Wednesday, October 5th, 2005

Time	Event
2:28a	contractions Patri's gone getting me a post-midnight-snack and I'm bored so I figured I'd try entering the contraction data we've tracked. Don't think I'm actually going too thou because typing left handed while lying down is hard ;) Looking promising thou, down to about 3 contractions/hr over the last two. For reference, I had at least four on my 15-20 min drive to the doc's office this morning. Don't know if we're out of the woods yet, but every day we can hold off increases his survival chances and odds of good health. (Comment on this)
6:55a	beep! beep! beep! The IV machine makes a rather loud obnoxious beep whenever it needs to be refilled. This last time it did it I happened to be looking at Tovar's pulse readout. At first I wasn't going to harass the nurse: she'd hear it and come soon enough, but then I saw that Tovar's pulse had shot up a good 10-20pts. After it was off he gave a few exceptionally strong kicks, and his pulse has been going back down. Contractions still seem to be going well: about 3/hr and fairly weak, but between them, the various beeping instruments, the blood pressure monitor on my arm that goes off every hour, etc., I don't think I've gotten any sleep yet. The doctor said he'd prescribe a sleeping pill, but he must have forgotten. I was a little weary about taking one at the time, but at this point I think it would be worthwhile: benefit to the baby of my getting some sleep would probably outweigh taking a sleeping pill once or twice, especially one the doc thinks is safe ;) He should be here soon, so I'll see if he'll give me one for tomorrow night, or maybe even for an afternoon nap. Its scary when Tovar kicks, or perhaps, head-butts near my vaginal opening. (they said he was head down when I came in, don't know if he still is, but probably). I really feel the push, the catheter jiggles, and it just generally feels like there's not much holding him in there... which I suppose is the case. There should still be a little something though, as last time the doc checked I was staying stable at 3cm dilation. He said that at 4 to 5cm I could give birth any time. (3 Comments | Comment on this)
2:05p	good news! This morning the doctor came in, he told me that I'm down to 2cm and 60 (height of the cervix, which is good). Since 4-5cm dilation means you can go into labor at any time, 2cm is twice as far as 3cm. The nurse said that it was very unlikely to go below 2cm, so I'm doing as well as I can, which was a pleasant surprise, I didn't know that they could shrink. The staff seem to be optimistic, but the doctor is remaining cautious, says that things could swing the other way. { Patri - note that she's still on IV magnesium, but only for the rest of the day - its a short-term medicine}. If things keep going well, I might be able to leave Sunday or Monday, on some kind of oral medication and bed rest for an indeterminate amount of time. Tovar is kicking a lot, which the nurses liked at first, but now they don't because its hard to track him w/ the doppler because he keeps moving. I suspect that one reason he's kicking a lot is that I'm not moving, he always liked to kick when I lay down to bed. I've heard that they liked to be rocked to sleep by walking, so maybe that's why he's kicking more. But it's comforting that he seems strong and has a lot to say with his feet. I managed to get about 4 hours of sleep. I'm on a liquid diet, which sucks. They took away the granola bars and crackers that Patri brought me. {Patri - bastards!}. Landmarks: 24 wks - 50% of babies survive 28 wks - 1kg avg. week, can regulate own body temperature 32 wks - similar rate of intracranial bleeding as full-term Lung issues are the biggest problem w/ preterm babies, and they get better every week. If I don't go into full labour in the first week, I have an 80% chance of going full-term. When I first came in, the doc thought it was 50/50 to avoid labor, I think the odds have improved but I don't know by how much, we'll see what happens when they stop the magnesium. - Typed by Patri, dictated by Shannon Current Music: doppler kicking (6 Comments | Comment on this)
10:51p	visiting We aren't sure what is going to happen tomorrow when Shannon's medication changes, but there's a good chance that she won't go into labor. In which case she'll be hanging out at the hospital until at least Sunday or Monday, and may well be confined to bed for substantially longer. A number of people have offered to visit, which sounds great. email Patri, the Secretary-Husband, patri-at-clevername-dot-net for scheduling. During the day when he's working is the best time for a visit, but evenings are OK too. Shannon's not sure what kind of activities she'd be up for, probably just talking and hanging out, but you're welcome to bring DVDs or books or whatever. Current Music: baby heartbeat (5 Comments | Comment on this)

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