Wednesday Update: Labor day!

As Lee would say, we are "making like a baby and heading out". :)

So Jennifer had her water broken at 4 pm ish. She was at 2 when that happend and the pitocin was not making her contract as much as they wanted. Now with the water broken she was having stong contractions between 2 - 3 min apart. The doctors have put her back on the Magnesium Sulfate to keep her from having seizures. That ment the dreaded cathator, which didn't turn out to be that bad this time. She has currently only had Nubane for the pain. The epidural is still on the table for later!

All in all the she has 4 IVs, 2 delivering fluids ( one to mom, one to GB), one to give the magnesium, and one to give pitocin. (And in the darkness one to bind them) The second IV giving fluids to GB begs the question: Why break the water if you are going to put more back? Yes, we know it was to get Jennifer moving, but seriously.

The nurses/doctor will not commit to a time for the baby as it really could happen quickly. We do not expect it to be quick, we are expecting this to take all night. After reading all about birthing positions, birth plans, and options Jennifer thinks that it is super unfair that she is confined to laying on her previously broken hip. She does this because it is the only position that GB's heart rate does not decellerate durring the contractions.

Even trough the pain and trails Jennifer is ready to meet the LO sometime tonight or in the morning. I second that feeling and am excited. I also wonder if all the stuff that we have at the hospital room with us will magically move to the next room!

Tuesday Lunchtime update

So Monday we thought that everything was still at the wait and see stage. So I (Matt) went to work. It was later than normal as I tried to wait for the doctors to come in to see us. I have this uncanny ability to make a doctor show up, all I have to do is leave the hospital. I get a call from Jennifer a short time after the doctors came by, and the basic prognosis was that we needed to be induced. That meant I left for the hospital right away to wait. Monday evening we got moved over into Labor and Delivery areas. Bigger room more pillows and more blankets, over all better room.

Before we moved we spoke with three doctors. Apparently if you give the doctors the impression that you did not understand the prognosis loads of them come by to talk to you. The doctor in charge of the neonatal unit was very nice. He has been helping baby's for 30 years ish. He made us feel more comfortable with the decision to go ahead and induce.

Jennifer was given cervadil (sp) to get her ready for the pitocin which is what really induces the labor. They have her on a low dosage of the medicine, they don't want her to go strait into labor. So we are easing her into this. The nurses have told us that the baby could be born as late as three days from now! Holy crap I hope Jennifer does not have to be in labor that long.

So now we have a new waiting game. Wait for Jennifer's body to be ready for labor. :) More updates to follow.

Sunday evening update

So we're still waiting to find out where we go from here. Today's platelets were lower (95,000) but the Dr. said that while the pattern holds, we will wait it out. She anticipates the need to induce labor in the next few days, but we're not sure of exactly when. It just all depends on my numbers day to day. Right now I'm having an issue with my blood pressure again, so that may end up being the reason to get her out here at 31.5 weeks

The NICU nurse came to talk to us about Abigail's stay in their nursery. It looks like she will probably be here from birth until 6 or 7 weeks. Maybe longer. As you can guess, we're pretty upset about this. I never dreamed I'd have to go home empty handed for a time after having a baby- or that I may not get to see her right after delivery. It's all a bit overwhelming.

So the good news is that we've bought Abigail another day to grow in utero. The bad news is that we're literally in a very tense holding pattern daily. I'll update as I can - thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers. It really does mean so much.

Saturday morning update

Hanging out in the hospital room and waiting for the dr to come in and let us know the plan. Last night my platelets went up a bit . They've been fluxuating between 118,000 and 91,000. Normal platelet range in pregnancy is above 140,000. Under 80,000 is where major danger lies and when I may not be able to clot.

However, my nurse just came in to let me know the platelets fell again by about 13,000 overnight - leaving me at 105,000. Not too dangerous, but not a good trend. So we wait to hear the dr's newest plan. He should be in here within a few hours, but you know how hospitals can get on Saturdays in labor and delivery!

Matt's here with me and basically we've been killing the time with snoozing and talking and playing on the internet. I am on strict bedrest, although I can get up to go to the bathroom (yay! No more catheter!!) and Thursday night they took me off the magnesium. I was on the mag to stave off the possibility of seizures while my blood pressure was so high. The mag made me feel AWFUL, so I'm so glad to be off of that.

