Sunday night, August 12th, I noticed a strange trickle-like sensation when I was lying in bed followed by some slight pressure. I got up out of bed and just stood there with a really confused look on my face; Brian looked at me like I was nuts. He asked me what was wrong and I told him I felt a strange wetness that didn't feel like my normal amount of discharge wetness (gross, I know!). He asked me what it felt like and I told him that I either wet myself or my water broke. I was a little worried because I had read that your water breaking could feel like a big gush or a constant trickle. So I went into the bathroom to check and all I saw was normal discharge and something that looked wetter and slicker than normal. If you don't know what amniotic fluid looks like, it is supposedly clear, wet looking, and has a distinct smell. I wish I could say I didn't smell my toilet paper, but I did, and no I am not embarrassed to admit it because when you are that freaked out you will do whatever it takes to reassure yourself; I didn't smell anything (because urine has a distinct smell as well, but all I could smell was the toilet paper).
We called the nurse in and I explained to her what was going on and how I think that my water may have ruptured. She did a swab test to check to see if there was any amniotic fluid present in my vagina and if you have never had one of these swab tests done, it is done with a giant q-tip and if the tip of it turns green or blue it is a positive sign that there is amniotic fluid present. Well the tip stayed yellow; which meant it was negative. I felt relieved knowing that it was probably just an excessive amount of discharge; it supposedly increases as you get closer and closer to delivery.
So that night Brian and I went to sleep as if nothing were wrong.
That following morning (the 13th) one of the doctors came in and I told her everything that had happened and added that I had began feeling a dull cramping in my lower back and when she told me that that concerned her a little bit and that she wanted me to go up to her office immediately, I freaked out. I was so confused! I kept thinking, "But the swab test was negative! What could be wrong?!".
I immediately woke Brian up and we both got dressed and before we knew it, our nurse had arrived with a wheel chair and we were on our way up to the 12th floor. I won't lie, I felt like a very important person when I got to skip ahead of everybody that had probably been waiting forever to get through their appointment, but it also made me even more nervous that something could be wrong.
We sat in one of the exam rooms anxiously awaiting to see what would happen. The doctor came in and I explained my symptoms again, this time adding that the pressure sensation I had been experiencing had turned into full on menstrual cramp feelings that were very dull, but noticeable enough to make me feel uncomfortable. She did an exam with a speculum so as to check closer to my cervix and did another swab test; which she told me had turned a little bit of blue. So she went and checked the fluid under a microscope and had confirmed that it was amniotic fluid and that she was going to be sending me back down to labor and delivery. She told us that if my water had broke and I went into active labor that they would not try to stop it and just let me deliver, but if it was ruptured they would try to stop me from going into active labor. She also did not want to check my cervix to see if I had begun to dilate more in case my water was ruptured; she did not want to risk breaking it. Brian and I both were unsure as to what that exactly meant and we tried our best to remain calm.
I felt so defeated as I was wheeled back into L & D and put back into a birthing room. I was gowned up, hooked up to monitors, given an I.V, and was told that I was not going to be allowed to eat or drink anything in case I were to go into active labor and had to be given an anesthetic in the event I needed to have an emergency cesarean. I was very unhappy and already starting to feel uncomfortable considering my cramping had began to increase.
Within a few hours I began contracting; they were just small, quick contractions, but they hurt. They were not strong enough to be getting picked up on the monitors every time I had one, so Brian had to time them to make sure they didn't get closer; my job was to get through them and keep track of their intensity. I could feel them coming on and would reach over for Brian's hand and just focus all of my energy into squeezing his hand and breathing through them. They were seven minutes apart but the intensity was remaining the same and then they were beginning to get closer together at five minutes apart and slowly increasing in intensity; a few of them were starting to get picked up on the monitor.
The doctors and nurses came in and told me they were going to be treating me as if my water had ruptured and the doctor and one of the nurses confirmed the contractions by feeling them with their hands on my stomach. So they brought in an ultrasound technician to check the fluid around baby to determine how much fluid I was losing. On Wednesday, August 8th baby's amniotic fluid measured at 22 and that day it had measured at 18, confirming there was a leak, but not a severe one. They told me they would check it again in a few days and if it were significantly less, they would perform a type of amniocentesis that would inject a dye into the water and if the dye ended up in my underpants that it would definitely confirm the rupture; but they didn't want to jump the gun just yet with that and decided to do another 12 hours of Magnesium to stop my contractions. They also wanted to put me on more antibiotics so as to prevent any infections, because the last thing they wanted was for an infection to develop and go into the amniotic fluid and harm baby.
