Well, I guess it's actually "S" Day for sonogram day. I should hopefully be heading over for my sonogram within the next couple of hours to see how much "damage" I have done over the past week. I am trying to remain optimistic that things have not changed too much and that MAYBE my doctor will consider sending me home. Negative Nelly (that would be my husband) doesn't think there is any remote possibility of that happening, but I am remaining optimistic. I know he is just worried about getting me home and then having to turn around and bring me right back up to the hospital. . .but what would our lives be without some excitement!
Yesterday was my one week anniversary in the hospital. I enjoyed getting some rest and making use of some quiet time. My anniversary was complete with a beautiful plant from my friend Kelly and her girls and a HUGE piece of yummy chocolate cake that came with my lunch. I do have to say that one of my daily highlights is seeing what yummy dessert I am going to get with my meals. . .sad, I know.
The girls spent the day with our friend Amy, her husband Kevin and their daughter Anna. They had a BLAST swimming and playing and Meghan was very adamant about informing me that the turtle they were playing with in the pool was not a REAL turtle! I am glad that she reassured me, because I don't know if I would have been able to sleep otherwise. . .LOL! Today they are heading to Wacky Wednesday with Ms. Lezlie, going to play with Tyler and Parker at Ms. Courtney's and then will be heading back into town this evening with Ms. Teri. I don't know what we would do without our amazing friends helping us get through each day. I know for sure that the girls are having MUCH more fun right now than they would be if I were home and NOT pregnant. While I know they miss me, they having a blast and I think that's providing the distraction that they need right now.
Sean's mom should be here sometime around next Wednesday or Thursday. Unfortunately, my timing of landing myself in the hospital happened to coincide with Sean's parent's trip to bring his grandmother's ashes to Wisconsin. After they get back, she will be turning around and heading out here. Regardless if I am home or not. . .every son needs his mother (I don't think they ever outgrow that) and I know that Sean will feel a huge sense of relief when she is here.
That is the latest and greatest and I promise that as soon as we know something from the sonogram, I will let everyone know! Thank you for your continued support and prayers.
Much love,
Sean, Laurie, Kaleigh, Meghan and Baby Cooper
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Monday, July 20th
Whew. . .sorry this post is getting up much later than usual, but yesterday was a very busy day, and I am paying the price today!
I had some wonderful visits yesterday and I am so thankful to all of you who came by. My sweet neighbors came to visit, then my precious friends came and brought my baby shower to me in my hospital room (complete with AWESOME cupcakes). Next, my sister and nephews came by. . .that was fun. My youngest nephew, Drew, kept saying "I can't believe that big bump is a baby in your belly". I kept thinking to myself, "I'm glad it's a baby, or we'd have much bigger issues". All I can say is thank goodness I have Disney Channel in my room, or it may have gotten ugly. Finally, my sweet friend Jennifer came by (in tow with a Sonic Diet Coke with Lime). I cherished every second of my visits but after six hours straight, I was WIPED out!
Last night was a pretty quiet night and Cooper did pretty well. We fell asleep around 11:00 after our nightly love fest with Ambien and straight through the night. This morning's monitoring went pretty well. . .only about 4 contractions.
Sean had to go to a client site close to the hospital today, so he came by at lunch to see me. His timing was perfect. . .shortly after he got here, my doctor came by to review my monitoring strips from the weekend and visit with us. . .and he actually mentioned the "H" word. . .HOME! Right now, basically two things have to happen before he will even consider sending me home: 1) The result of my sonogram on Wednesday needs to be good and 2) I need to start having some consistent "good days". Right now, my contractions are too erratic and he is concerned that if he sends me home, I will end up right back in the hospital in a short amount of time. So, we are just looking to see what Wednesday will bring us, and then go from there. He also said that if I do get to go home, I will be on strict bed rest and he has to be confident that I will behave. I told him that I would behave, but I'm not sure if he was too convinced (he is a very smart man).
The girls are coming home this evening from Grandma's and they've had a wonderful time. They got pedicures and manicures, went shopping, and basically got spoiled rotten. . .but isn't that what grandma's are for?? I can't wait to see them tonight and apparently they've been working hard on lots of pictures to decorate my hospital room!
