Hi -
I am usually a lurker around here but I feel inclined to share our story. Just some background- I have had a very normal pregnancy. I am 33 and there was nothing out of the ordinary conceiving or in my check ups.
Friday night I had abdominal pains that felt like tightening all over my stomach. I thought it must have just been a normal pregnancy thing, maybe Braxton hicks and dismissed it. The next day I went along with my business running errands and even went on a run!
Then came Saturday night.... I went to bed around 1 am and felt ok. Periodically through the night the pains came back. I was tossing and turning and then just got up at 4:30 b/c they were too much. Then I remembered Braxton Hicks contractions are not supposed to hurt. I walked around the house and that did not make them go away so I consulted my handy dandy Mayo Clinic guide to pregnancy. It said BH don't hurt and they go away when you change activites. Knowing that something was up I called my doctor and she said to go in immediately. Maybe I ate something bad that was irritating my uterus?
When I got the L&D at 5 a.m. I was dilated 1 cm and was experiencing contractions 3 minutes apart. I was only 30 weeks so they wanted to stop the baby from coming. They gave me a shot of Terbutaline and it seemed to calm things down for a little while but then it started right back up after an hour. After 3 of these shots the contractions were still coming with a vengeance. The baby's heartbeat would drop every time I had a contraction so something had to be done. The brought out the big dog - Magnesium sulfate. This was held off until the last ditch effort b/c of the side effects. It was 5 p.m. at this point and the pain was getting too much so they gave me an epidural. I had dilated to 4 c.m. and my doctor decided that it would be better to have the baby now than to risk anything with his heart rate dropping.
Luckily the epidural not only calmed me down but it soothed the baby. His heart rate stabilized. The doctors were conceredn now was that if he was delivered at 30 weeks his lungs would be immature. They gave me a steroid shot to help his lungs. Hoping that the Magnesium sulfate would still work I held tight and tried not to freak out. The goal was to stop them or make it to 1 a.m. so he could have 2 steroid shots for the lungs.
They checked my bleeding around 11 p.m. and it was more than expected so they checked the dilation. I was at 9 cm and there was no going back!
By 12:27 a.m. after maybe 15+ pushes we had a little baby boy name Conner. He was 3 pounds 8 ounces. He is now recovering in the NICU but doing very well. He already is off the ventilator.
I can't wait to hold him! That is the toughest part but I am thankful for him and already love him so much.
So ladies pack your bags... you never know what may happen. I have to keep asking family to grab me this or that.
(We still don't know why I had preterm labor. The umbilical cord was very short but it could be other things. More tests to come.)
Re: August Baby becomes June Baby! - long birth story...
Raeleigh Elizabeth http://theturnerpage.blogspot.com/
I'll be 30 weeks this Saturday, and looking at the pics it amazes me that right now there is a fully formed baby inside me now!
Hugs to you and your beautiful son! Glad all is well, thinking of you both!
First of all, congrats on your baby boy! I'm glad to hear he's doing well and I'm sure he'll only get stronger and healthier day to day.
Secondly, I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. I just had my little girl last week at 35 weeks and also had to be put on mag for 4 days. It is an awful drug that I hope I don't ever have to experience again. I'm happy to hear you're doing okay though.
And lastly, I COMPLETELY agree with you to have your bags packed and be pretty ready around 30 weeks. You just never know what will happen. I started having trouble around 30 weeks as well and I know how you feel about having to have family members grab stuff for you. We weren't all the way ready (if you ever really are) even at 35 weeks.
Stay strong and congrats again!
my thoughts and prayers are with you and your sweet little boy!
Thank you for sharing your story!
I hope that little guy gets big and strong for you! Please keep us posted on his progress!
best of luck!
A picture is worth a thousand words. I'd bet money your words are ignorant.
Me, too!! It amazed me, too. It's incredible that a beautiful, nearly full grown child is inside me, looking like that, right now!