A pretty big scare

After 10 pokes, 3 nights of restless sleep, 3 days of continuous magnesium infusion, and multiple cervix examinations, I am FINALLY home and baby is still safe and sound inside the womb.

3/9/10 (Tuesday):
Our 5 year anniversary of being together. What better way to celebrate than contractions all day (~6-7/hour)? I was pretty concerned so I emailed my OB who recommended that I get myself to the labor & delivery ward at Kaiser SF to get checked out. It's a good thing that I went. I was 1 cm dilated! They termed it "Pre-term Labor" which sounds quite scary...because it is! They checked the baby and he was doing just great, so I was started on magnesium to stop the contractions. Who knew that magnesium infusion can make one so fatigued, lethargic, out of it, nauseous, sleepy, and just completely loopy! I was soooo not myself! I was also started on betamethasone shots for the baby's lungs development just in case I was to deliver during this hospitalization or just flat out early.

3/10/10 (Wednesday):
My contactions calm down so the magnesium infusion is turned down. I'm less loopy, but they still want to keep me for observations. I also needed to finish the betamethasone course so obviously, I was there until Thursday at least. Except...starting around 3:20 am (Thursday morning), I started getting contractions a little too close for comfort. First every 10 minutes, then every 5 minutes. I was placed on the baby and contraction monitor and at around 5:15am, BAM! Pain like I've never experienced before! The doctors thought I was going into labor so I was transferred back to Labor and Delivery, all sorts of neonatal stuff were brought into the room just in case, they put another line in me just in case I needed an emergency C-section, and I seriously thought I was going to die!

3/11/10 (Thursday):
The magnesium infusion was turned back up and the contractions are stablized. Meanwhile, the whole team is at a loss in terms of what could have caused all of these problems. The baby was doing great, but the incubator, the mommy (that's me) was not doing well at all. I was still about 1-1.5 cm dilated, so the baby wasn't coming anytime soon, but there were too many variables. Was it a placenta rupture? Was it appendicitis? Was it kidney stones? Was it a uterine infection? All my labs ruled all of those out and the ultrasound showed that the placenta was just fine. It required a more precise ultrasound to find the culprit: a degenerating fibroid on my uterine wall. Who knew that a degenerating fibroid could cause so much trouble? So much contraction to lead to dilation?

3/12/10 (Friday):
I'm finally home now and boy am I ever happy to be home! Baby is doing quite well, still moving around like he's swimming in the womb. As for me, I'm still having contractions and back pains, but definitely less than when I first went into the hospital. One things for sure, I HIGHLY recommend Kaiser SF Labor and Delivery for anyone and everyone who wants to be taken soooooo goo care of. The nurses were caring and affectionate, the doctors were attentive and sweet, it was a wonderful experience, despite the circumstances. Let's hope I don't go back there for another 13 weeks!