Kaiser if there is a problem, then they can transfer me if necessary. Kaiser Sunnyside actually told me they were sorry I wasnt able to home birth and wished that they could do our L&D. They told me today that many people go on to have perfectly normal pregnancies the next time around and I could have a VBAC with them (assuming I have a c-section) which most places dont allow. They have the lowest c-section rate of all the hospitals, 20%, where as most Portland hospitals are around 40%. They have a midwife, NP, and DR on call 24/7 so you always have access to your choice of provider, even if its not the same person you were seeing. They told me they do it that way because it decreased c-section rates. The nurse admitted she worked at another hospital and saw time and time again women given pitocen, c-sections, some sort of intervention because the doctor had vacation planned or didnt want to hang around longer or whatever.

They were all really sweet to me last night. My night nurse came in at 2am to check on me and to give me more medication... of course I was still wide awake and she hung out and just talked with me for about 20 minutes.

 

[Ms. B. Sprout]

Congrats on 30 weeks and for those contractions not changing your cervix! What an extraordinary time this has been for you. I'm glad you're back at home. Please keep us posted -- I am sending you lots of good thoughts!

 

[Lexi_029]

I feel for you being bored out of your mind on bedrest. I've been on it for several weeks now and am so, so bored. I spend way too much time online and watching Netflix. I find book series are a good way to pass the time too. They are kind of cheesy and ridiculous but I started J.D. Robb's In Death series recently and those are a fluffy, fun way to pass the time too. I do sneak out of bed because I'm at home and will spend 15-20 minutes playing with my kids every few hours which helps too but I really miss my normal life. I get out of the house about once a week to go to the midwife/OB's office but that's about it. I miss all of the fun activities I used to do outside of the house with the kids!

 

[activealli]

Lexi- Sorry to hear you are on bedrest too.I cant imagine being on bedrest when I already have kids. Its hard enough with just relying on my husband taking care of just me and our herd of critters.

I spent the night last night at the specialty hospital across town and they ended up doing an amio reduction this morning because the contractions were out of control. Not a fun procedure but I feel much better now. They ended up taking 2 liters off my uterus to get my back to a "normal" amount of amniotic fluid! A large soda bottle worth of fluid! By the end of the procedure I literally felt the weight lift off my abdomen. My belly is soo much smaller. Such a huge weight off my body. My hips and back are soooo much better! I can actually sit for 10 minutes without breaking out into tears because it feels like my hips are bending under hte pressure and my sciatic nerve is a million times better. I can breathe easier, get up easier, and I actually slept for 2 hours on the couch. So far 2 hours is the most un-interupted sleep I have had in over 3 weeks! I am still on bedrest, but they were able to back off the medication to stop contractions and (fingers crossed) may have my restrictions eased up a tiny bit tomorrow. Im keeping my fingers crossed.

When they were doing the ultrasound for the procedure, they told me that Baby Aiden had a huge head full of hair already (he will be blonde since we are both blonde, and a good chance that he will have curly hair!) ! It seems small, but it made me cry. They were trying to help me focus on the positive. I feel lucky to be in such good hands. I meed with the neonatal surgeon tomorrow and again with the perinatologist.

Ill take "after" photos tomorrow. There is a huge visible difference in my belly. It feels so nice and soft now. It was hard as a rock before. I can feel baby Aiden moving a lot more because there isnt so much fluid to buffer him.

 

[Lexi_029]

Oh, a full head of hair! Too cool. All of mine were born with hair too but no one noticed it on ultrasounds. I'm glad that you're feeling some relief.

 

[Gracecody]

Gosh, I am so very sorry it's been so challenging for you and your babe. That is so sweet to hear about his hair. I remember when my first was born he had a full head of blonde hair and all the nurses were coming to see it because it is so rare. Anyway, I am so glad that the fluid reduction is making you feel SO much better, that is wonderful.

 

[Ms. B. Sprout]

How are you doing, alli?