I was not happy about the Magnesium because it meant I had to use a bed pan and that bed pan is my mortal enemy! It also meant I would not be able to eat or drink anything for an additional 12 hours. My discomfort was already starting to get the best of me what with the contractions, being on my back, hooked up to monitors, not being able to eat, etc.
Throughout the night things got progressively worse for me. When they started the Magnesium and antibiotics I was prepared for the burning sensation that is common with being pumped with Magnesium but I was not prepared for the incredibly sharp, shooting, burning pains that were running up my arm. It was so painful that I could not move my arm, hand, or fingers without crying out in pain. The pain I felt was almost as bad as the contractions. Brian called a nurse in and she brought in a warm blanket and wrapped it around my arm so as to try to open up the veins a little bit better to help the medicine flow better; she said if it didn't cease that she could pull out the I.V and start a new one; I did not want a new I.V because I was already tired of putting holes in my body. When the burning didn't cease, the nurse came back and changed the bolus (a relatively large dose of medication administered into a vein in a short period, usually within 1 to 30 minutes and commonly used when rapid administration of a medication is needed, such as in an emergency) to a lower amount; that helped tremendously with the burning sensation.
Not even an hour or so later, Brian noticed that my fingers looked a strange color. We took the warm compress off and discovered that my entire arm was breaking out in a rash. We looked over the rest of my body and also found that the rash had begun to spread to my other arm, my tummy, my legs, and back. The nurse came in and checked out the rash and wasn't sure entirely what it was, so she brought in another nurse for a second opinion and together they decided that I was having an allergic reaction to one of the antibiotics. The doctor was called and she told them to administer some Benedryl via I.V to get rid of the rash; she also was not sure which antibiotic could have caused the rash because they were administering two at a time. They decided to switch me to Clindamycin so I would still have an antibiotic in my body to prevent infection.
Once the Benedryl was administered, I was out cold within half an hour. I felt like I was drunk! I don't remember any conversation I had with Brian, don't recall him leaving to go and get something to eat, and was pretty sure he was sitting in the chair next to me the entire time (someone sure as heck was!). I slept for awhile until that made its way out of my system. The rash had gone away for the most part, but after shift change, it flared up again and I was given a second dose of Benedryl, in which case I was out cold once again.
About half way through the Magnesium I came to and tried going to the bathroom. Both the nurse and I noticed that it took a significant amount of effort to relieve myself and she suggested putting in a catheter. I didn't want one, but I knew it would be for the best because one I was having a hard time going to the bathroom and two because I was so groggy from the Benedryl I didn't think I would have the strength to lift myself up to use the bed pan. So as much as I dreaded it, I agreed to it. It was so uncomfortable, but after about an hour I wasn't even aware that it was there.
Throughout the night I became increasingly uncomfortable; I was in pain from the cramping (ceasing contractions and from the catheter), I was hot and achey from the Magnesium, I was getting over the itching/burning from the rash...I was just in pain. Around 4am, the nurse gave me some pain medication that knocked me out and allowed me to sleep through the rest of the Magnesium treatment; which ended up being for 15 hours instead of 12 hours because the nurses had to wait to get word from the doctors to stop the treatment.
Around 8am (the 14th) the doctors came in and asked me how I was feeling. I was still feeling decent from the pain medication, but was still experiencing some cramping, but not the cramping I felt from contractions. He informed me that it was probably from the catheter and that they would be taking it out since they were taking me off of the Magnesium and starting me back up on the Procardia to keep my uterus relaxed since they weren't picking up anymore contractions. He also decided to do a second round of steroid shots; which I was not happy about at all. Nor was I happy about having to spend a second day/night in L & D.
After receiving the steroid shot in my left hip and eating breakfast, they let me rest. Brian ran home to check up on the animals and everything to make sure they were alright and as soon as he returned, they moved us to a room down the hall with a shower (not that I actually got to use it).
I was still uncomfortable from cramping and being hooked up to the monitors and I.V. Every time my bladder would fill up, the cramping would start and it hurt a lot; especially since I couldn't get up and go to the bathroom on my own to ease up the cramping. I had to call a nurse in to disconnect the I.V every time I had to go to the bathroom; that got old very quickly because I literally had to go to the bathroom every half hour or hour. So that made falling asleep very difficult.
