Pregnancy Update

I haven't made many pregnancy updates on my blog but figured I would give everyone the rundown of the latest happenings with this baby girl.  Up until this weekend everything has been pretty smooth - my doctor has been pleased with her growth and my health and we have our C-Section scheduled for August 23rd which we are greatly looking forward to.  My tummy is so big at this point that I can barely move and sleeping is quite difficult.  This makes for very tired days and lots of aches and pains.

Last night I started having contractions.  Now because I have delivered my other children by C-Section my body has never been in labor before so I wasn't quite sure what I was experiencing.  I knew I was having very regular contractions, although they were not painful.  Eventually we called up to the Labor and Delivery Department at the hospital and they told us to come up for some monitoring.  So, we got the girls out of bed and hopped in the van around midnight.

Well, the nurse determined that I was not having labor contractions (meaning my contractions weren't strong enough to put me into labor) but that I was definitely contracting and they needed to be stopped.  The doctor wanted the drug Terbutaline adminstered to me which would relax the muscles and keep them from contracting.  The nurse warned me that it would elevate my heartbeat a bit and I might feel a little anxiety with it but everything is normal and it would go away.  Well, after a couple of minutes I was feeling VERY strange and knew that something was wrong.  My pulse was extremely quick and I couldn't get air.  The nurse quickly laid me back in bed and gave me oxygen but by then my blood pressure had dropped to about 60/30 which is not good at all.  They called for more nurses who got me going with IV's and Mark did his best to help me relax and breathe in the oxygen deeply.  Everything started to go black but I wanted to stay aware and make sure that everything was OK with the baby.  Eventually I began coming out of it and my blood pressure raised and the heartbeat slowed down.  However, a second wave of sickness soon hit and everything started all over again - this time with extreme heat.  The blood pressure dropped suddenly and the nurses and Mark once again did their best to keep me calm and comfortable, bringing in ice packs and upping the oxygen.  Thankfully after some time this wave passed, too and the doctor came in to check on me.  She determined that I needed to stay longer through the night and get some much needed sleep since it was almost 3am by this time.  So Mark took the girls home (who were so well behaved out in the waiting room) and I did my best to sleep.  Unfortunately hospital beds are not the most comfortable and I only managed about an hour and a half.  It was a miserable night but I was able to come home about 10:00 this morning to my own bed and my sweet husband to care for me.  I have to go back tomorrow morning for more labwork and another stress test but I am so grateful for the care I received and the technology available today that allows for a speedy recovery.  We aren't sure how much longer baby girl will stay with me - we might need to deliver early, but I am confidant that all will be well - especially now that I know I am allergic to that medicine and they will never give it to me again! :)