 

[activealli]

Im hanging in there. We did find out last week the results of the amnio... and he does have down syndrome. We had done the first trimester screening and came up almost 1/1000, we just happened to be that one. Its still been a little hard to deal, emotionally and physically, with all we have been through in the last week, but we are hanging in there. Its overwhelming enough to think about having a child with a disability, but right now we need to focus on a healthy (well, as healthy as we can manage) delivery (still thinking it will end up c-section, which is common with excess amniotic fluid because the baby is just floating around) and the rough months following with the surgery and seeing if his intestines will start working again, and if there are any other malformations. We did do an echocardiogram as children with DS have a 50% chance of heart defects, but so far he came back with what looks like a "perfect heart". So, no major defects or minor seen. There is still a chance that they could find something VERY minor after he is born that couldnt be seen on the ultrasound echo, but its good news for now.

The way my husband and I are thinking about it is that 1 in 1000 babies WILL be born with down syndrome. We were chosen for a reason. I was a behavior therapist working with children with autism for 7 years, have a degree in psychology with an emphasis on child development, worked with adaptive physical education for 1 year (PE for children with disabilities), worked in a special education classroom for several years, and had started my masters in behavior analysis (to work with children with disabilities, esp autism- before I dropped out for medical reasons). My husband and I both work from home FT so we would be around 24/7 to care for our son and give him all the attention he will need. My mother worked in special education for 10 years, primarily with children with DS, and LOVED working. She has even run across former students, now in their 20s, who remember her and doing great. So, thats how we are thinking about it. Not as a "loss" but as a chance to do something really amazing with an amazing little boy. We know he will change our lives for the better, and hopefully change some other people's minds about what it is like to be "disabled". Ok, enough rambling!

So anyways, as for how Im physically doing....

When they did the reduction, I was at an AFI (amniotic fluid index) of 33, and right now Im at 28, and gaining about 2-3 whatever units a week. So, Ill likely be back in preterm labor in a week or two (Ill be 33 weeks on Tuesday July 19th, so back in preterm labor around 34-35 weeks???) . Right now I get contractions if I lift anything heavy, walk for longer than 30 minutes or going up and down the stairs. Basically anything that gets my heart rate up. BUT, the contractions do go away with rest and ever more water, so we are ok at this point. Once I reach the preterm labor point where my cervix starts dilating again and my contractions cannot be controlled anymore with medication, they are going to run a bunch of tests to see how the baby is doing, developmentally, to assess the risk of how well he would do if I delivered. If it looks like his lungs are not yet mature or he doesnt have enough fat on him or see any problems with his organs not being ready, they will most likely do another dreaded amnio reduction to buy a few more weeks. If it looks like he would do ok, they are going to let the labor progress and let me deliver (however that happens to happen).

So, its just a waiting game right now. It is impossible to really get much work done, but trying to get at least my bases covered in the mean time. I spent most of the weekend cooking up a storm to "feed my freezer", and have so far made an indian spiced lentil soup, pinto bean kale soup and going to make sweet potato falafel tonight. It helps keep my mind occupied and busy and not worrying so much about the next few weeks!

Thank you for the concern.. sorry for the rant.. so much going on, it is hard to fit it into a small post!

 

[Ms. B. Sprout]

Wow, that is quite an update.

You sure do have a lot on your plate and on your mind right now. Can I just say how totally impressed I am with your approach to everything that is happening in your life?! Could you be any more prepared to welcome your little boy into the world? It makes me smile just to think about what a lucky baby he is to have such a great mama, daddy, and grandmother!

Congrats on the good news on his heart. That's huge.

Is the amnio reduction "dreaded" because it is painful for you? Or because it carries risks?

I hope your birth and your baby's surgery go very smoothly. I have been thinking about you and will continue to keep you guys in my thoughts.

 

[scsigrl]

Wow, Mama! That is a lot to take in and the grace with which you are doing it is truly amazing. Great news about the heart! That is wonderful. Continued rest and good vibes for you and your DH in all this. Again, your grace is just awesome.