The Sweet Life

On Saturday I was feeling really good!  Like, "make hay while the sun is shinning" good.  I have days with a lot of contractions followed by days of few contractions.  No rhyme or reason or prediction.  So farmer Emma and I headed to Huber's Family Farm to pick strawberries (Dan had to work=meh!).  Along with picking fruit, Huber's also has a mini play land for parent's to spend money kids to enjoy.  Enjoy the pictures!

All of the "big" strawberries went into Emma's crate.  All the not

so awesome berries went into mine.

Despite multiple warnings that there would be "no potty" in the field, 

the little girl who "didn't have to pee" had to pee 5 seconds after we got

there....Thank goodness for fields with tall grass!

Emma and her crop! ($9=a steal!) 

Next, Emma enjoyed a wagon ride...(she sat on 

one pony for about 2 minutes)..

then she went down the barn slide until my threats of abandonment finally

started to sound serious. 

..then she dominated the "big bouncy slide"

screamed "Yahooooo!" each time ($1 per yahoo) 

and enjoyed some yummy berries with our fried chicken take out lunch

when we got home. 

Little sister had fun too, not getting bear hugged

all day long by my overly affectionate uterus.  

25 weeks 

Miss Independent (and don't you forget it)

Last night at dinner time, Emma was overly tired, mad about having to eat dinner, refusing to take a bath...and anything else we asked her to do...

Emma:  "That's it!  I'm done with you guys!! I'm going out on my own."

             (with a "what do you think about that" look)

Krista:  "Oh really, you better pack a bag before you leave"

Dan:  (casually asking) "Where are you going to go"

Emma (without hesitation):  "Nanny's"

If only Emma's Nannies lived down the street.  I would let her "go out on her own"  :)  She changed her mind when I reminded her it was going to get dark soon, and it was going to be a very long walk.  

24 Week Belly

24 Weeks

Procardia is my miracle drug

Approximately 7-10 day supply

First try: 10mg/6 hr didn't work,  Second try: 20mg/6 hr didn't work, Third try: 20mg/4hr (maximum dose)....it works!  As they say, the third time is the charm.  Well, not exactly the charm.  I'm still having contractions, but they have considerably chilled out.  If I miss just one dose by even an hour, they come back with a vengeance.  That is a little tricky when I need to take them at 3 or 4am.  The Tylenol is for the ferocious headaches that come along with the medicine.  Nothing to take for the pounding heart and swollen feet/hands (we are talking elephant man).  Even with all that, I can tell you I feel so fortunate this drug is working for me.  I am exactly 24 weeks today!  I would be lying if I said I don't feel like I am walking on egg shells.  26 weeks is huge developmental milestone, particularly lung development.  Once I get there, even I will be able to breath a little easier before I start counting down to the next milestone of 28 weeks.

I can tell you I was feeling okay with all the testing, shots, being admitted.  The only thing that could shake me was the ultrasound.  They do that to check if you are dilating at all.  The sonographer wanted to take a quick peek at baby, and that is all it took for the tears and fears to come.  She was active, then sleeping, perfectly okay.  Baby, please stay where you are.

Drugged, Temperamental, and Pregnant (the best part)

Today, I am 23 weeks and 4 days pregnant.  Two days ago, I decided to call my doctor in the afternoon because I was having non-stop cramping and contractions.  I couldn't really tell if I was really having contractions as I didn't feel my abdomen relax at any point all day.  Everything is so confusing during pregnancy, even if you have done it before.  I can barely go to my annual exams and remember when my last menstrual cycle was...and that is how I ended up 23 weeks and 4 days pregnant :)  I guess the good thing about being a scary preggo with a "history" of PTL (pre-term labor) is that my doctor wants me to come in if I complain about anything.  Further, they want to get you in and also get.you.OUT.  No one wants a messy preterm delivery scaring their perfect record...and that is why after the monitor showed I was having contractions every 4 minutes, I was sent to labor in delivery..on the second floor....to be their problem.

I was admitted to labor and delivery for three lovely hours.  I say lovely because we recently and painfully cancelled cable at home, and I found myself in a quiet room with cable tv and a remote all to myself.  After 2 shots of terbutaline (ouch) I was sent home with a prescription for procardia.  Terbutaline is a rapidly acting drug that relaxes the uterus and stops contractions.  It didn't work very long when I went into labor with Emma, which is why I wasn't all that surprised (but still mighty frustrated) when the contractions returned 2 hours after I got home.  Procardia is a calcium blocker that is usually prescribed for high blood pressure and angina, but has an off label use for stopping labor.  I started taking the procardia at 11pm, every 6 hours.  By 10am the next morning, they stopped working and my doctor doubled my dose.  It *seems* to be working for the time being although now I feel like I might fall over at any second as my blood pressure is pretty darn low.  Still having contractions, but only 4-5 per hour.  They are mostly okay when I'm sitting/laying and then fire up the second my feet hit the floor making me an excellent and unfortunate candidate for bed rest.  Next scheduled appointment is next Friday.  I'm praying for a quiet weekend and week so I don't have to go back before that.  At this point, I am there so often they could probably charge me rent.