Thank you for all your love, support and prayers. I know that God has me, Cooper and the rest of our family tightly in His grasp.
Love,
Sean, Laurie, Kaleigh, Meghan and Cooper
I had some wonderful visits yesterday and I am so thankful to all of you who came by. My sweet neighbors came to visit, then my precious friends came and brought my baby shower to me in my hospital room (complete with AWESOME cupcakes). Next, my sister and nephews came by. . .that was fun. My youngest nephew, Drew, kept saying "I can't believe that big bump is a baby in your belly". I kept thinking to myself, "I'm glad it's a baby, or we'd have much bigger issues". All I can say is thank goodness I have Disney Channel in my room, or it may have gotten ugly. Finally, my sweet friend Jennifer came by (in tow with a Sonic Diet Coke with Lime). I cherished every second of my visits but after six hours straight, I was WIPED out!
Last night was a pretty quiet night and Cooper did pretty well. We fell asleep around 11:00 after our nightly love fest with Ambien and straight through the night. This morning's monitoring went pretty well. . .only about 4 contractions.
Sean had to go to a client site close to the hospital today, so he came by at lunch to see me. His timing was perfect. . .shortly after he got here, my doctor came by to review my monitoring strips from the weekend and visit with us. . .and he actually mentioned the "H" word. . .HOME! Right now, basically two things have to happen before he will even consider sending me home: 1) The result of my sonogram on Wednesday needs to be good and 2) I need to start having some consistent "good days". Right now, my contractions are too erratic and he is concerned that if he sends me home, I will end up right back in the hospital in a short amount of time. So, we are just looking to see what Wednesday will bring us, and then go from there. He also said that if I do get to go home, I will be on strict bed rest and he has to be confident that I will behave. I told him that I would behave, but I'm not sure if he was too convinced (he is a very smart man).
The girls are coming home this evening from Grandma's and they've had a wonderful time. They got pedicures and manicures, went shopping, and basically got spoiled rotten. . .but isn't that what grandma's are for?? I can't wait to see them tonight and apparently they've been working hard on lots of pictures to decorate my hospital room!
Thank you for all your love, support and prayers. I know that God has me, Cooper and the rest of our family tightly in His grasp.
Love,
Sean, Laurie, Kaleigh, Meghan and Cooper
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sunday, July 19th
Yesterday was definitely full of excitement and surprises. I absolutely loved the time I got to spend with the girls before they headed off to Grandma's they brought me lunch and showed of their new shirts that Jennifer (their new surrogate mother) bought them. Kaleigh seems to be handling all of this pretty well, but Meghan is struggling a bit. She really wants me to come home.
Shortly after my lunch and wonderful family visit, I got an amazing surprise. Three of my sorority sisters who I have not seen in YEARS showed up to visit! I was in complete shock, and I am surprised that it did not send me into full labor. They brought me a TON of goodies including letters of well wishes from some of our other ADPi sisters across the country. I cannot even begin to put into words what the visit meant, and it just goes to prove that there are bonds that no span of time can break. Among all of the amazing items they brought were place mats, glasses, silverware and a flameless candle for my date night with Sean last night (more on that later). To all my ADPi sisters reading this, HUGE Violets and Pi Love from me. . .you are the best!
My sister arrived around 5:00 just in time for our late afternoon ritual of Cheez-Its (she goes and gets them from the vending machine every day) re-runs of NCIS and timing contractions! While she was here, they were coming about 7 minutes apart for a good 2-3 hours, but she had brought me brownies, so the contractions didn't seem to phase me much.
At about 8:00 is when things started really getting exciting. Sean called to tell me he was on his way with MEXICAN FOOD for our date night. . .YUMMY!! My nurse went ahead and put hooked me up for my nightly rendezvous with the monitor so that I could get that over with and enjoy my time with Sean. Well, Cooper had other ideas! When she got me all hooked up, the contractions started coming 2 to 3 minutes apart, and this as after my medicine had about an hour to start working. She contacted the doctor on call, and they decided to keep me on the monitor for another 2 hours with plans to move me down to Labor and Delivery if things got too bad. So much for our wonderful date night. When Sean got here with the food, I was pretty much horizontal with not a lot of room for movement. He ended up having to feed me chips and queso, enchiladas and I did attempt to eat my rice (which ended up in some very odd places). It was not romantic by any stretch of the imagination, but it was pretty funny and something I don't think we will ever forget! Cooper did finally settle down and at about 11:00, I got two Tylenol, two Ambien and Sean got the boot!
