A Little Labor & Delivery Visit Anyone?

Yes, that's right, little one...we had a little visit the other night to L&D.  Your Mommy was having contractions from about 8pm - 11pm every 8-10 minutes.  So, your Daddy and I decided I should call the on-call nurse at my doctor's office.  The nurse was my wonderful CDE, Val, which is great since I have worked so closely with her this pregnancy...and I really didn't want her to tell us to go into the hospital (30 minutes away at 11pm), but she did.  All it took was for her to say, "Dani, you've worked so hard at this for so long, it would be a shame to not go in and have really needed to," and that was pretty much it for me...completely  made sense.  So,after a frantic, bag-packing moment (guess I should've already done that!), we went in, admitted to OB Triage and was hooked up to the heart rate monitor for you, and the contraction monitor for me.  You looked great and my contractions were coming A LOT.  These contractions didn't hurt, exactly...they were really uncomfortable though - lots of tightening.  There was a Really Nice Nurse that took care of us and she told me I was contracting every 2-ish minutes.  Yikes.  She checked my cervix out, and it was still very high and only 1 cm dilated...so, barely anything to warrant having a baby.  She went and talked to the doctor and they decided to collect some blood samples to make sure that I wasn't experiencing an abruption-something-or-other.  Basically, what that meant was, if I was, I think they would've gotten you out ASAP.  They didn't think so, but they needed to rule out the worst case scenario as to why my uterus was going crazy.  After a several hours (me still contracting like a crazy woman...and actually had to start breathing through some of them...plus those beds are soooo uncomfortable!), she got the blood results and they were good - no abruption-whatever-it-is.  I was a wee bit disappointed, I will admit, because the thought of meeting you that night was wonderful!  She checked my cervix again, and there was no change.

The bottom line was this.  Since we are at 36 weeks, they don't give anything to stop contractions....but also since it's only 36 weeks, they don't do anything to get them going more (like pitocin, etc.)....so we were in no man's land, week-wise.  This meant, I just deal with the contractions for the next week or so as long as they stay on the mild side.  This is basically just early labor.  Now, from what the Really Nice Nurse said, if I was in there a week later, they might have helped me out with the labor process and admitted me (since 37 weeks is full term).  I just need to keep an eye on these contractions and obviously go back in if anything intensifies.

So, your Daddy and I headed home about 5am and passed out for a few hours.  Luckily, your Sisters weren't with us that night, or else I don't know what we would've done!  In the end, I am glad we went in...first, it made me feel like I wasn't crazy and crying wolf.  They were pretty concerned at the hospital why I was contracting so much.  Secondly, we ruled out the whole abruption thing, so that was a good thing to know.  And, above all, you looked awesome on the monitors...and that's the most reassuring thing of all.  This all makes me wonder if we will make it to 39 weeks - and let me tell you - your Daddy and I are hoping not!  We are ready whenever!  At this point, you are in the clear with being fully developed, so feel free to come out and meet us baby girl!

The next day, I had a doctor's appointment already scheduled and we went in for that.  Saw you up on the sonogram to get your amniotic fluid check (you were a little lower this time at 8.5, but they weren't concerned) and breathing check.  The tech talked about your chubby cheeks - and you were really squished in there!  It was like your face was all scrunched up like when someone grabs your cheeks with their hands and squishes their fingers together!  It was cute!  Your mouth was all puckered up too.  I just feel bad for you in there - there really isn't much room left!  I think I heard her say something about how cute your face was too.  Your Mommy liked to hear that.  =)

We met with the Nurse Practitioner too and talked through a few things.  Val had noted in my charts about the night to L&D the night before, so we talked through that.  She said the same thing...since it's 36 weeks, you are free to come whenever and they won't stop you...but they won't help it out quite yet either.  We also talked about my blood sugar levels - how Val and I have lowered my insulin needs in the latest review - so I am taking less insulin in week 36 than in week 35.  This trend, if continued, would make them wonder about the health of my placenta.  Good news about this?  I would probably have you during week 38 instead of 39 so that they can be on the safe side - in other words, you'd be full term and might as well be out in the real world if the placenta is declining. I think I could handle that!  =)  So far, the trend seems to be about the same, so I will really be watching this over the next several days too.

We have a growth scan next week for you....to see how chubby those cheeks of yours really are!  Next week is the big week in my mind - I think we will finally have a "plan" as to when you will be here.  Oh, the joys of being high risk!  I love it that I get a plan!  Unless you decide to come sooner....and like I said above, feel free baby girl!  I promise the bag will be packed the next time!  I love you!