Our 1st trip to the hospital!

Yep, yesterday we had our 1st trip to the hospital with contractions. Ok, first, I didn't realize they were really contractions. I thought they would hurt but all it did was really make my tummy hard, almost like the babies were balling up. I could feel my tummy start to tighten & then relax again in about a 15-20 second cycle. They weren't too close together. I had 5 that I could count in about 1 hour & 45 minutes. So, I decided to call the peri's office. I spoke to the nurse & she said she was going to talk to Dr. Adam & then call me back.

About 15 minutes later, I received the call to go to the hospital to get monitored for contractions. I called Todd to come pick me up. Poor thing was already having a rough day at work but then to be calle by his wife to tell him, "We are off to the hospital"...well, I am sure that couldn't have been good for his stress level.

We arrived at the hospital & went to the L&D testing center. I was hooked up to the TOCO (monitoring machine) & for the 1st 20 minutes, nothing. Then out of the blue, I had about 4 contractions that were somewhere between 4-10 minutes apart. As soon as I saw that, I turned & told Todd, "Get ready b/c they are about to put me on some medication that will help stop them." He looked at me & you could see the worry in his face. It broke my heart b/c all I wanted was for my body to cooperate. I told him I was sorry that my body wasn't doing what it needed to.

The second I finished my sentence, the nurse comes in & proceeds to tell us that I would be given a shot of terbulaline to stop the contractions. If it didn't work, she was authorized to give me 2 more at 15 minute intervals & then my 1st dose of albuterol (drug normally prescribed for asthmatics but also for preterm contractions). Had this not worked, I don't know what the next step would have been but I am glad to report that the contractions stopped w/ the 1st shot!

From there I went to the peri's office b/c she wanted to put me on a home monitoring system & check the babies. The trips are doing fantastic & the peri is very happy w/ their growth & development. Apparently my body is doing it's job getting the babies fed! Thank God for little favors! Their stats are...

Sofi ~ 21w 4d, 1 lb
Gabi ~ 21w 4d, 1 lb
Ian ~ 21w 5d, 1 lb 2 oz

They are big babies & all ahead of their gestational age by 2-3 days! That brings me comfort. While there, they were moving like crazy. It was cute to see all their parts. I was also told that although my cervix & the cerclage was still holding, when pressured, I was still funneling. No problem! I'll stay off of my feet. I was also given a prescription of the albuterol to take every 6 hours to fight off the contractions. More meds for me!

As of now, I am still having some minor contractions BUT they aren't happening frequently enough to worry about it. The albuterol is doing its job for now. If I need to, the dose can be taken every 4 hours. After that, it is going to be a terbutaline pump. Boy, does that stuf make you jittery! I'm not sure that I would want to be on that 24/7 BUT if I have to be to keep these babies baking, I sure will!

As always, PLEASE keep those prayers coming! It is so hard to get through the days w/o worry but I am trying the best I can. The prayers definitely help! Love to you all!