The nurses up here are absolutely wonderful and I am starting to really bond with some of them. My night nurse lastnight was amazing and despite the fact that our date night had turned out to be a bust, she tried to keep the evening light and entertaining for us so that we did not stress too much about what was going on. Come to find out, she lives in Sachse (Woodbridge) and we have some common acquaintances...very small world. Before I went to bed, she told me that she had put in a request to be my nurse during her shifts for as long as I am in the hospital, and that really made me smile. I know someday I will forget about all the contractions and being pumped full of meds, but I will never forget the wonderful people that have taken care of me and the relationships I have formed with them.
I am expecting some more special visitors this afternoon, so I am going to try and get a little bit of rest. Continued thanks and appreciation for all of the love and support we are getting from everyone.
Much love,
Sean, Laurie, Kaleigh, Meghan and Baby Cooper
Shortly after my lunch and wonderful family visit, I got an amazing surprise. Three of my sorority sisters who I have not seen in YEARS showed up to visit! I was in complete shock, and I am surprised that it did not send me into full labor. They brought me a TON of goodies including letters of well wishes from some of our other ADPi sisters across the country. I cannot even begin to put into words what the visit meant, and it just goes to prove that there are bonds that no span of time can break. Among all of the amazing items they brought were place mats, glasses, silverware and a flameless candle for my date night with Sean last night (more on that later). To all my ADPi sisters reading this, HUGE Violets and Pi Love from me. . .you are the best!
My sister arrived around 5:00 just in time for our late afternoon ritual of Cheez-Its (she goes and gets them from the vending machine every day) re-runs of NCIS and timing contractions! While she was here, they were coming about 7 minutes apart for a good 2-3 hours, but she had brought me brownies, so the contractions didn't seem to phase me much.
At about 8:00 is when things started really getting exciting. Sean called to tell me he was on his way with MEXICAN FOOD for our date night. . .YUMMY!! My nurse went ahead and put hooked me up for my nightly rendezvous with the monitor so that I could get that over with and enjoy my time with Sean. Well, Cooper had other ideas! When she got me all hooked up, the contractions started coming 2 to 3 minutes apart, and this as after my medicine had about an hour to start working. She contacted the doctor on call, and they decided to keep me on the monitor for another 2 hours with plans to move me down to Labor and Delivery if things got too bad. So much for our wonderful date night. When Sean got here with the food, I was pretty much horizontal with not a lot of room for movement. He ended up having to feed me chips and queso, enchiladas and I did attempt to eat my rice (which ended up in some very odd places). It was not romantic by any stretch of the imagination, but it was pretty funny and something I don't think we will ever forget! Cooper did finally settle down and at about 11:00, I got two Tylenol, two Ambien and Sean got the boot!
The nurses up here are absolutely wonderful and I am starting to really bond with some of them. My night nurse lastnight was amazing and despite the fact that our date night had turned out to be a bust, she tried to keep the evening light and entertaining for us so that we did not stress too much about what was going on. Come to find out, she lives in Sachse (Woodbridge) and we have some common acquaintances...very small world. Before I went to bed, she told me that she had put in a request to be my nurse during her shifts for as long as I am in the hospital, and that really made me smile. I know someday I will forget about all the contractions and being pumped full of meds, but I will never forget the wonderful people that have taken care of me and the relationships I have formed with them.
I am expecting some more special visitors this afternoon, so I am going to try and get a little bit of rest. Continued thanks and appreciation for all of the love and support we are getting from everyone.
Much love,
Sean, Laurie, Kaleigh, Meghan and Baby Cooper
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Saturday, July 18th
Greetings from Hotel de. . .ugh!! Who am I kidding? This is nowhere close to a cute boutique hotel!
