31-33 weeks

So, once again I am on team during this pregnancy and have absolutely NO time to write! I will fill you in quick of what has been going on with baby the last 3 weeks (although, honestly, most of what is going on is growing)... 31w began the beginning of a growth spurt! He also obtained the ability to turn his head side to side and his arms and legs are getting nice and chubby! 32w: baby gains about 1/3 of his birth weight during the next few weeks (oh joy right?!!?)... he has toenails, fingernails and real hair! 33w: his skeleton is hardening but the bones of his head are not fused to allow it to reshape as it destroys my... other than that just more growing!

Now for my excitement: Tuesday I had my regular OB appointment... Now first remember that as of appointment time on Tuesday I had worked 9 straight days and had been on call for 3 of them (including the Monday before) and when asked if baby was moving lots I was honest and said not so much (although, honestly, this is most likely because I really didn't sleep Monday night and had not been off of my feet in 2 straight days)... so, hearing that, she hooked me to the monitor in the clinic to monitor baby. Well, let me tell you something about my son, he has the heart of a professional athlete- basically he is in super duper condition and is loving life... HOWEVER, during my time on the monitor we noticed that I was contracting every 1-2 minutes. I feel about 1/4 of the ones that were picking up, but not in the way that I would imagine contractions to feel like (but, remember, I have never done this before!) At this stage in pregnancy it is normal to have occassional contractions (<5 an hour at most)- these are the Braxton-Hicks contractions, of the uterus "practicing" for labor, but 1-2 minutes apart is a HUGE red flag. So, she sent me to the hospital where Christopher is actually on his OB rotation, to get admitted. They hooked me up to the monitor and there I was, contracting every 2-4 minutes or so. They gave me a shot of terbutaline (a drug that stops contractions) and did a speculum exam looking for an infection (infections can cause these same symptoms)... I did not have any infections but my Fetal Fibronectin (fFN) was also positive. Here is the best definition I can find explaining the test:
"A positive fFN result is not very predictive of preterm labor and delivery. However, a negative fFN result is highly predictive that preterm delivery will not occur within the next 2 weeks.
In other words, when the fFN test is done on a symptomatic woman who meets the qualifying conditions, a negative test result means that there is a less than 1% chance of having a premature delivery within the next 2 weeks. The doctor will also use other tests and her clinical expertise to evaluate each individual situation.

Since there are risks associated with treating a woman for premature labor (in anticipation of a premature delivery), a negative fFN can reduce unnecessary hospitalizations and drug therapies.

A positive fetal fibronectin test is less specific. It is associated with an increased risk for preterm delivery and with neonatal complications, but it will not tell a woman's doctor whether or not she will deliver early. A positive test suggests the need to monitor a symptomatic woman more closely."

So, not the news I necessarily wanted... They checked my cervix which was only a fingertip dilated (<1cm- need to get to 10 to have a baby) and kept me over night. This meant getting woken up often to "turn me" and I did get another shot of terbutaline in the am. In the morning they measured with an ultrasound how long my cervix actually is (much better at predicting pre-term delivery with a positive fFN) and my cervix is still 4cm--- this is very good! My perinatologist (the doc who specializes in high-risk OB) said that the odds of me delivering in the next 3 weeks with a long cervical length of 4cm is highly unlikely... all in all... very good news.

I do have some work restrictions now, but I do get to finish team (thank goodness for not having to repeat team). I see the perinatologist again this Tue to re-measure his size (remember, he was huge at 30weeks) and to once again re-evaluate my situation! I will also see my regular doc on the weeks I am not seeing the perinatologist (lots of doc apts for me!)

As for fun stuff... we had the baby shower yesterday which was absolutely wonderful!! I cannot even begin to say how greatful we (me, christopher and baby-- and Rippy) are for everyone's generosity! It was so awesome to see everyone and to just have a good afternoon with lots of fabulous food! Now we just have to figure out how to get all of the loot home with us!!!!

I will post pics of my huge self soon and I will really try to keep this more updated now that this pregnancy really got interesting!!!!