Hospital "Adventures" Continued

There is a fine line between being optimistic and delusional. I tend to lean a bit towards the delusional side. I am 34 weeks pregnant today and had convinced myself that we would be allowed to go home today, but alas, it appears my fantasy will not become a reality.

We have had quite the experience since being airlifted down to Little Rock a week ago. After the doctors were able to put a stop to my preterm labor, we spent several days in the hospital for observation. Everything seemed to be back to normal and I was hopeful we would not have any further complications. The doctors felt confident in releasing us from the hospital, however we couldn't go home. Apparently, once you've been admitted to this hospital, you can't go home until your doctor agrees to take you back into his care.We soon found ourselves in limbo. So we got sent to "camp." This is not your typical camp. There are no crafts or hikes at this camp. Simply boredom and bedrest. Camp is basically a hotel right next to the hospital that they send nomad patients like ourselves. It is actually a pretty neat program as the hospital pays for your stay and provides food. A nurse checks on you once a day and there is a free shuttle so you can get to the hospital quickly should an emergency arise.

All seemed to be going well and I was sure it wouldn't be long until my doctor agreed to take me back. Sunday morning I awoke to very strong and frequent contractions, so back to the hospital we went. (But not before I put on makeup, brushed my teeth, and combed my hair. Just in case this was birth day I wanted to have a presentable picture for the blog.) The contractions were anywhere from 1-5 minutes apart but the babies looked good and I wasn't dialating any further so I wasn't admitted and they sent us back to camp. The doctor said because my uterus is expanded to the size of full term for a normal pregnancy, my body thinks it needs to contract, so it is normal for me to have such frequent contractions throughout the remainder of my pregnancy. Oh goodie!  I'm just loving this chronic contraction business. I was told to come back if I started experiencing stronger pain or had other signs of labor.

Well, Monday morning brought that stronger pain. I woke up to strong contractions, body aches, chills, fever, and nausea. Uh oh, I don't think this is normal. Off to triage we go. "Oh hello, back again?" This time the news wasn't so good. I was running a temperature over 100 degrees, my blood pressure had shot up, I was dilated another centimeter, my heart rate was very high, and most concerning was the babies' heart rates were extremely high as well. I began to worry we would have to deliver that day for the babies' safety. I was so weak and out of it, I was sure there was no way I would be able to push them out! The doctor worried I had some sort of infection, virus, or the flu. They ran a whole battery of tests which included me getting stuck four separate times for blood work (twice because one nurse didn't know the other had already done it. Lucky me) and a nose swab for the flu (pleasant experience). They hooked me up to an iv, gave me meds for reducing the fever, and finally, hours after getting there in terrible pain, gave me the sweet nectar of a narcotic! Relief! Eventually everything came down: fever, heart rate, blood pressure, babies' heart rates. They aren't sure what caused all of it or what really helped, but I'm grateful to be pregnant another day. Besides, I looked absolutely terrible and wouldn't have been able to share a post-birth picture if I delivered yesterday!

34 weeks pregnant and the size of a normal 40 week pregnancy. Is it possible to grow larger?