Yesterday was a fairly quiet day. My contractions were pretty much under control until last night. After getting my meds and getting on the monitor, they were coming a couple of minutes apart. The nurse then gave me the Ambien in hopes that it would settle things down. It not only spread my contractions out, but it spread me out as well!! I think she had to wake me up to take me off the monitor and I honestly have no recollection of how I got my pajamas on and got back into bed. I guess my body has finally reached the point of pure exhaustion where it's going to stop fighting and actually let me get some rest!
Cooper is getting quite the reputation up here as being a little stinker. I have to get monitored at least twice a day for contractions, and they monitor his heart rate during that time as well. By the time the nurse finds his heart rate and gets me hooked up (which is quite an event), he moves to a completely different location. They typically only need to monitor me for 20 to 30 minutes at a time, but by the time we go through the process of playing "hide and go seek" with Cooper, it ends up being about an hour and a half event! When I get a new nurse, the first thing she usually informs me before hooking me up is that she has already heard the stories about Cooper!! I have a feeling we are going to have our hands full with this little guy!
My doctor seems optimistic about how the change in my medication is helping with the contractions. However, I am getting a feeling that the chances of me leaving the hospital anytime soon are slim to none. . .and slim has not only left the building, but he is on a one-way flight to Tahiti with one of those little umbrella drinks!
I had a WONDERFUL visit with the girls last night. They both curled up in bed with me and I don't think I have ever enjoyed watching Hannah Montana so much! They filled me in on all the fun things they have been doing. They are both so anxious for me to get home, and I am not sure if they understand what a long haul we are in for which breaks my heart. They are getting spoiled rotten by all of our wonderful friends helping to take care of them, so they may quickly realize that this is not such a bad gig after all!
Sean and my step-mother are heading up here today with the girls to spend some time with me before the girls head off for a weekend of fun with Grandma. They already informed me that pedicures are going to be involved in the weekend festivities, and I can only imagine what else is in store. They will actually be there until Monday evening which will give Sean a break as single dad. Sean and I actually have a date night planned for tonight complete with our pick of a very select variety of in-room movies and dinner shared on the crisp white linens of my hospital bed! I'm actually really looking forward to it!
Thank you for all of you continued thoughts and prayers. We continue to feel so blessed by how much we are loved and cared for.
Much love,
Sean, Laurie, Kaleigh Meghan and Baby Cooper
Yesterday was a fairly quiet day. My contractions were pretty much under control until last night. After getting my meds and getting on the monitor, they were coming a couple of minutes apart. The nurse then gave me the Ambien in hopes that it would settle things down. It not only spread my contractions out, but it spread me out as well!! I think she had to wake me up to take me off the monitor and I honestly have no recollection of how I got my pajamas on and got back into bed. I guess my body has finally reached the point of pure exhaustion where it's going to stop fighting and actually let me get some rest!
Cooper is getting quite the reputation up here as being a little stinker. I have to get monitored at least twice a day for contractions, and they monitor his heart rate during that time as well. By the time the nurse finds his heart rate and gets me hooked up (which is quite an event), he moves to a completely different location. They typically only need to monitor me for 20 to 30 minutes at a time, but by the time we go through the process of playing "hide and go seek" with Cooper, it ends up being about an hour and a half event! When I get a new nurse, the first thing she usually informs me before hooking me up is that she has already heard the stories about Cooper!! I have a feeling we are going to have our hands full with this little guy!
My doctor seems optimistic about how the change in my medication is helping with the contractions. However, I am getting a feeling that the chances of me leaving the hospital anytime soon are slim to none. . .and slim has not only left the building, but he is on a one-way flight to Tahiti with one of those little umbrella drinks!
I had a WONDERFUL visit with the girls last night. They both curled up in bed with me and I don't think I have ever enjoyed watching Hannah Montana so much! They filled me in on all the fun things they have been doing. They are both so anxious for me to get home, and I am not sure if they understand what a long haul we are in for which breaks my heart. They are getting spoiled rotten by all of our wonderful friends helping to take care of them, so they may quickly realize that this is not such a bad gig after all!
Sean and my step-mother are heading up here today with the girls to spend some time with me before the girls head off for a weekend of fun with Grandma. They already informed me that pedicures are going to be involved in the weekend festivities, and I can only imagine what else is in store. They will actually be there until Monday evening which will give Sean a break as single dad. Sean and I actually have a date night planned for tonight complete with our pick of a very select variety of in-room movies and dinner shared on the crisp white linens of my hospital bed! I'm actually really looking forward to it!
