Pre-term Labor at 27 weeks!

Alot of you have asked what exactly happened a week and a half ago when I was in the hospital for two days due to pre-term labor. Here's the story:

It started the night before, May 31st at like 1 or 2 AM. My entire belly was contracting into a giant ball over and over and it hurt sooooo bad! It was the most uncomfortable thing I've ever experienced! Fortunately, I was able to fall asleep. I woke up the next morning, June 1st, and before I could even roll out of bed to get ready for work I was so lightheaded and dizzy and had ZERO energy. I lied there until the last possible minute and made it to the shower. Within a minute of standing in the hot water, a sudden feeling of passing out came over me so I dropped to the floor on my own so I wouldn't fall and just crouched in the corner of my giant shower and sat there with my knees up by my chest. I'm not gonna lie, I was scared. I have never felt like that before! I got out and called my boss and asked him if I could come in an hour late because I wasn't feeling well and I needed to get myself together. He was fine with that so I continued to take my time getting ready. I dressed VERY slowly and barely had enough energy left to put my hair up into a ponytail. I got to work right at 10 AM, an hour late. Other than NO energy whatsoever, it was a normal work day. Then about 1:00 hit and my belly started contracting again and I started feeling alot of pressure really really low in my pelvic area. It started getting worse and worse and the contracting wasn't stopping. I didn't know what was going on but after 20 minutes or so it started to let up. By the time I was able to get away for lunch it was 2:15. I immediately called my doctor's office and left a message. She called me back within 10 minutes. After explaining what I was feeling she said "come in right now!" So I did. I drove straight to McKay Dee Hospital where her clinic is located and she got me right in. Because of the contracting and intense pressure, she was positive I was in some stage of pre-term labor. The only way to tell for sure though was to do a few tests. She did a pelvic exam and got a few cultures from my cervix. She checked Saije's heart rate and it was quite a bit lower than it normally is, my blood pressure was through the roof, and my cervix was thinning, not open, but thinning. All in all, everything wasn't a good combination so she put the culture swabs in a hazard bag, handed it to me, and told me to go straight to labor and delivery at Ogden Regional Hospital. She would call them and let them know what was going on and give them instructions on what to do for me until she could get there later that night. I had to drive to Ogden Regional because that is the only hospital my insurance will pay for. That is where I will be delivering. Kind of inconvenient, but if that's where the insurance will pay for my care, then whatever! I checked in right at 4 PM and they got me in a room and hooked up to the heart rate and contraction moniter very quickly. At this point, I was just in "observation". After about 2 hours, the nurse came in and told me that I definitely was having contractions and they are just waiting for the results from the pre-term labor culture that Dr. Lesser did at her office. What the test says is how high of a risk you are for delivering within 14 days, 30 days, and 45 days. Dr. Lesser got there at about 8 PM and told me that the test came back with a 12% risk of delivering WITHIN 14 days and that was WAY TOO HIGH! She was going to admit me to the hospital until contractions pretty much stopped altogether, until I could see a neonatologist (high risk pregnancy doctor), and until I could get in for an ultrasound to check Saije's position. She told me she was going to start me on some steriod shots for Saije to speed up the development of her lungs in case she does come early, since lungs are the main concern with preemies. She said she was taking this very seriously because I could easily go into all out labor and have a baby within a day if they don't take proper precautions. OF COURSE that made me even more nervous and scared than I already was!!! I stayed the night and got in to see the neonatologist for an ultrasound first thing in the morning. He did an all over ultrasound like we did at 19 wks when we found out the gender. She was right on track for growth, all her vital organs still looked good, her heart rate was back up to normal, and she was movin all around. Only thing was she was in the breech position so he said she needs to turn around before she comes. If not, she's even more high risk so hopefully she doesn't come for awhile! I went back to the room and Dr. Lesser came back again. She said that since I'd been laying in bed the entire time and I hadn't had anymore major contractions, my blood pressure was back down, baby was healthy, and the neonatologist confirmed my cervix was closed tight, she felt good about sending me home on bed rest orders. The nurse came in and gave me my second round of steriod for Saije and said I was good to go! Doctors orders were "bed rest" with the term used very loosely. I was not to be bed ridden by any means, but to stay off my feet as much as possible. Lay in a recliner or on the couch or in bed as much as I can, but still get up every 2-4 hours and walk around for a minute so my blood circulation stays good for Saije. If I have anymore contractions or pressure or anything else, to go straight to labor and delivery. Work was absolutely out of the question so soon after this kind of scare. I told my boss and that weekend I went back to Burley with my mom so she could take care of me while I had to rest and take it easy so I didn't have to do that by myself here.

I came back to Ogden this week for my follow up appointment. Things went pretty well. She checked me again to make sure my cervix wasn't opening and it wasn't. She said that no progress in this situation is GOOD progress so she was happy. Obviously "bed rest" was working. We battled a little bit about me going back to work and she hesitantly agreed to let me take it one week at a time and only work 4 hrs/day. If at any point my pre-term labor is progressing, she will say NO MORE WORK until baby comes and there's no fighting it at that point. So, here I am back in good 'ol Ogden, UT working 4 hrs/day until I can't anymore! It's kind of bittersweet. I need the money to pay bills, but at the same time I don't want to ask for trouble ya know? Dr. said if she can get me to 36 weeks she'll be stoked! That is August 1st!!!! It's gonna be here before I even know it! I'm hoping to beat the 12% chance and make it all the way to 40 weeks so Saije can be as healthy as possible.

Well that's the story in a nutshell. I'm sure I left out a few details, but that's enough to catch the jist of it. I am happy to say that so far so good. I think I convinced her to stay "in" awhile! ha ha!

Thanks so much to everyone who called, texted, visited, etc. It was the scariest predicament of my entire life, but I had alot of support from family/friends! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!