33 weeks and 4 days.
I have been off of the magnesium sulfate for 12 hours now. There are potential harmful side effects for both me and the baby if the mag is used long term, so after 32 hours, they stopped the IV, and restarted my terbutaline pump. I was still having contractions, even on the magnesium, so at this point it's not as much about contractions as it is about what those contractions do to my cervix. They call it a mag "wash" because the magnesium is supposed to wash the body free of all receptors from previous treatments. We are hoping the terbutaline pump will start to work for me again, even if it's just for a little while.
The magnesium sulfate is pretty much the final draw in contraction management. Of course there may be some stronger meds out there, but at this stage of the game, the risk of taking those meds outweighs the benefits. So now we begin maintenance mode... I hold on as long as I can. But the doctors said that if I start showing signs of true labor from this point forward, they will allow me to deliver. There's little else I can do. I find both comfort and fear in that fact, for the obvious reasons.
There is still no clear-cut answer as to exactly how long my stay at Hotel Northside Hospital is going to last. As far as I'm concerned, these are my options:
1. I could be here for the duration of my pregnancy, which could be 1 day or 1 month.
2. I could be here until they take me off all medications - the progesterone and the terbutaline - and bed rest, which will be around 35 weeks, God willing I make it that far.
3. I could be here until I am stable enough on the terbutaline, but at this point, what exactly does "stable" mean in my case?
For the time being, I have officially taken on the role of "Lady in Waiting." I could have our baby tonight, or it could be weeks.
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2 comments:
Wow.
Again, WOW.
Thank goodness that God is the one who will make that decision, right?! And it will be GOOD!
You know what to expect following the birth at this point, having been there before, so you are old hat at that. It is the unknowing and when of the actual event to occur that is causing your worry. But everything is in HIS time, so try to be comforted by that.
I say stay there until delivery. If it were me, I would be wrapped up in warm blankets, sipping lemonade and chocolate milk and reading every People, Vogue and Real Simple magazine that I could get my hands on. Oh, and eating donuts. And tomatoes with mayo.
Love U.
My heart goes out to you for your up and down roller coaster ride you have been on. When I was pregnant with my two babies I had preterm contractions starting at 27 weeks. They basically gave me terbutaline and sent me home. I went crazy. I didn't know when I should call the Dr, go to the hospital, or just lay down. The day both boys were born nothing was different, I simply had a Dr.'s appt. With Logan I was dialated to a 3-water about to break. With Cameron dialated to a 4! I still think if I didn't have those appts I would of had two home births! I am glad you are at the hospital where they can monitor every beep and sound for you. Hang in there-the ride is almost over!
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