Last Saturday was the adult USAA Christmas party that I look forward to all year. It's so fun to get all dressed up and then get spoiled with good food and entertainment.
33.5 weeks
Since I was all dressed up I had Scott take a couple belly pictures before we left. The USAA party turned out to be quite the eventful night in a much different way than we were expecting. I was so glad I had Scott take these pictures because later that night I thought they might be my last pregnant pictures.
After we picked up our babysitter, she took a couple pictures for us and then we were off. I was so excited and ready for a nice date!
I look awkward and uncomfortable because I was. We drove to USAA and then got on a shuttle bus to head to the Alamodome where the party was. On the bus I was really uncomfortable but I didn't think too much about it since being 8 months pregnant isn't really supposed to be comfortable. My stomach was feeling really tight and I noticed that my usual braxton hicks contractions were a little stronger than normal. I thought maybe I just needed something to eat and drink.
As we were walking into the Alamodome I was having a hard time walking because the contractions were pretty strong and uncomfortable, but again I thought they would go away once I sat down to eat and drink. I took a couple pictures of the party on my phone as we were walking to the dinner tables. I always love seeing how everything is decorated. They go all out with the decorations.
This year they had a circus theme, and the band was ZZ Top, but we didn't end up getting to see the band.
We found a place to eat and we thoroughly enjoyed our yummy dinner.
When we were done eating I realized that I had been having regular contractions the entire time I was eating dinner, and I was starting to worry now. Scott was starting to worry too, so we sat there talking and wondering what we should do. We would have just left to the nearest hospital, but we rode the shuttle bus to the Alamodome, so our car was at USAA. I knew they had shots that could stop labor, so all I wanted to do at that point was get one of those shots in me as soon as possible. I couldn't believe this was happening so early in my pregnancy and at the USAA Christmas party. We knew it would take quite awhile to walk back to the shuttle buses, walk to our car at USAA, and then drive to the hospital, so we decided to see what the first aid station at the party could do for us. We walked around looking for them which made the contractions worse and stressed me out even more. Once we found them they told us they couldn't do anything for me except call an ambulance. I really, really didn't want to make that kind of scene, so our only option was to walk back to the shuttle buses. I was so disappointed. Walking was so hard for me at that point and it worried me that the walking was making the contractions worse. I knew we needed to get to the hospital as soon as we could, so we headed back to the shuttle buses. I really hoped the first aid guys would have some of those magic shots they could stick in my arm. (Yes I'm that naive, or at least I was at the time. My sister-in-law nurses will laugh when they read that. It's really not that easy.) We finally made it back to USAA and drove to the nearest hospital. At that point it had been at least two hours of regular contractions.
They hooked me up to some monitors at the hospital to record the baby's heartbeat and my contractions. The top graph is the baby, and the bottom is my contractions. The mountain peaks are the contractions. I was definitely in preterm labor.
After what felt like forever, they finally gave me that magic shot I had been anxiously waiting for to stop the contractions. I was so scared the baby was going to come that night and I really didn't want to see our baby hooked up to all sorts of machines in the NICU. The shots stopped the contractions which was a relief, but the side effects of the shots were not fun. It made me all shaky and jittery, and it made my heart beat really fast like I had just finished sprinting.
Then they did a test called fetal fibronectin which determines if you're likely to go into labor within two weeks or not. The test is supposed to be painless but something happened and it ended up being extremely painful. I still shudder when I think about it. I didn't know it was supposed to be painless, so I was holding my breathe and trying to tough it out until it was over. I started shaking because it was hurting so bad, and then I started crying. I don't even remember the last time I cried from physical pain, and Scott said he had never seen me cry like that. The nurse was so surprised that I was crying because it's not supposed to hurt. She thought I was just scared or worried about the baby, which I was, but I was crying because it felt like she did the test with a knife instead of a Q-tip. The only thing we could think of that happened was either that there was a sharp edge on the Q-tip or she somehow hit the urethra. Anyway, the test came back positive which meant that they were going to keep me for 24 hours to administer steroid shots to help the baby's lungs develop faster.
They moved me to labor and delivery and gave me my first round of steroid shots. Then Scott went home to take our babysitter home and be with Boston. It had been a long night and our babysitter was at our house until 3AM. We had talked to her mom and she was fine with her daughter sleeping at our house until we got home.
Sunday morning Scott came back with Boston and our home teacher to give me and the baby a blessing. After the blessing I felt much better that the baby would be strong and everything would work out.
My contractions started back up on Sunday morning so they did more turb shots every hour for a few hours and then switched to a pill three times a day that helps stop contractions. Scott and Boston hung out with me in the hospital most of the day on Sunday until Boston was absolutely stir crazy. Then Scott took him to a friend's house to play for a couple hours while he took a short nap and got something to eat. Scott came back to the hospital that night to watch the First Presidency Christmas devotional with me. Then he left to go put Boston to bed. I had to stay another night for the second round of steroid shots, but the plan was to go home Monday morning. I was so incredibly uncomfortable in the hospital bed with all the noisy machines and IV hooked up to me that I could not wait to go home and get some sleep. Monday morning could not come soon enough.
Monday didn't go as planned. I thought I would be home by 9AM, but my contractions started back up again. They mentioned starting some magnesium treatments which make you feel awful and require a catheter. I was terrified of the magnesium treatment. I prayed so hard that they wouldn't do that. They said they'd start with an IV first to see if that would help. After all the drugs they had given me, I didn't think plain old water would do the trick, but it did! My prayers were answered. My contractions stopped and I didn't need the magnesium. I ended up having to stay the night on Monday as well, but they moved me to a more comfortable bed, so I was able to sleep a little more that night. Tuesday morning the doctor came to see me and finally released me to go home on strict bed rest. Right after the doctor left my contractions started back up again! This little baby sure was anxious to come. I was so worried they were going to keep me at the hospital, but thank goodness the doctor said I could still go home. I was allowed to get up to use the bathroom and take a shower. That was it. I thought it was going to be the hardest thing ever for me, but I was so nauseated and exhausted when I got home that I pretty much slept through the entire first week of bed rest.
I was so happy to be home sweet home. My bed and the couch were so soft and peaceful compared to the hospital. The first week worked out so well with so many friends offering to help with Boston, and Scott was able to be really flexible with his work hours. We feel so blessed. Now my mom is here helping out until after the baby comes. We thought for sure he would be here by Christmas, but the contractions have stopped since I've been home, so now we're not sure when he'll come. It's a weird feeling thinking that he could come tomorrow, or he could come in January. We're just glad he's stayed in there long enough to get the benefits from the steroid shots for his lungs, and now we're excited to meet him whenever he decides to come again! I'm 35 weeks today and the goal is to get as close to 37 weeks as we can. 1.5 weeks of bed rest down, 2 weeks to go. I keep reminding myself to enjoy this time to rest because I won't be getting much rest at all once the baby is here. Bed rest was pretty much my one of my worst nightmares, but it really hasn't been so bad at all. I know a lot of girls have to do it for a long, long time, so I feel really lucky that I only have to do it for a few weeks.
I went to the grocery store with my mom today while Boston was at preschool and rode in one of those motorized carts. You know, the kind that beep when you back up? Ha ha. I was embarrassed at first, but then I decided it was the most fun I've ever had grocery shopping. I'm also enjoying watching the entire season of Downton Abby with my mom and Scott after we put Boston to bed. It's also nice to have some time to work on publishing our blog book for 2013.
