Welcoming...

Marcus Reid

March 18, 2013

5lbs 0oz, 17"

After 8 days on hospital bed rest (due to pPROM), Marcus was born at 33 weeks, 5 days.  Because my water was broken, we had a schedule induction at 34 weeks anyway. 

Because I had a solid week in the hospital before delivering, Marcus was able to benefit from two steroid shots (for lung development) and two courses of antibiotics (run at the same time).  When he was born, he didn't need any breathing support and, aside from being small, was healthy.  He did spend a week in the NICU to be sure that his weight was following an upward trend.

Some of you might also experience preterm labor, so here were my big take-aways:

On bed rest:

• Every hour extra that you can keep that baby inside, the better. We all know that, but when you're on bed rest, reminding yourself can be so helpful. 
• If you experience pPROM like me, take a probiotic during the antibiotic course.  My flare didn't get dramatically worse this time, and I attribute that to this probiotic capsule, Ultimate Flora.
• Ask your friends and family to bring in outside food for you.  Life on bed rest is dull enough without eating the hospital's roast turkey and string beans for every meal.  Treat yourself to little indulgences.
• Start a project.  I began a baby book and continued a knitting project.  Seeing the progress of both of those projects made me feel a little less useless.
• Don't watch TV.  This is my general rule when hospitalized anyway, but it's especially true when you can't leave the bed.  Daytime TV will make you feel brain-deadened and depressed.  (Ok, this is totally subjective!  If you love Billy Bush and Steve Harvey, never mind!)

On welcoming a preemie:

• Breastfeeding is a challenge with a little babe (so sleepy!), but be diligent about pumping, because as the baby grows, it will become easier and you'll want the supply to be there. (8 times a day for 20 minutes...it's a goal, not always possible.)
• Ask your hospital to speak with their lactation consultants if you're struggling.  The advice mine gave was truly invaluable.
• The day you are discharged and go home, leaving your baby in the NICU, will be the worst day of your life.  But the next day will start a new routine, and then it's just life.  My hospital had a support group, and it was very helpful for me--I imagine many other hospitals provide this support as well.  Seek it out.
• If your baby is anything like mine, don't expect more than 2 hours' sleep at a time.  They're just too small to have the energy stores to go very long between meals.  (This might be different if you supplement with formula, but I'm not doing that.)

 Overall:

• Epidurals are amazing.

I need to thank those of you who offered words of support during this stressful but joyous time.  While I took forever to update you, I did see your comments and messages, and I was so touched by your thoughts.  Marcus's health at birth was far better than what the doctors had expected, and I can only think that part of that is due to all the thoughts and prayers supporting him.  Thank you.

 

Here We Go...

Well, I was warned from day one when my GI said, "You'll probably miscarry, so don't freak out." (Yes, he really said that.)  So I expected that my pregnancy wouldn't be typical.

And then when I was hospitalized, everyone told me I'd go into preterm labor since I had active UC.  They were right.

At 3am on Saturday morning, I woke up feeling like I might be peeing a little bit!  After going to the bathroom and feeling like things were still kind of leaky, I started Googling.  Lots of women talked about having little pee leaks later in pregnancy, so I tried to convince myself that's what was happening and got back in bed.  But every time I shifted weight, it felt like I was continuing to leak a little.  (I'm telling you these lovely details because I really had never heard of this happening before, and would have appreciated a detailed account!)  By 7am, I knew that I was either going to have a really annoying final 2 months of pregnancy (peeing my pants constantly) or my water was broken. 

I paged my OB's office, and they told me to go to triage at the hospital.  After a very quick internal exam, they confirmed immediately that my water was broken.  At 32 weeks and 3 days, the doctors decided to give me two shots of steroids to develop the baby's lungs and begin two courses of IV antibiotics.  My GI suggested Gentimicin and Ampicillin as the least dangerous for IBD.  The goal is to keep the baby inside and prevent contractions until 34 weeks. 

At 34 weeks, they will induce me, because at that point, with low fluids, the risks to the baby begin to outweigh the benefits of keeping him in.  (Risks include infection or him crushing the umbilical cord.)

So that's the latest.  Here are my conclusions/the lessons I learned about all this:

• Apparently active UC disease can really mean preterm labor, just like the docs and research say.  
• If your water breaks, the baby can stay inside (and the fluids actually replenish!), but there are risks of infection to the baby because the membranes are broken and bacteria can get in.
• If the water is broken and you're close to 34 weeks, my docs won't stop labor if it begins.
• But if you can make it to 34 weeks, the baby is in pretty decent developmental shape (though he will have to spend time in the NICU).

Just sitting in the hospital bed now, trying to stay relatively horizontal because, "Gravity is not my friend" when it comes to contractions.