I'm trying to stay positive - hoping that we'll be able to keep her inside for another couple of weeks or even days. Right now every day is a huge milestone and means less time in the
NICU.

I'm also a little down today because I'm missing my baby shower this afternoon :( Funny how this happened right before it. I hope everyone has a good time and takes lots of pictures. Kat and Ms. Nancy have put so much time and thought into it, and I really am so thankful.

I'll update with the dr's news as soon as he decides to stop by.
Please conitinue to keep me and baby Abigail in your prayers!

Jen

In the hospital - please pray

An update on Baby Sandlin and myself:

I have been at Southern Regional since my Weds dr's appointment. At the appt my blood pressure was dangerously high and my blood platelette count was dangerously low, so they sent me right over to a hospital with a NICU.

We have gotten the bp stabilized, but my platelettes keep dropping. No clue why. If this continues, they will have to get the baby out this weekend/shortly after. If for some reason my platelettes go back up, this will buy the baby some time - I will still need to stay on hospital bedrest until she's born.

Her original due date is not until Oct 22nd, so she will be about 2 months premature. I have received some steroid shots to help get her lungs ready in case she needs to start using them within a few days. The dr thinks this is the most likely scenario. Surprisingly, I'm feeling fine right now and the baby is doing great. Really the situation is that my body has decided for some reason to turn aginst the pregnancy. I have Matt and my family here while we wait to find out the next step. Emotionally, we're a bit turned upside down waiting on such a premature baby when we thought everything was fine 48 hours ago, but we'll do whatever it takes to make sure the baby and I are as safe as can be.
We'll keep you updated as we can, and we would appreciate your prayers.

Jen Sandlin

Baby Hiccups

Borrowed from a fellow Bumpie:


"Baby Hiccups":

While endearing, it begins to feel like you're being pecked to death by a chicken after 45 minutes straight. I believe Stewie gave us the best example:

Waiting

Ask Matt and he'll tell you I'm not exactly the most patient person in the world. In fact, "patient" doesn't really belong in the same sentence with my name. I'm always looking forward to the next milestone in life. When I was in middle school I couldn't WAIT to get into high school ( I mean, high school was when you ultimately became cool like the kids on 90's tv shows like Saved by the Bell and 90210, right?) Then I couldn't wait to be in college, which was closely followed by 4 years of impatience to be OUT of college. If I had only known how much more stressful post-graduate life is! When I knew Matt was the one for me, I became impatient for all the things our married life would hold.

But I would argue that impatience isn't really the problem - it's the fear of the unknown that really bothers me. I would rather know everything up-front than be surprised or caught unprepared. You see, I am a planner. I have to-do lists that actually include making more to-do lists. As soon as we found out I was expecting, I couldn't wait to find out my due date. That way, I could start planning. Having to see the specialist really threw a wrench in my plans because each week seemed to carry a new diagnosis/problem - a new unexpected thing to plan for. And sometimes even the POSSIBILITY of unforeseen issues can get me in a panic. Before school even began, I had all of my long-term substitute lesson plans ready for after my due date - not to mention I had cleaned out my desk at school and gotten the room "sub friendly".

But apparently pregnancy is all about waiting and uncertainty. I have to accept that certain things are out of my control.

Right now I'm waiting to get the blood and urine results back on my preecclampsia (toxemia) testing. This determines whether I go on bed rest starting next week at 31 weeks. At the MFM specialist appointment, my blood pressure was too high (I think 140/100 - that's really high for me) and there was protein in my urine. Along with the swelling, things aren't looking good for me staying at work until my due date.

I'm actually okay with the prospect of 2 months of bed rest. I've accepted the possibility and am willing to do whatever it takes to keep GB inside until it would be safe and healthy for her to make her debut. What I am NOT okay with is NOT KNOWING when exactly this will happen. Planning out the lessons for the ENTIRE semester is now stressing me out, not to mention trying to find a long-term certified sub who doesn't mind being ready at the drop of a hat starting....oh...in three days...maybe. And I really thought I'd have plenty of time to get the nursery ready, but now I'm not so sure. And I meant to attend a breastfeeding class, but there is only ONE more offered at the hospital before GB is born, and bed rest may prohibit that.

