In the hospital (29 weeks)

I had my Dr appointment on Wednesday and my cervix was not looking good, it measured about 1.5 cm, with funneling(dilation) to the stitch, I had also been having a lot of contractions this week and was in labor and delivery twice in the last week to get tributiline (a horrible stingy shot in my arm) to stop the contractions. So based on all of this My Dr felt I needed to be admitted for hospital bedrest so they can observe and see if they can get things to calm down. I cried when he told me they were going to admit me, but I know it was for the best.

I had a bunch of contractions right after they admitted me and after observing my contractions for about 2 hours they finally gave me another shot of tributiline to stop them.

Wednesday they also started me on a medication called Indocine, it is an anti-inflammatory drug which works by blocking a hormone called prostaglandin. So far it has shown good results, my contractions have definitely slowed down, and Friday I had a cervical ultrasound which showed the best results we have seen in 3-4 weeks. 2.5 cm and closed above the stitch, I was so happy! I asked the Dr why it made my cervix so much better than bed rest alone and she said that it's because Prostaglandins are found in you cervix and lower uterus and they signal your body to progress and start getting ready for labor. Because the indocine blocked the Prostaglandins from continuing to do this, it has worked to help my cervix regain some length and slow down my contractions.

Unfortunately they can not keep me on this medicine for very long and today I will be stopping that med. It has a side effect of decreasing the fluid around the baby. The new one they are starting me on is called procardia and will only work to keep me from having contractions. The Dr said that now they just have to wait and see if my cervix will stay looking good, with less contractions. If it is still looking good on Monday they will let me go home, if it is not so good again after stopping the Indocine then I'll be staying here (boo).

It has been hard for me to accept everything going wrong in my pregnancy and each time I feel I have a grasp on it, I feel like things get thrown out of control again. It's so hard because not only did I just want to be a normal pregnant lady, enjoying every moment, nesting and just feeling happiness and anticipation at the arrival of our little one, I wanted Griffin to have it as easy as possible. It's sad for me, but I also worry so much more for my baby. I worry about all of the drugs they are having to pump me full of to keep him put longer. I worry about how early he will be born and what he will have to go through. I put my faith in God, and remember how thankful I am for how far we have come, I'm just holding on right now. Griffin will be here soon and I can't wait to put this behind us and move forward as a family with our little boy safe and sound in our arms.

The first day here I had a lot of back pain, but that has calmed down, and even though I am not as comfortable as I would be in my own bed I'm doing ok. I've been drinking lots of water, and eating too much hospital food (blech) and trying to keep myself busy with reading, sleeping, watching TV, and of course my computer ;)

Griffin has been a trooper, they have been hooking me up to the monitors to check for contractions and his hearbeat twice a day and he doesn't like how tight they have to make the belts, so he always gets mad and kicks them. Then the nurses all come in and say wow, he sure is an active one isn't he? I always just smile and say yep! He has been doing a lot of rolling and wiggling in there lately and making sure I pay enough attention to him.

All of the Drs and nurse keep telling me how good it is that I am at 29 weeks and how everything is going to be ok. My Dr says he thinks we can probably keep Griffin in about 4 more weeks so I am hanging onto all of that positivity and putting one foot in front of the other.

On a happier note, my baby shower was scheduled for this Sunday and now that I am in the hospital it has been moved here! I'm so glad that I have people in my life willing to drive that extra hour to celebrate with us, and people willing to rearrange things and make phone calls to make sure that everyone knew what was going on. There is a room on the second floor of the hospital that we are allowed to use, and as much as I wish we weren't having my baby shower in the hospital I am so glad it was not canceled. It is something I have been looking forward to SOOOO much and I'm so excited to put away the worry and fear for a while and just enjoy the celebration of Griffin becoming a part of our family.