After 6 weeks of bed rest, bleeding every single day, some days with cramping, three scares involving hospital visits..... we finally made our first milestone, so I can breathe a sigh of relief. 24 WEEKS!! Jacob is considered viable and now they will do everything possible to save him if he comes early. I am now in the hospital for the duration, until he is born, and I feel a lot more safe and secure - for him. I had my first steroid shot to help his lungs develop quickly and the second will be tomorrow. I hear the side effects for me could be nasty, but so far I'm fine, and honestly, I don't care how bad the side effects are, I just want him to be as safe as possible.
We also had an ultrasound which is pretty much the same as far as placenta and bleeding - it hasn't healed in six weeks so they really don't expect any improvement. The doctor tells us they will do everything possible to keep the baby inside me, including blood transfusions, if necessary. So we are not in any immediate risk of delivery now, and they expect I will be in here a long time. In fact, They are planning to move me to a big "Cadillac" room tonight reserved only for long term high risk ob patients. My current room is ok, but the bigger room should be better for visitors, especially the kids. One new risk is that the amniotic fluid is a little low, not a huge concern now, but we are still watching for early rupture of membranes that is often caused by bleeding irritating the uterus.
The kids are coming out to see me here for the first time tonight. This is the downside of being in the hospital and I am praying it's not too difficult on them. We want them to see and know that I am ok, and are trying to make my room fun with new books and toys that stay here.
Before I finish, I want to reflect on the last week and what I'm thankful for:
- That the week passed quickly so we could reach our milestone for some peace of mind
- For a smooth transition of my work duties so I don't have any guilt or nervousness over loose ends
- A huge thanks for family coming in town to support my husband's marathon and me and Jacob
- Thanks to mother-in-law and father-in-law for making a big deal out of the marathon and making us feel special
- Thanks to sister-in-law and brother-in-law for the amazing cooking - I enjoyed their meals and leftovers for 8 straight meals and did not get sick of anything
- Thanks to our friends from the kids school who made a perfect meal the kids just loved and finally broke the cycle of way too much peanut butter and jelly - makes me happy to see the kids eating real food.
And a big thanks for all of the prayers and support that got us here to this point. Looking ahead, we are praying for no new surprises, early labor or water breaking. Our next mini-milestone is 25 wks, which is next Wednesday, when survival rates jump from 50 percent to 75 percent. But our next big milestone is 28 weeks, so please pray for Jacob to stay put until October 6!
