Hospital Visit

Last Thursday we had a slight change of plans that wasn't too unexpected, I was admitted to Willis Knighton Pierremont Hospital and am currently staying for an unknown period of time. And, to put your mind at rest, the babies and I are doing very well - we are just staying here at the hospital for now as a precaution. I'll try to fill you in without getting to bogged down in medical details.

Just over a week ago I went to the specialist who reported that the kids looked perfect (almost 2 lbs each, both are exactly the same size). He was a little concerned about me since my cervix (the barrier holding the kids in - first it thins out, then it dilates to allow the baby a way into the big world). My cervix had thinned out way faster than it should have at this point but he wasn't too concerned, said to just continue the partial bed rest as I had been and then to start seeing my OB Dr every week.

Last Thursday I went for my regular OB Dr appointment and they saw the kids and said everything looks just great. Then they looked at my cervix and it had thinned out even more over that week. She was very concerned about it thinning to the point of being a risk to the kids. She sent me directly to the hospital to check in and start monitoring the kids and my contractions. Fortunately Mom was with me that day to help me get settled in.

Over the next 24 hours the monitors picked up some contractions, but nothing regular enough to be worried about. They put me on some medication to relax my uterus and slow down the contractions, which has been helping and since then they've upped my dose to make a bigger impact. They also rechecked my cervix which managed to thicken over the 24 hours, my Dr was very happy about that. She initially thought I was in the direction of home-bound bed rest - as long as one more test came back with good results.

That one more test (FFN Test) is the kind of test doctors use as a tie-breaker. If you get a negative result then you're most likely continue to carry out your pregnancy as expected. If you get a positive result there's a slim chance you might deliver early. There are lots of reasons for a positive, including false positives, which don't exactly mean you will deliver early. I, unfortunately got a positive result. Typically if your doctor is very concerned they'll put you on a slew of medications to prevent early labor and prep the babies. My doctor (who is very cautious) did not put me on any of those meds. She just wants to make sure I'm doing well enough to go home so she kept me in the hospital for further monitoring.

In the mean time, I was at the point in pregnancy where every woman has to take the Gestational Diabetes test so my Dr had me take on Saturday morning. When she came in Saturday with the results we were both shocked to learn I was way over the normal range. She scheduled me to take the big 3 hour test the next morning. At this test I have to be normal in 3 out of 4 readings to be considered clear. I, of course, was just over the limit on 2 of the readings. She is not concerned at all about my health or the babies health with this new diagnosis. The biggest thing is I just have to track my diet and take my blood sugar 4 times each day through the end of pregnancy. I figure God gave this to me for a distraction while I'm in the hospital. (Mark and I are actually hoping we get the "side effect" of a larger baby at birth so our kids can beef up a little bit!)

I just saw my Dr today and she said we'll redo the FFN test on Friday. If I get a negative result I can go home for bed rest, if I get a positive I'll stay here longer. Everyone seems very upbeat and shows no immediate concern of anything happening too soon with the babies. I'm doing all I can to relax and make the most of the quiet time here, and training myself for when I get home and have to be on real bed rest! I'm getting such good care here at the hospital everyone is a little bit torn on the good news to go home versus getting to stay here. There's one exception, I do know Cooper Dog is ready for me to come home, even if it is just to watch me lay on the couch and not have playtime.