Really gets hard to tell when every day seems like the exact same one being lived over and over again. Such mundane routines that pass by over the course of 24 hours...the days just start to blend. Such is life in hospital prison, I guess.
I am pretty sure it is Sunday, so that much is good. For whatever reason. Not a whole lot has changed in the past few days. I have been on oral meds for contractions, but I have continued to have "breakthrough" episodes of contractions in pretty good patterns, so I also continued receiving injections of terbutaline (brethine) to stop them. Due to the fact that these episodes started coming more regularly, the docs have now put me on an oral dose of terbutaline so that I don't have to keep having shots, and so that they don't have to keep "chasing" the contractions.
Terbutaline is the devil. I must note this. It makes you feel like you drank a whole pot of coffee, when you normally consume no caffeine. Shakes, tremors, shortness of breath, rapid talking, etc. Not a good time! The doc agreed to lower me to the lowest dose possible to see if it would still be effective. Any relief I can get from feeling "freaky" is so worth it. Seems to be a bit better already, and only very random contractions today. No patterns! Yay!
They feel every day that Finnley stays in utero is a victory. I will continue to be on all meds until 36 weeks. That is another week and a half from now. If I do go into active labor that cannot be stopped, if I dilate to 5 or more centimeters, or if my membranes rupture...regardless of how far along I am, I will be "delivered" immediately. If none of those things happen, we will just wait and see what happens after 36 weeks. So, potentially going to be a long road here.
Right now I have had no further cervical changes, so the docs are happy. I remain at 3 to 4 cm (depending on the doc and the "fingers" being used...doc's words, not mine!).
The hospital is a bore. I am back to having a single room for the moment, and I suppose that really is a highlight. I feel much more sane not having to share like a college freshman in the dorms. Privacy is so taken for granted by most people!
For a sample of my day, peruse here:
4am - nurse wakes me up for oral terbutaline / vitals
6am - nurse wakes me up for oral procardia / vitals
7am - nurse shift change takes place
morning - monitoring of baby and myself takes place (fetal HR, contractions, etc)
8am - room service calls for me to order breakfast
9am - breakfast
10am - another dose of oral terbutaline / vitals
11am or after - on varying days...shower time or sink bath time / pretty self for day
11:30am - room service calls for me to order lunch
12pm - another dose of oral procardia / vitals
12:30pm - eat lunch
afternoon - try not to die of boredom (internet, reading, movies, TV, whatever)
4pm - another dose of oral terbutaline / vitals
4:30pm - room service calls for dinner order
5:30pm - dinner time
6pm - another dose of oral procardia / vitals
7pm - nurse shift change
evening - another hour on the monitors for baby HR / contractions / etc
evening - still trying not to die of boredom
10pm - another dose of oral terbutaline / vitals
12pm - nurse wakes me up to give me dose of oral procardia
AND SO ON...