Thank you for all of you continued thoughts and prayers. We continue to feel so blessed by how much we are loved and cared for.
Much love,
Sean, Laurie, Kaleigh Meghan and Baby Cooper
Friday, July 17, 2009
Friday,, July 17th
Good morning from Hotel de Presbyterian (it sounds much better to me when I say it that way. . .almost like I am staying in a cute little boutique hotel instead of a hospital)! Cooper and I had a MUCH better night last night. My doctor has doubled the dose of my Procardia which seems to be helping. I am still taking it every six hours and the contractions seem to kick in about the last hour before I get my next dose. They are considering bumping it up to every 4 hours, but I guess we'll cross that bridge if we need to. Apparently the next step if the Procardia does not keep the contractions at bay is to hook me up to an IV to pump me full of fluids and narcotics. I definitely want to avoid that if at all possible!
I think I actually got about 6 hours of sleep last night. . .that's 3 times as much as I had gotten the night before, so I am VERY excited. The nurses have threatened to cut my visiting hours if I don't start resting more, so I am trying to be good. Apparently lack of sleep can contribute to the problems I am having. As I know a lot of you know, it's VERY hard to get any sleep in a hospital. I do get a dose of Ambien at night, but I think the dose is pretty low and my body just laughs at it. In addition, my room is right next to the nurse's station, so it is not the quietest place on the floor. The good news is that I get all of the updates on Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson as well as John and Kate Plus 8 without having to open a tabloid magazine!!
Speaking of my room, it has turned into a Diet Coke and chocolate wonderland! I had some very special visitors yesterday, and all of them walked in with an armful of goodies. . .THANK YOU! The nurses kept laughing when they walked into my room, but I think they were really trying to figure out how to get their hands on some of my goodies! I enjoyed all of my visits yesterday and it was wonderful to catch up with some friends that I had not seen in a while.
I had a very special visitor yesterday who I was VERY excited about. For those of you who attend Wylie UMC, Ben and Sandy Brown's daughter, Lauren, is a nurse in Labor and Delivery here. She came by my room yesterday to check on me and she is just as precious and funny as you would expect. We had a wonderful talk, she answered a lot of questions for me, and has become my guardian angel. Apparently she is rallying the troops to make sure I am very well taken care of while I am here and when I deliver Baby Cooper. In case Lauren is not on duty when I deliver (which I pray she is) she is taking care of hand-picking who my labor and delivery nurse will be. My dear friend Lorna told me how amazing Lauren is, and now I understand why!!
Sean seems to be hanging in there on the home front as best he can. He is burning the candle at both ends between trying to manage the girls, work from home and worrying about me. A huge THANK YOU for all of our amazing friends who have come to his rescue and helped with dinners taking care of the girls. Sean is A LOT like me in the respect that he has a hard time asking for help, so you will literally need to just tell him, "This is what I am going to do". (Sorry honey. . .I now you will be reading this, but you know it's true). I know that he greatly appreciates all of the outpouring of support and love that we are receiving. If you call either one of us and don't hear back from us for a while, PLEASE do not take it personally. We are receiving a ton of phone calls and messages and we are still trying to figure out this whole thing. Just know we love and appreciate all of you and we promise to let you know how you can help.
Meghan seems to be doing ok. She was experiencing some swelling and pain yesterday which is to be expected after receiving an injection in her ankle and then having it wrapped in a bandage for 24 hours. She started her anti-inflammatory prescription, so hopefully we should start seeing some improvements soon. It is SO hard for me to be stuck here and not able to take care of my baby, but I know that Daddy is doing an incredible job.
Our dog, on the other hand, is not doing quite so well. Max (our sweet beagle) is having a very hard time with me being gone. Apparently he is moping and watching the door waiting for me to get home. He lost his feline friend last week and I think that me mysteriously disappearing has sent him over the edge. Imagine what will happen when I return home with a little person. We may need to call The Dog Whisperer!
