"Bed Rest" Day 12

July 22, 2014 - 33 Weeks 5 Days Pregnant

Big day out.

Why the quotation marks? Well, I spent the majority of the day out of bed, and now I'm exhausted. We had our weekly check in with Dr. Parman at about 1:45, and as I expected, she discovered that I have indeed started dilating. Oy. She says conservatively she could call me a 1.5, but that she could easily say I've reached 2 centimeters. My waters are bulging a bit - meaning they could break pretty easily.

As usual, the fear is that the dilation was acute and not gradual, indicating that my body is in labor. We were able to get a bonus look at the baby on ultrasound to ensure that he is still head down. Dr. Parman didn't want to confirm that "digitally" and risk breaking my water.  He's head down and face down and generally ready to go. We also saw him taking some practice breaths and opening and closing his mouth - all great signs that his lungs are developing nicely. "That is a real baby" is all I could think about when I saw him. Most of the time, it still doesn't seem real.

I have been having a bit of cramping and some other symptoms mentioned before, so Dr. Parman asked me to return to L&D for additional monitoring for several hours, and another cervical check for changes. If there were clear contractions or changes to the cervix during that time, they'd keep me at least overnight and possibly until the baby was born, and administer drugs to stop labor. If not, I'd get to go home, and come back to the doctor's office for another check tomorrow. Remember, we're two days short of that magical 34 week mark, when they wouldn't try to stop labor.

Before I go on, can you just take a look at how beautiful it is outside? After not leaving the house for 6 days, I was genuinely struck by how gorgeous the sky was today, and how nice it felt to be outside (in my air conditioned vehicle).

So, off to L&D for me, my third visit this pregnancy. Back into the world's most uncomfortable exam bed I went, and they hooked me up to the fetal monitor, the contraction monitor, and the vitals arm cuff. Then, like angels from heaven, my mom and sister arrived to keep me company and bring me snacks. The admissions nurse even snuck in an extra chair for them after the charge nurse told me I could only have one visitor at a time in the tiny room.

The butterfly isn't helping the aesthetic
in the world's ugliest exam room.
Not impressed.

Annie and Mom were so awesome to have with me - though I was afraid that they would think my laughing fits were contractions on the monitor. They did register, but didn't fool the doctor.

I sat in that horrible bed for 2 hours listening to little guy's heart beat and not having any contractions. It would appear that my rebellious little cervix is dilating all on its own. After several hours, the doctor on call was satisfied that I was not in labor, and gave me my second cervical check of the day (how did I get so lucky?), and thankfully found no change. I was allowed to go home without any injections, steroid or otherwise.

Now I'm safely back in my rest-nest with my cross stitch patterns and laptop, but am finally accepting the reality that this baby is probably coming in the next few weeks. And I'm freaking out, you guys. We are NOT READY. Healthy procrastination combined with unexpected bed rest means that we have a lot left to do. I'm not even allowed to order my breast pump until 30 days before my due date - which is August 5! On top of it all, we missed the last two weeks of birth class, which covered little things like, oh, birth plans and newborn care. I don't even know how to put a diaper on a child. I'm sure we'll nail this whole having a baby thing. Don't worry guys, we got this. 

Parenthood.

Harry has talked me down and we agreed that we'll first aim to get through the next 30 hours to the magic 34 week mark. From there, we'll try to get to 35, 36, and even 37 weeks. It's not unheard of. But in all likelihood, Baby MacNandez is showing up. Soon. 

I'm super excited that I was allowed to come home, because tonight is a big night in the Real Housewives franchise. Aviva Drescher throws her fake leg. At another Housewife. Seriously. I. Can't. Wait. Think strong cervix thoughts for me, and let's make it through the next 30 hours.