Tuesday, we took Bryleigh to shop for her Operation Christmas Child shoe box before we headed in to Dallas for our weekly appointment with Dr. Harris. We spent the morning telling her all about shopping for those that don't have very much and how we'd be buying presents for a little girl just like her. She watched the videos over and over while we finished getting ready, and she did a pretty good job of shopping FOR her little girl and not just for herself ;) Although, we did end up with TWO baby dolls, so one was sent and Bryleigh got one.
The NOT normal started on Wednesday. We dropped Bryleigh off for school and headed home to get a few things done, expecting a call to set up an appointment with the specialists in Dallas, so we enlisted some help from DeDe for after school. What we didn't know was that I wouldn't be able to come home that night, so Bryleigh had two fun days with her DeDe, Poppa B, and Aunt Erin! She didn't mind one bit!!
Thankfully, I got to enjoy most of week 38 from home - including picking my girl up from school on Friday (on Mickey Mouse's birthday, no less) and a stop at Starbucks for cake pops on our way home. It was also perfect timing to be home from the hospital, too, because my brother and his kids were in town for the weekend, so we were able to spend time with Olivia and Tate on Friday night/Saturday morning.
We decided that since we have NO idea when this little guy is coming, and we normally decorate the day after Thanksgiving (i.e. The day after hitting 39 weeks...), we should go ahead and decorate a little early. Don't worry, we still watched "Pumpkin Sheriff Callie" at bed time. ;)
Our sweet girl took a quick trip to SS with Mimi, while we stayed home and *tried* to get some things done around the house, including one final date with my guy!
The BumpDates...
Week 37 will probably go down as one of my least favorites. I came of the nifedipine on a Thursday, and by Sunday I was running a fever of 100-101 multiple times a day for hours at a time, and they would always lead to a few hours of some pretty strong contractions. When they initially started on that Sunday, I gave my doctor a quick call and he told me a few things to watch for (rash and/or flu-like symptoms, but neither ever happened). When I mentioned it again at my appointment (Nov. 15 at 1:30), after having the fever for several weeks, Dr. Harris was concerned enough to run some tests, but those did not come back until the following week when I went in for my weekly appointment, and they were all normal. The next step was a sonogram in his office, which also looked good (Praise the Lord - our guy was measuring 7 lbs 14 oz).
Because of all the questions, and still having the fever, my doctor referred us to the Fetal Care Specialists that I worked with while I was in the hospital. The following morning they called and had me come in immediately (Nov. 16 at 12:15). I was greeted at the door with a mask, and then I was put on the monitor for 20 minutes and had a second sonogram (where our guy was measuring 8 lbs 14 oz...yes a whole pound difference in ONE day). Everything was looking fine on the monitors, but the doctor was concerned about the fevers and did not want to send me home without further testing, so we were sent straight to the hospital.
I was expecting some quick blood work and testing (I did my own flu test!) along with more time on the monitors in the triage area across from Labor and Delivery, but as the afternoon moved on, we realized that might not be the case, and we were right. I was admitted in to Labor and Delivery in to the isolation room where we learned that I was being tested for Tuberculosis. Every person that entered had to wear a mask and "suit up," and I just spent a lot of time crying. A quick test with results by 3 or 4 pm turned in to "tests at midnight" then "tests at 5 am" and "results in 6 hours" turned in to "results in 24-48 hours." We were frustrated beyond belief and just so ready to be home (or in labor......)
Week 38 kicked off early with the lab coming in around 5 am to get the blood work, and then it was a 24-48 hour waiting game where I just sat in a hospital bed (crying and angry and terrified - I've given birth to a big baby before. It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, and I had NO intention of doing that again...nor did a I feel like repeating that recovery process. The worry and fear CONSUMED me.) Although the lab results for TB had not come in on Friday morning, I had been fever free for 24 hours, so my doctor worked to get me released - he was about as upset with the whole "isolation thing" as we were. I was able to make it back to Arlington just in time to pick Bryleigh up from school and have a weekend of relaxing at home with my family.
Brad and I headed back to Dallas for our FINAL appointment with Dr. Harris on Monday morning. I was dilated to a 3.5 (finally making some progress) and 90% effaced at a -2. We talked "plans" and decided that we would wait to be induced until after Thanksgiving when Dr. Harris would be back from the holiday. We had originally talked about going in Thursday afternoon/evening or Friday morning, but I figured Will couldn't gain THAT much weight in those few days, so it was just better to wait. I was officially "on the table" for an induction for Monday, November 28!!
And why is there still no baby?
The number one, main reason there is still no baby - because God is in control and He has a specific date for our little guy to be born on, with a specific time for him to take his very first breath! (You can read a little bit more about that and why I wanted him to come a little earlier HERE.)
But there are a few other reasons too. Obviously I went in to preterm labor and we worked really hard to make sure our little guy stayed right where he was, by medicine, by bed rest, by prayer...But as I came of the medicine and the weeks continued to pass, nothing changed. I would have (and still have) contractions as close as 2 minutes apart for hours at a time, but each and every day, things always calm back down to where I don't actually go in to active labor. Dr. Harris let us know that this is actually a normal thing, stalled labor. There is data and studies that show some moms who work to prevent preterm babies end up going beyond their due date and need medical intervention to get things going labor-wise.
The other reason we don't have a baby yet is that it is no longer "easy" to induce labor. Dr. Harris has been on our side and was hopeful for an early delivery as well, but he let us know that there is a lot of red tape to work through these days when you are trying to induce. New, first time moms can't be induced without a medical reason before 40 weeks, and second time moms can't be induced before 39 weeks. In the past, "medical reason" was pretty loosely defined and left at the discretion of the doctor, but these days, it doesn't work anything like that.
Our case was reviewed by a case of doctors and there had to be documented medical statistics (i.e. documented fever in the hospital) for us to be considered for induction at 37, almost 38 weeks. Doctors are held accountable and could lose their license, insurance won't approve payment so you're left paying the bill, etc. Like I said, there's a lot more hoops to jump through for "early" inductions than there have been in years past. (PS. A big baby is apparently NOT a medical reason to induce, no matter how many times you ask!)
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