I'm pretty much in a self-centered panic right now about not being prepared for this baby yet. It seems like all I've done this pregnancy is plan and wait, plan and wait...but now I feel like I didn't plan nearly as much as I should have!

**DEEP Breath**

But then I look at my most recent ultrasound of GB from Weds' appointment, and I feel SO THANKFUL that she's still doing well, despite my internal panic. She gained 1lb 20z since the last appointment. PEOPLE - that is AWESOME!!! She now weighs a total of 3lbs and was kicking away on the monitor. Her kidney is still enlarged, but not getting worse. She measured a few days behind, but that's not a big deal - she is GROWING :) And it's moments like this I remember that nothing else matters, and my to-do lists aren't really important, and even if my kids have NO lesson plans for the next 2 months they will somehow get by. And I'm so excited to think that she will be here so soon!

Month 7

Baby’s energy is surging, thanks to the formation of white fat deposits beneath the skin. (Have those kicks and jabs to the ribs tipped you off yet?) Baby is also settling into sleep and waking cycles, though -- as you’ve also probably noticed -- they don’t necessarily coincide with your own. Also this month, all five senses are finally functional, and the brain and nervous system are going through major developments.

29 week Update:
How far along? 29 weeks and 2 days!
Total weight gain/loss: about 23 lbs
Maternity Clothes: just bought slippers to wear while I teach - my feet have been swelling too much to wear regular shoes :(
Sleep: Not so good. I'm waking up around midnight every night and can't get back to sleep until about 4.
Best moment this week: I really enjoyed the first day of school and meeting all of my brand new students! I also liked being told that I do NOT have a blood clot in my leg!
Movement:I can now tell when I can feel her head/butt versus when she is jabbing me with her elbows/knees. Very cool!!
Food cravings: Honey nut cheerios, milkshakes, and tater tots
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks contractions sometimes when I'm laying down.
Belly Button in or out? neither???
What I miss: Being able to wear normal shoes. ::Cries::
What I am looking forward to: MFM ultrasound this weds. I can't wait to see how much GB has grown!

1st Trip to the Hospital

And no, it's not for what you think. After managing to successfully get through 2 trimesters without any noticable swelling, my left foot/ankle/calf decided to swell up to gigantic proportions over the past 48 hours. Of course, this happened to coincide with preplanning, so I can only assume that it's my body's way of rebelling against the end of summer/ start of the new school year. But it just happened so fast and became so uncomfortable SO quickly that I decided to call my OB nurse and ask her what I should do (besides elevate).

While talking to her, the nurse became concerned that it was only 1 leg that was swelling so much, and told me I needed to come 1st thing Friday morning to have a leg ultrasound done to check for blood clots. Well, it just so HAPPENS that this appointment would coincide with the FIRST day of school, and I determined that I just couldn't miss that - blood clots or no! (Note: Having written this, I am aware of how stupid this sounds. Of COURSE I should be more concerned about things like this than meeting my students on the first day. Don't lecture me - my husband already did). So the nurse told me that if I could make it to the hospital by 4:30pm, I could have the ultrasound tonight. She told me this at 4:05 and I rushed over to the hospital, thankfully making it just in time! I honestly hit every light just as it turned green (which, if you know the route from Sharpsburg to Peachtree City, is no small feat during rush hour!)

In the end, the ultrasound tech was great and thorough and found no evidence of blood clots - I just have a bad case of pregnancy swelling. Luckily this has meant that I am getting babied by Matt (seriously. He helped me into the tub, read to me during my bath, helped me out, massaged my feet. I'm trying not to take advantage of the situation...)

And now I'm off to bed because, whether I like it or not, it IS the end of summer and students will be at my classroom door in about 7 hours. Wish me and my swollen piggies good luck!

Weeks 26-28 - in photos

Ginger's Summer Hair-do:

Angry Matt (don't know why):

Ginger's response to Angry Matt:

26 Week Self-portrait:

Heading out to Adam and Mary-June's Wedding:

27 Week Belly pic (ignore frumpyness, please):

Striking a pose before the wedding at Steak and Shake:
Quite dashing:

Lee and April:

Brittany and Ryan
Beautiful Wedding!

28 Weeks - does this shirt make me look fat??

The end!