My water broke in the middle of the night on October 15th. I called the doctor and, of course, they told me to come in to the hospital to be checked out. I gushed pretty much the whole way to the hospital and tried to convince myself that it was just one of the boys pushing on my bladder...
When I got to the hospital, they left me in the waiting room for about 20 minutes to a half an hour. It felt like forever. Finally, they brought me to a triage cubicle and hooked me up to the non stress test (NST) monitors. At first, they couldn't find the second baby. I was convinced he'd been lost. They actually brought in the portable ultrasound machine to locate him. But, thank God, there he was. It was the first of many scares that were to come.
After being hooked up to the NST monitors, they monitored the babies for a while. They also checked my cervix very very quickly. What I feared was confirmed--Baby One's water had broken. There was so much fluid they couldn't even see my cervix, so they had no idea if I was going into labor or not. After a few minutes, they transferred me to the labor floor to a very uncomfortable bed and left me hooked up to the NST monitors indefinitely. They put in an IV and gave me erythromycin, magnesium (which makes you lethargic and causes your hands and feet to burn up), and other liquids. They also administered the first dose of a course of steroids to help the babies' lungs mature in case they had to deliver the babies. In order for the steroids to work, they needed to give me a second shot 24 hours later and then let that take effect for 24 hours. So we were all hoping that both me and the babies could last at least 48 hours before they were delivered. Otherwise, at 26 weeks and 6 days, their lungs would not be as mature as the doctors would like. They also tested for infection to see if that is why my water broke. If I did have an infection, they would not hesitate in doing a C-section to remove the babies. They preferred to work with a very young baby than a baby infected with an infection.
The first 48 hours were pretty tense. We waited and waited for any indication of whether or not I would go into labor. They sent neonatologists, anesthesiologists, maternal and fetal medicine, and even the chaplain to see us. We notified family who started prayer chains and got the "prayer warriors" to work on our behalf. And we waited. Test results came back--thank God, I had no infection.
On Monday, they sent me down for an ultrasound for a Biophysical Profile (BPP). Things had quieted down a bit, and it looked like I wasn't going into immediate labor. During the ultrasound, Baby One didn't move. He had no fluid. He had no tone. He wasn't doing practice breathing. The ultrasound tec was not the friendliest I have met, and at the end of the ultrasound, she sent me to the recovery rooms (not the labor floor) and told me that she'd given Baby One (who broke the membrane) a 0 out of a potential 8 points. Basically, the baby was alive, but not much else. She also mentioned that Baby Two (who still had his fluid) was extremely small for the gestational age. She said Baby One was 2 lbs 5 oz or about 54th percentile. Baby One was 1 lb 13 oz and 4th percentile. So on top of having a baby without amniotic fluid, we now had a baby that seemed growth restricted. Each baby had his own serious issues. I was terrified.
Transport came for me and they brought me up to the recovery floor where I told the nurses what had happened with the ultrasound. I mentioned that perhaps I should not be on the recovery floor but be returned to the labor floor given the results of the ultrasound. They didn't even wheel me into my new room. They brought me straight back down to labor and hooked me up to the NST monitors again. I stayed there another few days. Finally, they did another ultrasound and BPP, and both babies were fine. I was not in labor and the steroid shots had taken effect--I was "beta complete." So they finally took me off the monitors 24/7 and put me up in the recovery rooms where I could be monitored but didn't have to lie on my back in an uncomfortable bed hooked up to monitors all day every day.
Carlos stayed with me that entire first week at the hospital and never left my side. He brought me anything and everything I needed and gave me the support I needed to get through. He was strong for me, and I was amazingly relaxed and not stressed given the circumstances. I am a worrier....I worry constantly. But probably for the first time ever, I was calm, collected, and even accepting of the situation. I realized that worrying would do NOTHING to help the babies. If anything, stress would harm them or bring on labor. So I did what I could to just lay low and stay calm. I've always known I have a great, loving, caring husband who would be an amazing father. But this experience only served as proof as to how special he is.
Vistors came by with flowers, books, food, and other things to keep me occupied. I got emails, cards, and phone calls. Both of our employers were extremely helpful and understanding. It felt great to feel the support of those who love us. It kept us going.
After a week in the hospital, I began to settle into a routine. I thought bedrest would be my worst nightmare, and while I didn't particularly enjoy it, I found that it was not nearly as bad as I expected. Mornings were spent ordering breakfast and waiting 45 minutes for it to be delivered. Then the NST. Sometimes the babies would pass, and sometimes they would miss being reactive by a small margin. When they didn't pass the NST, we'd be sent down for an ultrasound and a BPP. It seemed that every other day I'd be having an ultrasound, and the baby that "failed" the test would always flip flop. It was never the same one. Yet despite all the test results, I felt good movement in my belly. They boys have quite strong kicks and were often rolling around inside, moving my entire belly.
After lunch, I'd watch HGTV and the Food Network. Then I'd read or nap. Carlos would stop by after work around 4:30 and he'd stay to eat dinner with me before going home to sleep. Visitors still kept coming. The days went by fairly quickly.
Two weeks after the first ultrasound that was so depressing, we had another measurement ultrasound. They only measure every 2 weeks so that they can see significant growth trends over time and not the small fluctuations that would drive an expectant mother crazy! Low and behold, Baby Two had grown and was now the same size as Baby One! Baby One was 2 lbs 11 oz and Baby Two was 2 lbs 10 oz!!! Neither baby was considered large, but they were on the smaller side of normal. I wasn't complaining about the news!!! We had a tiny miracle! Either the original measurements were off or Baby Two was benefiting from bedrest (or both!).
After almost a month on bedrest, I woke up in the middle of the night and found that my clear discharge of amniotic fluid had turned pink. I called the nurse. They sent me back down to the labor rooms to be monitored constantly. I called my husband. They found I was having fairly regular contractions, although they were not painful to me. They hooked me up to an IV to get me fluids to see if that would calm down the contractions. I was there from 3:30AM until lunchtime the next day before the contractions were sparse enough that they felt comfortable enough to send me back upstairs.
The next night, at around 2AM, I called the nurse because I was having more contractions. This time, I could feel them a bit more. They brought me back down to the labor room and hooked me up to the NST monitors and the IV again. Luckily, once again, the contractions quieted down and by about 9AM, they brought me back up to my room on the recovery floor. I'd staved off labor twice, but no one could guarantee this wasn't the beginning of labor. They didn't want to look at my cervix because of the risk of infection with a broken membrane.
Last night, I made it through the night without any pink discharge or contractions. I'm hoping that things will be quiet again tonight. Tomorrow I will be 31 weeks, but I have 34 weeks and 4 days as my goal. They have scheduled a C-section (or they will induce me) on 12/8. That is the latest they would leave the babies in my belly, as at that point, the risk of infection is much higher than the risks of just taking them out. That's still over 3 weeks away. Before, when things were quiet, I was confident I could reach this goal. I'm still optimistic, but I'm also cognizant of the fact that I'm lucky to have made it this far. I will do anything I can to hold out for these boys, but they may come at any time. And if they do, I need to be prepared mentally and physically for it. At the very least, I'm so grateful to have bought my boys 4 additional weeks in the womb. Every day counts.
Tomorrow we have another ultrasound and they will take measurements again. I am anxious to see if both boys continue to be about the same size and if they are growing at the rate that the doctors want. My belly has grown, and I feel lots of fetal movement, so I am optimistic that the boys are healthy, strong, and growing inside. More later.
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