A Different Kind of Bump
Yesterday I went for what was supposed to have been my last transvaginal ultrasound to check my cervical length, a procedure that almost did not happen had I not had an appointment with Dr. Chasteney in December. See, out of the 6 Obs in the clinic and including 1 perinatologist, only Dr. Chasteney mentioned the need to have a last ultrasound done at 28 weeks “just to make sure” since apparently studies now show that women at risk for premature cervical effacement and dilation are not out of the woods after 24 weeks as previously thought. Well, was he right.
I get to the perinatal testing center at 2:30 pm for my appointment and was seen at 3:00 pm. Patti (my favorite ultrasound tech) and Dr. Roberts (my favorite perinatologist) were both there and so I was glad. I am taken to the ultrasound room and as always, Patti was super nice and allowed me to take a peek at Avery. In 4D at that! The little peanut looked so adorable! He was a bit camera-shy though as he had his left arm over his eyes the entire time we were trying to get a look at him. Melvin is going to try to scan the ultrasound images before the end of the week, but in the meantime, my description of him is going to have to do. The little peanut has really full lips, much lot like his daddy’s when he was a baby. His nose looks pudgier now than in early images and Melvin thinks that it looks a lot like mine (I’m really sorry Avery). His cheeks are chubby, but I guess that’s universal among babies at this age. In the images, his toes and fingers are clearly visible and thank goodness, it looks like he has all of them. And of course, Patti made sure we had an image that proves Avery is a boy. And as Melvin has joyfully announced over and over before, he is definitely a boy.
Patti then leaves the room to get Dr. Roberts. They come back in and we start the small talk. I mentioned to Dr. Roberts that I am interested in finding a job there at Paoli Hospital, a much closer commute to me than Temple. She said she knows the attending who runs one of the ICUs there and when I’m ready, just let her know and she would introduce me to him. Great! I told her I would be contacting her as soon as I deliver Avery.
Then the procedure begins.
I really did not expect anything to be wrong since all my appointments had been just perfect up until then. So I just sat and waited for another declaration that my cervix was in great shape to hold Peanut for another 12 weeks. As Patti placed the probe in my vagina, Dr. Roberts starts looking at the monitor then tilts her head left to right and back and forth as if she was trying to locate a hidden object. Patti then starts to move the probe around in my vagina and after about a minute, Dr. Roberts says, “Oh, this is not good. Your cervix has thinned considerably since the last time we saw you. You must stop working immediately!” She then proceeds to tell me that at least I was not dilated and was not funneling. That was the good news. Now, she said all this with very little excitement in her voice, so although as a healthcare provider I understood the magnitude of what she just said, I still remained calm. I really appreciated that gesture whether or not she meant for it to soothe me.
She then starts barking out orders. Avery and I were to be monitored immediately and the first injection (of 2) of betamethasone was to be given to me. One of the technicians who works in the perinatal testing center, Debbie, pulls out a wheelchair and I was promptly carted off to Labor and Delivery.
When we get to the 4th floor, I was taken to the Triage room. I was met there by my nurse, Heather, who tells me to undress and put on a hospital gown. She then instructs me to lay on my right side and she then places a monitor around my belly to track Avery’s heartbeat as well as contractions I may have. While laying there, I was also given my first shot of betamethasone on my tush. Boy did that hurt! The shot itself did not hurt (although it was intramuscular), but the medication did. 2 mls had to be injected in me and I felt every burning drop of it.
Ok, so after about an hour of having to lay strictly on my right side and poor Heather having to come in every 5 minutes in that 1 hour to adjust the monitor on my belly, Dr. Bussard (one of the Obs following me) comes in to do an internal examination. While examining me, she tells me that I had a few small contractions which concerned her. She then said it could be caused by many factors, including dehydration, so she instructs me to drink a pitcher of water and see what that does. The bad news was that I had to be there another hour to be monitored. The worse news was that I would have to probably urinate every 5 minutes because of all the water I had to drink. Normally, this wouldn’t be too bad, but since I had to call on my nurse to take me off of monitor everytime I had to pee, it was not pleasant.
After an hour, Dr. Bussard comes back in the room and announces that my contractions were probably caused by dehydration as evidenced by the fact that I did not have any more in the last hour. That was the good news. The bad news was that she agreed with Dr. Roberts — I need to be on modified bedrest. Translation: No work.
Now, I do not disagree with that order. Not at all. Just like my body has loudly announced, Temple was simply working me way too hard. I just had not prepared to be out on leave this early. I’ll probably talk about it more later, but for now, I’ll just say that this is going to be really difficult.
Anyway, so I was discharged from the hospital with orders to stay in bed, drink lots of water and return to the clinic tomorrow to receive my second dose of betamethasone and also have my cervix checked. Again. I forgot to mention that the entire time I was in the hospital, of course I kept my darling hubby informed. I think he asked me if I wanted him to drive over, but I told him it was unnecessary because it was not expected that I would be be there for long anyway.
Tags: Pregnancy