Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Bedrest: Day 7

Almost a week down!! It really wasn't that bad. I'm starting to get adjusted to the horizontal life. I haven't really accomplished anything this week...just lots of movies, tv, Internet surfing, and some reading. My mom arrived on Thursday night, and it makes a huge difference to have her here. Speaking of Thursday night, I spent another couple hours in labor and delivery. Shaun was on his way back from picking up my mom, and I was all alone at the house. All of a sudden I started having severe lower back pain and very strong lower pain/pressure. I of course completely freaked out and called my OB on his cell phone, and he told me to come in to the hospital. This was the first time during all of this that I was actually feeling pretty significant pain, and I thought we were in big trouble! I knew I couldn't drive myself so I called my friend that lives the closest to me to come pick me up. Poor thing, I think I really scared her! Of course we got behind the slowest person who was hardly even paying attention to the road. I started to get really emotional, but I held it together. Once we got to the hospital and through admissions, the nurse hooked me up to all of the monitors and also swabbed me for a fetal fibronectin (fFN) test. I was feeling so much pressure, but they weren't picking up very many contractions (lots of irritability but no big ones). Long story short...it was a false alarm. My back started feeling a lot better before I even got in bed from walking around...I now know that the lower back pain was just a symptom of two days of bedrest ;) because my back hurts all of the time now. And the pressure...how do I put this in a nice way?...apparently I was full of a ton of gas!! so tmi and I will spare you more details...but that is what it was! Procardia gives me constipation, gas, and hot flashes/flushing. It almost feels like taking clomid around the clock lol. But I'm not complaining! I've heard the other meds have much worse side effects so I'm hoping we can stick with procardia. The ffn test came back negative so that tells us that I only have a 3% chance of delivering in the next two weeks, which really put my mind at ease. Obviously we are not out of the woods yet, but I'm still sticking to my goal of making it all the way. Actually I've kinda adjusted my goal to 36 weeks, but I would still love to make it to August! As far as contractions go...I'm still having them. Last night was the worst I've had since last week, but today I've had what I affectionally call my "procardia jelly belly." You can tell the muscles are completely relaxed, which is what I want. My friend Andrea was here last night, and she felt a contraction and then felt again when it was a jelly belly...it completely freaked her out lol. In other news...I can't seem to get enough food. I'm eating like a cow! I really thought I wouldn't have a big appetite since I'm not moving around, but it is exactly the opposite. I want to make sure Henry is a big boy so I guess I'm just eating to make sure he gets chunky. We also have a nursery now! It is not an empty room anymore! Shaun painted the nursery blue this weekend and setup all of the furniture. Now it just needs cute curtains, wall hangings and accessories, but it feels so good to have a room for him now. From my couch I can see a little blue glow from his nursery, and it warms my heart. I will have to take a pic during one of my bathroom breaks and post some soon. Well sorry for such a rambling post...just had a lot of random bedrest thoughts.

8 comments:

Michelle said...

Thank goodness your little guy doesn't seem to be planning an exit for a couple more weeks! Stay put Henry! I hope he stays nice and snug up until the end!!!!

I can't wait to see the nursery!!!! I'm not sure if I've missed you talking about it, but what's the theme or colors used?

Robin said...

Glad to hear you're hanging in there...and that little Henry is staying put at least for a few more weeks! Grow Henry, Grow!

Looking forward to seeing the nursery. I hope all of this bedrest and these scares you have haven't dimished the wonder of pregnancy for you.

Take care!

Anonymous said...

Glad things are settling down again! Stay horizontal as much as possible- you can't go wrong with that!
Good luck and I'll check on you soon!

Kirsten said...

Hi Courtney,

I love your blog! My name is Kirsten, and I'm a member of the public relations team that raises awareness for The fetal fibronectin test. I read your blog and thought you might like to become a fan of the fetal fibronectin test on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/FullTerm-The-Fetal-Fibronectin-Test/39071689435). On our fan page we share the latest on the fetal fibronectin test, prematurity and all things pregnancy.

Additionally, if you're interested in helping spread awareness about the benefits of the Fetal Fibronectin Test or receiving our quarterly newsletter, please contact me by emailing fFN@schwartz-pr.com. My team generates stories about the benefits of the test among women at high risk for delivering early in national, local and online outlets.

We're always interested in speaking with women who had the test and are willing to share their experience to make sure other, at-risk pregnant women know there is a test available to help predict premature birth.

I hope to hear from you.

Regards,
Kirsten

Lindsey said...

Hey Courtney-

I stumbled across you blog and am so glad I did! What a story! Praying for you and Baby Henry.

Sounds like you're doing a great job taking care of him already!

Ashley said...

Glad you are surviving and Henry is still cooking! Cannot wait to see the nursery :)

May said...

A nursery and a procardia jelly belly!! Keep it up!

I Believe in Miracles said...

Been thinking about you sweetie!! Hang in there.
~~HUGS~~