BED REST?

Tobin dropped Tanner off at Miss Amy's Thursday morning for a playdate from 8-3pm. We had decided to take Tanner two days per week to not only give me time to work on the nursery, scrapbook, relax, or develop lesson plans for my sub this Fall, but to also allow him to maintain his relationship with his babysitter and her son, his little buddy John Brady.

My high-risk Dr. appointment was for 9am. It was the regularly scheduled, weekly cervical measurement. Since I had a big drop the week before, I was anxious to see if things had leveled off. Within minutes, they had a measurement of 1.8, down from 2.7 cm. They measured again hoping for better and got a 2.0. I was immediately put on a fetal monitor to see if I was heading into labor or having contractions. The monitor measured 5 contractions, spaced 6 minutes apart, none of which I felt. From that point on, I was wheeled to Labor and Delivery and admitted into the hospital. I was so very scared for our baby girl and sure didn't want her to be born at 29 weeks. I was given a shot of Terbutaline (a bronchodilator for asthma) to try to relax the cervix and slow things down. Within minutes, it made my heart race and it felt like I was going to have a heart attack! This lasted about 30 minutes, with my mom and Tobin at my side. I am happy to say that the shot worked and there was only one contraction within the next monitored hour. They released me to doctor-ordered bed rest. This was a shock as they had been against bed rest prior to this second drop in cervical tissue.

Now, by bed rest, I don't mean lounging and hangin' out. Especially when I have a ton of stuff to do before she gets here!! I mean:

• Only on one side or the other, cannot lie on my back, no propping up or sitting
• No standing, unless it is to go to the bathroom, Dr's Office, or hospital.
• I can stand to quickly shower every other day.
• No riding in a car unless it to the hospital or Dr.'s Office.

The idea is for NO PRESSURE to be on the cervix and no weight, or the help of gravity, putting any pressure on the cervix. My hips and pelvis are already hating this bed rest thing, and just rolling over is a painful process because her head is right on my cervix, but not yet "engaged." Typing on my side, with my head lifted up hurts my neck, but at least it is something to do!! I am sooooo very thankful to my aunt for securing this laptop as I was going out of my skull with boredom.

I am already effaced 75% and have dilated to a 1-2 cm. I could stay at a 1-2 for a month, so it all depends on the thinning of the cervix. Both of my doctors have personally called me at home themselves and checked on things. I think that is cool. My fibronectin protein test was positive, showing that my cervix is probably releasing the protein that codes for the body to head into labor; therefore, my OB prescribed the Terbutaline in pill form to be taken every 4-6 hours. This is to keep the uterus relaxed and ward off any contractions. It is too late for a cerclage to stitch me up and keep her in there. My high risk doc would like to see her make it to 34 weeks gestation, but would settle for 32, especially since I had the two steroid shots to help her lung development. So, the short-term goal is three weeks and the longer I can lie here doing next to nothing, 24/7, the better. By the way, her name is Kinsey.

Now begins the tedious scheduling of friends and family that can help out with Tanner. I cannot even hold, play with, feed, or lift my son. Someone has to be here at 5:30 am in case he wakes up early, since Tobin has to be at work at 6am. He shouldn't use his vacation days until she is really here, or until she comes home. It is horrible to ask people to do this, but many have volunteered and I am thankful for all of them. It's actually a stressful thing to not be in control, for me, and be at the mercy of other's schedules and willingness. So far, so good, and Tanner is having a ball playing with his grandmas, Amanda, and Aunt GeGe!

The rest is all in God's Hands!