28 weeks
The husband returned home from deployment at the end of October. Much of the next several weeks were filled with getting moved and settled into the new place. I began commuting to Denver from CO Springs for work. And baby continued growing.
Following the 20 week ultrasound, my doctor's noticed a spot on my placenta they wanted to recheck at 24 weeks. This of course made me nervous, but on the bright side it meant my husband would be able to see an ultrasound of our son, which made me happy. Following the 24 week ultrasound, they said everything looked fine and baby was developing right in line with where he should be.
The next several weeks went by fairly normal. Aside from being tired, occasional nerve pains, and a super annoying reoccurring pain in one of my ribs...everything was going well. I of course have had my moments of struggling with the ever continuous body changes. Some days you wake up with a game face feeling good, and other days the sight of yourself in the mirror is less then glamorous. It can definitely be tough at times to feel beautiful, and it's like you need constant reminders that you are. I just try to remind myself it is only temporary and that the end result is obviously so well worth it.
Anyways, this past Thursday afternoon I was at work when all of a sudden I started getting pains in my abdomen. It felt like pressure in my lower uterus, and pain that radiated up the sides and to the top of my uterus. Along with a mild low back pain that came and went. At first I thought I just needed to sit down for a moment, but after awhile when it didn't subside and seemed to get worse I got concerned and called my doctor. They instructed me to drink water and lie down for an hour then call them back. When I did, and the pain was still there, my OB instructed me that I was not to drive and not to leave Denver before going to the hospital. My mother got dropped off at my job and drove me to the ER. They sent me up to the labor floor and hooked me up to a contraction monitor and a monitor of the baby's heartbeat. Baby thankfully sounded good and was ok, but I was contracting every 3-4 minutes. They checked me, and luckily wasn't dialated at all. I got shots to stop the contractions, and they did a fetal fibronectin test on me. It came back positive, which essentially means I am not necessarily going to go into preterm labor but I am at risk to. Since I wasn't dialated and the contractions stopped, I was released from the hospital. My OB then had me go and get shots which help speed up the development of his lungs in case he is born early, and I have been put on a modified bed rest. Many of my physical activities have to be limited, and I am restricted from driving outside of CO Springs on my own.
This has proved to be a very tough week for me. First and foremost the fear of our son coming so early is terrifying, and as much as you realize it's not necessarily in your control, a part of you feels like you've failed because your body isn't doing "what it should". Then the unexpected end of work has been tough. Unlike an office job, working with children and families as a preschool teacher brings a different emotional connection with work. I have been with the school for the past 3 years, so feeling like I just left with out saying good-bye to the kids has been hard. I know I will have to go to work to get my things that are there, and get to see the kids, but it still wasn't the way I planned it which made it tough. I am a planner, so unexpected change like that is not my cup of tea. And of course learning to adapt to all my restrictions will be difficult. I am always on the go, and have always been someone who does a million things at once. So to be told I can't vacuum, or I can't drive myself somewhere, or I have to limit how many times I can go up or down stairs at my house will definitely be an adjustment. I know that all these things are what is best for baby and me, though. And anything I can do to insure his health and keeping him in as long as possible, is what's important.
Amidst all the craziness this past week, I did manage to have my baby shower this past Saturday. Which I was so glad I was OKed to do, because I have been looking forward to it so much. IT turned out beautifully and was beyond touched by the love and support. My only regret is that I didn't take more photos because the ladies did such an amazing job putting it all together!
One of the games :)
Opening gifts
With my friend's dating back to high school
Adorable finger print tree the guests did
The wishing tree where guests wrote well wishes
