First trip to Labor & Delivery...

Well folks we made it to 29 weeks before we had to go up to Labor & Deliver and that in itself is a miracle. I spent the entire day Friday having contractions 2-3 minutes apart. After drinking a ton of water, trying to nap for 2 hours, and basically sitting and doing nothing all day long, I finally gave up and Mitchell drove me up to OHSU when he got off work. They put me in a tiny triage room and began monitoring baby and my contractions. Baby was happy & healthy & praise God I wasnt dilated but they didnt do an ultrasound to measure my cervix to see if it was shorter. They did a FFN (aka Fetal Fibernectin Test) which tests the proteins to see if there is a chance of me going into labor in the next 1-2 weeks. Its a hard test to understand because its only helpful if its negative but mine did come back negative so they released me around 11:30 at night after unsucessfully stopping my contractions. I see my OB and have an ultrasound on Wednesday and am praying Im not dilated then either.

This week marks my 30 week mark when things start getting really hard and I cant do much if I want to stay pregnant until at LEAST 35 weeks. From now on I have to pack a bag when I go to my OB appts because at any point in time I may not be able to leave the hospital, and will be on forced bedrest there. I am nervous for my appt this week since I have been contracting all day long for 3 days now without ceasing. Its not easy "resting" with 3 little girlies to care for but I am trying my hardest.

Keep praying!

Baby Boy 27 weeks 6 days

Well folks a day away from 28 weeks and not a single visit to Labor & Deliver is nothing short of a MIRACLE! I am contracting, sometimes VERY strongly but not consistently so it seems the awful weekly progesterone shots are doing something. I go in every 2 weeks for an OB visit and they measure the length of my cervix and make sure I am not dilated. Its pretty awesome because I get to visually SEE our little boy every 2 weeks! Once a month they do a full on ultrasound with measurements like at 18 wks so we get to see our boy in 2d & 3D! Today was a big appt since we had the ultrasound, the glucose test complete with lovely blood draw (YUCK), AND I got my friendly progesterone shot in my back so I am wiped OUT!

At my appt a month ago (23wks 6dy) my cervix measured 4.08 centimeters and was closed...

2 weeks ago (25 wks 6dy) my cervix measured 3.68 centimeters and was still closed....

Today it measured 3.01 centimeters and thank Jesus was still closed.

My OB Dr. Wyatt, says she isnt worried yet since since I measure over 3 cm and am not dilated. I love my OB and she has been my OB for Mikayla, Caitlin, and now Baby Boy. While we celebrated length and a closed cervix we also both know I am headed in the same direction as my last 2 pregnancies. Slowly my cervix thins and eventually opens putting me on hospitalized bed rest to get to 34 weeks. We are praying this doesnt happen! At least not TOO soon anyway! If I get shorter than 3 centimeters modified bed rest is the next step which I hate because I am a busy momma!

So, we would LOVE if you could please be praying this process slows down a bit.

GOOD NEWS: We have ourselves a BIG boy! So far our little man is in the 61% for size and is consistently measuring a week and 3 days over his actual gestation! We are very grateful he is growing strong in there. He is a pretty funny guy who strangely prefers to sleep breach with his feet in front of his face. =) As you can see from the pictures it almost looks like he has a foot growing out of his forehead!

Before my OB came into the room a "Fellowship" Dr which is like a Dr in training I believe came in a talked with me about everything. She also brought up sterilization.. (because no one in the world values large families anymore geesh)...anyways she was adamant about me signing paperwork saying they would automatically tie my tubes if I had an emergency C-section (which would never happen) but she honestly made me very uncomfortable. She spoke very fast and was way too pushy about the whole thing wanting to me sign the paperwork ASAP. I just dont trust Dr's that talk faster than you can comprehend then INSIST you sign anything right now. I was very relieved when she left and I could comfortably speak with my OB. I realize we have 4 children...well almost....and as of right now neither of us wants more...and that 4 is a huge number of kids these days but I am 26 years old and not all together comfortable with the idea of permanent sterilization to begin with so this whole thing made me very uneasy...