Well, well, well...

It's been FOREVER since I posted. And I didn't expect to be posting the first half of a birth story! (hopefully a REALLY EARLY first half!)

What a crazy weekend, but again, how amazing is God's provision in everything?! Praise the Lord we have health insurance, amazing doctors, serving family and friends, and, as of right now, HEALTH!

(*okay, any guys reading this, I'll try not to be too "detailed"... but read at your own risk*)

Friday morning I noticed some spotting and some strong contractions. I didn't think too much of it, and tried to ignore it, but it continued through Sunday morning. I called the "on call" doctor to see if I should be concerned. He suggested that I come in and get checked because Will is not full term until at least 37 weeks. It is a bit early and they wanted to make sure everything was ok. This is what I've noticed about this hospital and these doctors. They are SO thorough, and I really feel like I'm in GREAT hands! They take precaution and really make sure that it's in baby's best interest. The attention to detail and desire to educate has been awesome.

So after church on Sunday we came up to Baptist hospital. I'll spare the whining about how I hadn't eaten since 9:30am and wouldn't get to eat again for over 24 hours, because that was my own fault! They checked my cervix, and there was no sign of any dilation or change. This was GOOD news. They took some samples to make sure that the blood they were seeing had nothing to do with the fetus or any preterm labor. I passed all of the tests with flying colors. Then I met with the on call doctor who I had talked to on the phone. He told me that because the bleeding wasn't from my cervix or the baby, there was a possibility that it was placenta related. They asked me to stay overnight for some monitoring and gave me two shots of Terbutaline to slow/stop the contractions. Keith took Jack home and came back later with my laptop. Lifesaver!! Though Jack was having fun in the "stage like" window sill, there wasn't too much for him to do in the hospital room. It was a good run through for when Will gets here! Now we know to pack Toy Story to bring along.

Last night around 3am some contractions started up again, so they gave me a third shot of Terbutaline. (I won't be getting anymore shots, they have prescribed an oral pill if any contractions continue) This is a drug given in pill or shot form to relax things in the body; most commonly for people with asthma and breathing problems to relax their lungs in an attack. It just so happens to relax the uterus too, so it helped stop/slow my contractions. (this is important, because having a prior incision in my uterus, continuous contractions aren't a good thing...) Then this morning I met with my Doctor. The good news is that I'm not bleeding anymore, and barely contracting, and all my tests have been GREAT! So REST has been successful! The bad news, is that REST has been successful... Especially for a mom of a 17 month old. My doctor recommended me staying on bed rest to make sure that the bleeding doesn't come back.

Most of what I was told today was precautionary, and "worst case scenario" because it is really up in the air what can happen next. Bed rest means getting out of bed to use the bathroom, and possibly a quick shower once a day. That's IT! There are a few things still up in the air. First, how long I will be on bed rest? This can be anywhere from 2-4 weeks. I'm 4 weeks from Will being full term. Second, WHERE will I be on bed rest. It's still up in the air if they want me at the hospital for safety, or if they are okay to release me to rest at home.

I was scheduled for an ultrasound this morning to check on Will and my placenta and cervix. Also, I met with a "high risk" doctor. This again is precautionary because my doctor thought it would be a good thing to meet the "high risk" doctor ahead of time so that I would know him in case for any reason we need to use his team. Plus she wanted me to talk with him and see what he thought about everything going on. I'll tell you, it all sounded scary at first, but as the day has gone on I'm realizing that I'm passing EVERY test and EVERYTHING is really looking GOOD! So this is just precautionary, and that makes me feel like I'm really in good hands!!

The ultrasound went PERFECT! Will is doing amazing, my cervix is FAR from any kind of labor, and the placenta looks great. I got a few little pictures of Will too which was great, considering he wouldn't move enough at our 20 week ultrasound and we never got a good profile view. He is measuring over 5 pounds (which can be give or take 14 ounces, but 5lbs is a safe birth weight), his bones are nice and dense, heart is pumping beautifully, and he looks happy. The "high risk" doctor was very optimistic. He asked me a lot of questions about my family history, my personal medical history, and told me he doesn't see any reason for this to be a high risk pregnancy or delivery. But that doesn't mean I'm off the hook. Anything can happen at any time.

Another precautionary measure was taken to make sure that if an emergency happens Will is ready for the outside world. They are all very happy that I'm so far along... This means he has wonderful chances of being born healthy. But one thing they want to make sure, is that his lungs are fully developed. The high risk doctor said, that say I were to go home tomorrow, everything is fine, and in 2 weeks I start bleeding again. Because at that point I'm so close to full term, it may be easier to deliver Will than to wait for something bad to happen. Him and my doctor both recommended a steroid called betamethasone. This will give Will an extra boost in lung development, should early delivery occur. All in all, I was really impressed with the high risk doctor. He seemed VERY optimistic, and again, everything so far is looking normal and great!

We're still at a waiting game. I'm sure my doctor needs to review what the high risk doctor has said, along with the ultrasound results. The steroid comes in 2 doses that are 24 hours apart. I had one around 10am and will have another tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, that means I'm stuck here till at least 10 tomorrow. We just have to see what the next steps are, and how comfortable they feel with me leaving. As of right now, Jack is at a friend's house living it up with his buddy Phoenix. Next step is to see what we can arrange for him as far as being watched over the next few weeks. But we can only do one thing at a time and waiting is the first step.

I'll continue to keep you all updated on everything. I feel great and Will is also doing great, and that's most important! Thanks for all of the support! This hospital has pretty good food too, and I've been released to eat! Plus, I get cable and free wifi. Life is good.

**UPDATE**

I've been taken off my monitors because everything has looked great. The nurse said the doctor was hinting at me going home in the morning after the steroid shot. This is great news. I can't wait to be home again, I miss my family! Thank you for the prayers, I'm so glad my stay here was a positive one (and my tests came back negative) and that it was SHORT! Home to my own bed!