Labor and Delivery - Take 4

Unfortunately, it was another eventful day yesterday. Had an ultrasound at 12:45, which I thought was just going to look at the babies' exit out to see if it is still hanging tough. Turns out that it was a full growth scan...so we got to see the babies too! (more on that later)

I immediately knew things were not good when Paula (the tech that I love!) told me she was going to get another tech. That tech came in to do a few measurements and confirmed what Paula already knew -- the exit out has shortened some more. From a little over 3cm last week to 2.4cm this week. And when they applied pressure to the top of my uterus, it shrunk down to about 1.6cm I think.

Things started moving rather quickly at that point. I wasn't scheduled to see Dr. L until 3:00, but Paula had the radiologist read the results right away and he called Dr. L. She wanted to see me immediately (about 2:00 at that point), so I was wheeled to the OB department in a wheelchair. And yes, I shed some tears. Mom held in there tough for me though, so that was good.

Dr. L asked me about my contractions and how the terbutaline was working. And because of the ultrasound results, she did another exam. Luckily, I am not dilated any further from last week!! Yay! She hooked me up to the monitors in the office, and in the first hour, I was contracting every 8 minutes. As per usual, some I felt and some I didn't. I stayed hooked up for another 15 minutes, and I contracted every 5 minutes during that time. So off to Labor and Delivery I went! I was hooked up to more monitors upon arrival and was contracting every 5-6 minutes. They gave me a shot of terbutaline in my arm which initially calmed the contractions. Then they picked up again. So an hour after the first dose, I was given another dose. They finally slowed to maybe 1 an hour, and I was discharged home at about 9:00pm.

They have now upped my dose of terbutaline, and instead of taking it every 4-6 hours as needed, I will be taking it every 4 hours around the clock. I will see a different Dr. L on Monday (my OB is off that day), and he will do a Fetal Fibronectin test. It is a pretty good predictor of pre-term labor. If it comes back negative, there is a 99% chance that I will NOT deliver in the next two weeks, at which time they will do the test again. If it comes back positive, it is a little less reliable...only a 20% chance I WILL deliver. Then I will have another ultrasound to look at the babies' exit out next Friday, followed by an appointment with Dr. L. So I get to leave the house TWICE next week! Wahoo!

As for the babies, because I know you're all dying to hear!

Baby A = 2 pounds 9 ounces and is still head down
Baby B = 2 pounds 11 ounces and is head down (was head up last week)

They are definitely piling on the ounces! In just 9 days, "A" gained 6 ounces and "B" gained 7! And you want to hear something absolutely awesome?? Paula was able to point out eyelashes AND HAIR!! Our babies have HAIR!!! It looks rather like a mohawk right now, but nevertheless, they have hair. Oh the little things that make a momma so proud! Haha.