33w1d - The countdown to labor has begun...

So I am back in the hospital but this time when we leave, there will be 3 of us!!! Yes that's right, Bri will be here anytime now... I know what you're saying, "But Tonja you're only 33 weeks pregnant" which is of course right. So how am I in labor and delivery now?

Tuesday evening I noticed some fluid leaking and just assumed, as has been the case in the past, that Bri was bouncing on my bladder and causing a little urine to leak. But it continued, and continued to the point that I was becoming concerned. My husband and I discussed our options and since my OB office was already closed, we decided to sleep on it and go to the hospital in the morning. I didn't sleep at all! I laid down and tried to sleep but with the constant trickle of fluid leaking out of me, even when laying down, I was too worried and annoyed. I went to lay on the couch around 3am and watched a movie just waiting for 6am to roll around so I could wake my husband and get ready to go to the hospital.

We made it to the hospital at about 7:45 am and I was admitted immediately. The doctor's came in and did a fern test to determine if I was leaking amniotic fluid and sure enough, my water had broken. Not completely broken, just ruptured enough so that there is a steady constant flow of fluid. They did an ultrasound and checked the baby and she of course was excellent and thank god, head down. They said she's about 5lbs right now and that's great for 33 weeks. They had already given me the steroid shots for her lungs during my first stay here, but they gave me a "rescue shot" of steroids, just in case, and started me on 3 different antibiotics to try and prevent infection from getting to Bri since the membranes are ruptured. The Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor came in and explained to me at this point, the risk of infection to the baby is greater than the risk of early delivery. So, if I don't go into labor soon, they will be inducing me next Wednesday which is the 34 week milestone!

I was having some pretty regular contractions last night, not too painful and they were still about 25 minutes apart. But they stopped. They checked and I had not dilated any and my cervix was showing closed, ironic since I've been on bed rest for 5 weeks with a short, weak, dilated cervix. When they determined that I was not going to go into active labor around 7 PM (which usually happens 24 hours after the water breaks) they moved me to a more comfy room and let me have some food, finally! Jason ran out and got me a Big Mac meal from McDonald's so I wouldn't have to eat cafeteria food and it was the best meal ever!!!! My parents came down too thinking I might go into labor, they obviously wanted to be here. But no baby last night...

The NICU doctor came in and talked to us last night too about what to expect when having a premature baby and even though this hospital has a level 3 NICU and it's one of the best in the Midwest, it's still worrisome. They said we will get to see her and hold her, but then it's off to the NICU with her. She will be there until they determine she can breathe on her own and that she is able to feed well enough and that there are no complications such as jaundice or some worse things that I don't want to think about again. They said she could spend as little as a couple days there to as many a few weeks. I'm hoping for only a couple days obviously! But I will be here with here until they let us take her home! So once we knew she wouldn't be making an appearance, I sent Jason home to feed the kitties and get some rest. He went, reluctantly...

This morning I had a knock on the door and guess who it was?!?!? It was Jason, the best husband in the world! He brought me breakfast and coffee, a cooler full of diet 7-ups, a snack bag, my laptop, and a bag filled with movies, magazines and books! He and I ate breakfast together and then the doctor came in. She said they are going to do a test after breakfast to see if Bri's lungs are mature enough now to go ahead and induce! So she told me to lay flat after I eat to let the fluid pool so she could collect some. Jason went ahead and left after I promised to call him once we had the test results. My Dr came back in around 10:30 and was able to collect a small amount of fluid, but she wasn't sure if it was enough or not. She sent it off and now we are waiting on the results...

I am convinced that the results will show her lungs are mature and she will be ready to be born today. I just have a feeling that she is ready to join the world and meet her mommy and daddy finally. She's been trying to get out now for the last 5 weeks and I don't think she wants to wait anymore. Besides, if we have her before midnight tonight, she and her only cousin Tara will share a birthday! But either way, Brianne will be here within the next 5-6 days!!!!!! We are so excited! Will update with more info as I get it...