I think that is about all of the updated news I have. I am sure my doctor will be by soon, so if he has any earth shattering updates (other than how he spent his day off yesterday), I will be sure and update the blog.
Thank you again for all of your thoughts and prayers. We greatly appreciate all of the love and support that we are receiving.
Much love,
Sean, Laurie, Kaleigh, Meghan and Baby Cooper
I think I actually got about 6 hours of sleep last night. . .that's 3 times as much as I had gotten the night before, so I am VERY excited. The nurses have threatened to cut my visiting hours if I don't start resting more, so I am trying to be good. Apparently lack of sleep can contribute to the problems I am having. As I know a lot of you know, it's VERY hard to get any sleep in a hospital. I do get a dose of Ambien at night, but I think the dose is pretty low and my body just laughs at it. In addition, my room is right next to the nurse's station, so it is not the quietest place on the floor. The good news is that I get all of the updates on Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson as well as John and Kate Plus 8 without having to open a tabloid magazine!!
Speaking of my room, it has turned into a Diet Coke and chocolate wonderland! I had some very special visitors yesterday, and all of them walked in with an armful of goodies. . .THANK YOU! The nurses kept laughing when they walked into my room, but I think they were really trying to figure out how to get their hands on some of my goodies! I enjoyed all of my visits yesterday and it was wonderful to catch up with some friends that I had not seen in a while.
I had a very special visitor yesterday who I was VERY excited about. For those of you who attend Wylie UMC, Ben and Sandy Brown's daughter, Lauren, is a nurse in Labor and Delivery here. She came by my room yesterday to check on me and she is just as precious and funny as you would expect. We had a wonderful talk, she answered a lot of questions for me, and has become my guardian angel. Apparently she is rallying the troops to make sure I am very well taken care of while I am here and when I deliver Baby Cooper. In case Lauren is not on duty when I deliver (which I pray she is) she is taking care of hand-picking who my labor and delivery nurse will be. My dear friend Lorna told me how amazing Lauren is, and now I understand why!!
Sean seems to be hanging in there on the home front as best he can. He is burning the candle at both ends between trying to manage the girls, work from home and worrying about me. A huge THANK YOU for all of our amazing friends who have come to his rescue and helped with dinners taking care of the girls. Sean is A LOT like me in the respect that he has a hard time asking for help, so you will literally need to just tell him, "This is what I am going to do". (Sorry honey. . .I now you will be reading this, but you know it's true). I know that he greatly appreciates all of the outpouring of support and love that we are receiving. If you call either one of us and don't hear back from us for a while, PLEASE do not take it personally. We are receiving a ton of phone calls and messages and we are still trying to figure out this whole thing. Just know we love and appreciate all of you and we promise to let you know how you can help.
Meghan seems to be doing ok. She was experiencing some swelling and pain yesterday which is to be expected after receiving an injection in her ankle and then having it wrapped in a bandage for 24 hours. She started her anti-inflammatory prescription, so hopefully we should start seeing some improvements soon. It is SO hard for me to be stuck here and not able to take care of my baby, but I know that Daddy is doing an incredible job.
Our dog, on the other hand, is not doing quite so well. Max (our sweet beagle) is having a very hard time with me being gone. Apparently he is moping and watching the door waiting for me to get home. He lost his feline friend last week and I think that me mysteriously disappearing has sent him over the edge. Imagine what will happen when I return home with a little person. We may need to call The Dog Whisperer!
I think that is about all of the updated news I have. I am sure my doctor will be by soon, so if he has any earth shattering updates (other than how he spent his day off yesterday), I will be sure and update the blog.
Thank you again for all of your thoughts and prayers. We greatly appreciate all of the love and support that we are receiving.
Much love,
Sean, Laurie, Kaleigh, Meghan and Baby Cooper
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thursday Morning, July 16th
Greetings Friends and Family,
I decided to create this blog to keep you posted on everything going on with me, baby Cooper, and our entire family. It's been a roller coaster of a week, so I will do my best to get you caught up!
