28 Weeks & on Bed Rest

28 Weeks & Pre-Term Labor!

So remember how I said I was participating in that research study? Well, last Thursday I went for my last appointment and while doing a vaginal ultrasound, the technician discovered that my cervix was measuring at .5 cm. She said at this point in my pregnancy, it should be measuring between 2.5 and 3 cm. So I was admitted to Labor and delivery and the monitoring process began!

Baby is doing really well, he has plenty of amniotic fluid, so my water didn't break. I received 2 betamethasone shots (steroids) to help baby's lungs develop faster in case he decided to come early. After my cervical exam, it was discovered that I was dilated to a 1. Now who knows how long I've been walking around with a .5cm cervix and being dilated to a 1, but as soon as the doctor discovered that I was dilated, I was put on bed rest. I spent the night in the hospital with more monitoring to ensue. 

The next day I had to wait until 7pm to receive my 2nd round of steroids and also have another cervical exam to make sure I hadn't dilated any further. During this time, I had a few contractions, a few sharp pains (felt like menstrual cramps), and I went for more fetal monitoring and the baby is just fine. I was discharged at about 10pm Friday night and came home to my own bed to sleep like a baby. I was also prescribed progesterone for the remainder of my pregnancy to strengthen the cervix and keep baby inside! 

I saw about 4 different doctors over the course of my stay and each one of them had a different explanation of what "bed rest" meant. I told them that I have a desk job and could I still go to work, they all seemed to agree that I would be OK at work, as long as I took it easy and listened to my body. If I needed to rest, then I needed to go home. 

My regular doctor told me that I can't even walk my dog around the block anymore. So I had to have my parents come and pick her up and watch her for a while. It's a good thing because I live on the 3rd floor and I just don't think I could go up and down the stairs all night with the dog while I'm supposed to be resting.

Penny! 

Over the weekend I took my bed rest seriously. I have been on the couch or on my bed. It's very hard to be told that I shouldn't be active when I'm a very active person! I have had a few contractions every day, probably between 4-6 contractions. They usually happen right when I stand up after lying or sitting down for a long time. 

Today, I went to work and I was totally fine all morning, but when I went to leave, I had about 3 contractions in 15 minutes. I have a lot of lower back pain and a lot of upper back pain in my ribs and can't seem to get comfortable at all. 

Anyway - that's where we are at now! My doctor put me at ease and said I'll most likely make it to 38 weeks, but they're thinking I might be closer to 34-36 weeks. I guess all my "power of the secret" hoping for a July baby worked a little too well. 

Until delivery, I have to go to the hospital 2x a week for fetal monitoring and have weekly checkups with my Doctor to make sure the progesterone is working and that I'm not dilating more than I'm supposed to. 

Now, I could have been walking around like this with a .5cm cervix and being dilated for the last few weeks, who knows - but it's because of the research study that I was able to be treated immediately and that the hospital took extra precautions to make sure me and baby were ok. Apparently, I am the 15th girl the study has caught with a short cervix and this is something they're trying to diagnose as a sign of pre-term labor. For me, it could be genetically related as my sister also had an incompetent cervix.