Scary Week 19

Well, week 19 has come and gone with quite a bang...

On Monday we had our biweekly ultrasound/doctor's appointment, but unfortunately, it didn't go like we had hoped.

During the ultrasound, the nurse was concerned with the length of my cervix. I had surgery several years ago that makes me at risk for an incompetent cervix (late term miscarriage). I didn't think much of it because sometimes it measures shorter depending on the "shot" the ultrasound takes. After the ultrasound was completed, I sent David home because the doctor's visit is usually just a measurement of my belly, blood pressure, and chit-chat.

Well, this time the doctor's appointment was much different. My doctor was on vacation, so I saw the nurse practitioner. She was very concerned with my cervix because I guess during the ultrasound, I was having a contraction. She hooked me up to a fetal monitor for 20 minutes to see what was going on.

After 20 minutes she came back, took my read-out and disappeared for about 10 more minutes. When she got back, she said she had consulted with the doctor filling in for mine, and they decided that I need to be admitted to the hospital. I guess I had three contractions during the 20 minutes on the fetal monitor.

Of course at this time, I was somewhat blubbery and called David. Poor David had just gotten home and had to turn around and come back. I checked into the hospital around 3:30pm. They hooked-up an IV drip, took blood, and re-thought the fetal monitor. I continued having contractions, so they gave me a shot of something (I forget what it was). Finally, the contractions stopped, but we got another "shock." They decided that I needed to stay in the hospital Monday night for observation.

David had a business retreat scheduled for Tuesday through Friday in New Hampshire, so we were unsure what to do. He ran home and packed, got me some things, and brought us some food. We spent an interesting evening in the hospital... David scrunched on a fold out chair, and I with IV in the arm. Every two hours they would come in and check my vitals, so it a good night's sleep was out of the question for both of us.

Tuesday morning, David called and got his flight pushed back until later in the afternoon, and we waited. The doctor came in around 8:30am and told us that I had some contractions during the night, but nothing consistent. She released me from the hospital, but put me on bed rest.

I don't feel any differently then I did before, but I'm a little worried about the turn of events. I forced David to go ahead and go on his trip, and my mom is here to "babysit" me. I think David has already called 10 times to check on me... It's sweet!

I go back to the doctor on Monday for another measurement of the cervix and reading on the fetal monitor. If all looks ok then I'm off of bed rest, but just have to take it easy. If there is any other issues, it could be anything from daily shots, to bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy. Yuck!!! Regardless, I now have doctor's appointments every week.

The good thing through all of this is that the girls looked great! All pieces and parts were accounted for, and they are growing just like they should.