Over the weekend, I started experiencing some contractions and back pain. My contractions were not really regular, but Pappa Bear (aka Sean) finally put his foot down on Monday and made me call the doctor. We were sent to Labor and Delivery for observation. When we got there, my contractions were about 5 minutes apart. They gave me an injection of Terbutaline to stop the contractions and sent me for an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed Cooper was safe and sound and that nothing was going on with my cervix (nice and long at 48mm). I was sent home with an appointment with OB first thing Tuesday morning.
When I got to my doctor’s office Tuesday morning, I had already started contracting again. He sent me back down to Labor and Delivery, and my contractions were 3 to 4 minutes apart and growing in intensity. I got another shot of that wonderful Terbutaline (that stuff is absolutely horrible) and was admitted to the hospital. I continued to be monitored in my hospital room throughout the afternoon/evening they started administering Procardia orally (much better than the Terbutaline). My doctor scheduled and ultrasound for first thing Wednesday morning, and I seriously thought they were going to tell me that everything was still fine, and then send me home. Well, the news was not what we expected. In less than 48 hours, my cervix had shortened from 48mm to 19mm. . .NOT GOOD!! The wonderful news is that Cooper is amazingly healthy and is no immediate harm.
My OB and Perinatologist have now confined me to hospital bed rest for more than likely the next 4 weeks. I hit 30 weeks yesterday, and the goal is to get me to at least 34 weeks, but would ideally like to get me to 37 weeks. We are taking everything a day at a time, and my doctor has set some "mini goals" so that this does not seem so overwhelming. Iwill have another ultrasound next Wednesday to see if there have been any changes and I am getting steroid shots to help develop Cooper’s lungs. My doctor did do a Fetal Fibronectin test on Monday which is a test to predict preterm labor. The test result came back negative which is good. That basically means that there is a 98% chance that I will NOT deliver in the next two weeks, so we are hanging onto that hope right now.
We did have a rough night last night. I started contracting really bad at about 8:00 and it took the nurses about 3 hours and LOTS of meds to finally get the contractions under control. At one point, the contractions were coming so close together that I had resigned myself to the fact that Cooper was coming whether we were ready or not! He seems to be behaving right now, but Kaleigh has already nicknamed her brother “Troublemaker”!! LOL!!
As if that were not enough, we found out yesterday that Meghan (my youngest daughter) has been diagnosed with Juvenilte Idopathic Arthritis in her right ankle. She has been under the care of Scottish Rite hospital for the past two years with a lot of unanswered questions. Yesterday, Sean took her in for an appointment with the arthritic specialist, and they were able to diagnose her almost immediately. She got a steroid shot in her ankle and has to stay off of it for 24 hours (not easy at all for a very active 6 year-old). She starts on anti-inflammatory medication today which she will be on long-term. She will go back for her follow-up visit in November and then will start physical therapy to regain the range of motion in her foot. She will also be under the constant care of an ophthalmologist because one of the side effects of this juvenile arthritis is that it can cause problems with the eyes and eventually lead to blindness if not treated. We are extremely optimistic now that we have an answer and a course of action.
Needless to say, this has been a very stressful time for our family, but we continue to remain blessed with so many friends and family taking such good care of us. Sean has been my rock through this entire process and continues to take each piece of news in stride. My sister and step-mother have pretty much dropped everything in their lives to help us with the girls. I know that many of you have reached out and asked what you can do to help. First and foremost. . .we need lots of prayers. Not only for Cooper's safe and hopefully not-so-early arrival, but also for the rest of our family to survive such a tubulant time. Our dear friend Courtney has set up a care calendar with all of our needs (or at least those that we know of). You can access the calendar at:
http://www.carecalendar.org/logon/19415 and enter the following
information in the appropriate spaces:
CALENDAR ID : 19415
SECURITY CODE : 2222
When you log into the calendar, please scroll down on the left and read under “Latest News” tab. This is where Courtney will post any updates on our needs.
Some of you have also asked if you can come and visit me in the hospital. . .ABSOLUTELY!! I am at Presbyterian Dallas in Room 452 (Margot Perot North). I am not sleeping well (if at all) at night, so I do tend to nap during the day. However, if you come by (especially if you are armed with Diet Coke with lime and snacks. . .LOL), I will happily wake up to visit with you.
Thank you again for all of your love, thoughts and prayers.
Laurie, Sean, Kaleigh, Meghan and Baby Cooper
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