This morning one of the doctors came back down to see how I was doing and to do another ultrasound to check my amniotic fluid levels around baby. I was so nervous because what she saw would determine if we were going to be allowed to move back upstairs to our room in Pre/Post Natal. It turns out that the fluid around baby was measuring at 20! It had gone up since last being checked which meant that my body was reproducing the fluid for baby and that the leak was just a small one and nothing to be too concerned over. Of course the fluid will have to be monitored weekly with the weekly ultrasounds, but I will take that over having to stay in L & D. I also told her about the cramping in relation to my bladder and she had me give a urine sample to double check for any type of bladder infection that could have been caused by the catheter (apparently it is pretty common to get one while using one).
I also had to have blood drawn for the Rhogam shot; which did not end well. The first nurse could not get my vein to cooperate so she had to send in a second one. The second nurse found a vein alright! She found a nice, big, fat one that ended up spurting blood all over my arm and bed. At least they were able to get the amount that they needed! On top of that I had to have my second dose of steroid shot...yippie! I absolute HATE that shot! I have now had to have it FOUR times!! I know that it is beneficial for little miss princess in the event she is still born prematurely, but good lord! That is a pretty painful/uncomfortable shot!
Because I was stable and baby had not shown any signs of stress (she has yet to show any signs of stress! It is as if she is completely unaware as to what has been going on!) and my fluid levels were good, I was able to return to my room upstairs. I have never been so excited! This room is literally turning into my home away from home; all I am missing are my fur babies!
The first thing I did after returning to my room this morning was eat (I made Brian get me some Chick-Fil-A...thank you, man in the elevator who had a nice bag full of it...) and then shower. After I got situated, Brian went back home to check on our babies and to do some laundry for me so I could get out the hospital's gown and into my own clothes.
I was able to catch up on the sleep that I lost. I have been still feeling the discomfort of the cramping but have related it to going to the bathroom; I just don't know if it is related to my bladder or bowel movements. We are still waiting for results on the urine test, but it has been easing up significantly. I also had to have more antibiotics through I.V (not sure how long they will keep me on them) and I got the Rhogam shot.
Let me tell you about that damn shot. All of you who told me that it doesn't hurt, LIED! I am not sure if it is just because I had been given a steroid shot in the same area the day before or what, but that shot was not a fun one either. Of course it was not nearly as bad as the steroids. Oh, and it goes in your rear, not your hip or your arm. I will be getting that shot again after baby is delivered.
After catching up on sleep and relaxing a bit, I feel wonderful despite all that has happened. We were pretty certain that I was going to be delivering our little one and I am pretty proud of myself and Brian for remaining so calm. We both knew that there was a chance she could be delivered this early (we still know this) and we both remained so calm because of the care we are under. Being in one of the best Prenatal care facilities in the area does not worry me that I may be delivering a premature baby. We both know that if she were born now, she would survive with no questions asked; we are just that confident in modern medicine and know that this little girl is a fighter. If she weren't a fighter, we would not have made it as far as we have.
My glucose test has been pushed back a week because of the steroids, so I have that to look forward to next week (enter sarcasm here) and the next ultrasound they will be measuring to see how much baby has grown. I am pretty excited to learn how much she now weighs! I definitely feel like I have been packing on the pounds! haha!
She is still head down, still producing a strong heartbeat, and has tons of fetal movement! Everyone is saying that she looks amazing for a 28 week gestation baby! See, like I said, she is completely unaware!
Brian and I have also been discussing a lot of important things in regards to our future family after these passed few events. We are talking about not having any more children after this baby because of the amount of difficulties I have had with this pregnancy. I just don't think I could handle a second pregnancy (as much as I would love to have another child) because my body just can't handle being pregnant. Of course it isn't a definite decision, but I just feel in my heart that this baby will probably be the only one that I carry. I think that we are okay with this for now. Who knows, maybe five years down the road we may change our minds. I think it just depends on how the rest of this pregnancy goes. :)
Each new day that I am pregnant, gives us all confidence of reaching our goal of 32 weeks. Yes, it will be difficult spending the next four weeks in the hospital on bed rest, but if I make it to 32 weeks, I pretty much don't care what happens as far as delivery. Of course I would love to go full term and I am sure we would shock the hell out of everyone if we did, but I can be happy with 32 weeks.
Well, there you have it, our big scare that ended up (thankfully) only being a false alarm.
Here is to another week of being pregnant!!
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