Mag round 2 - UPDATED

(UPDATED - Just wanted to say I am enjoying some clear liquids now which is makes today a very good day!) Sorry - haven't been able to update because things have been a little too crazy over the last few days and poor wireless Internet. Thank you so much for checking in and keeping us all in you thoughts and prayers. They admitted me Thursday and that night started trying to stop contractions. They were coming every 1-2 minutes. Trying to avoid putting me on Mag again - they tried some more indocin and nitroglycerin (an old time fix) which I knew would had a feeling would not work and did not stop them. I never seem to respond to terbutaline well, and I had already had quite a bit of procardia that wasn't cutting it either. Contractions really were the only issue at first. My spotting and bleeding was due to the intensity of the contractions pulling on the cerclage - but I was not fully dilating yet. They kept checking things to see if there was any way to leave the cerclage in to delay possibly the inevitable breaking of my water and fully dilating that would possibly occur once they removed it. They feel since because my cervix is so far effaced (thinned) that once the cerclage is out, I'll fully dilate shortly after. Brynn still is small and just over 2 pounds so they really want to give her as much time as possible - plus delaying any birth before term is reached is always the goal. Also, due to the unicornuate uterus - carrying as far as possible is vital for fate of future pregnancies. So of course by the early hours of Friday morning they opted to restart me on a Mag Sulfate drip.

Contractions have been pretty intense often - kind of crazy that you can contract to the point of bring tears to your eyes, but not be fully dilating. My OB said that it's just another part of having the wacky unicornuate uterus. It contracts like crazy, and very intensely - but because it's abnormally shaped and so small it's also very ineffective at producing effective results (dilation.) In this case - I'm delighted it's not very effective :-) Not all unicornuates act this way - but I guess I have "an angry uterus" as it's been called several times this week. Hmm - any suggestions that I can offer it to be less angry, other than Mag? I'm all ears. Great thing is that as much as Mag sucks - it takes the contractions down so I can actually sleep and not be as uncomfortable. I won't go into too much detail, pretty much everything I mentioned before has been a repeat performance on the Mag- they give you the loading dose and then maintenance one and titrate it to your contractions. They really don't want you to get out of bed to go to the bathroom, or take a shower and you can't eat food due to all of the side effects. But for the last couple of days my contractions have been controlled on the Mag, they have been able to leave my cerclage in, and we are still pregnant! So yes the same hungry, stinky Sara is still here hanging out longing for some real food, a toilet and the shower - but all in all life is very good right now. We have been blessed with more time. I just somehow think that Brynn must have a little guardian angel with her because she seems to always get through any bumps in the road. We got to catch a glimpse of her on the ultrasound almost everyday so far and she has gained a few ounces so we're making some great ground and moving forward. We love you little girl!

I'll try to update more later - we're supposed to have another BPP (biophysical profile) study of Brynn again to see how she's hanging in there as well. Hopefully she'll pass with flying colors and get an 8 out off 8 if that is how they score it. On a much lighter note - my husband was the first to notice that my nurse yesterday looked just like Rachel Ray. After a few moments we realized that not only did she look like her, she had all the same mannerisms and expressions as well. I fully expected her to turn around and tell me that she was going to turn off my Mag drip and we were going to see if a little EVOO would help my contractions instead! (I told you the Mag makes me loopy and goofy, lol! But at least she was cracking me up :-)

My husband and my mom are still kind of my mini heroes because they have helped take such good care of me. My mom and dad have been watching Neela our doggie at their house and I know she's getting lots of belly rubs, treats and walks around the clock. My dad even sleeps every night on the couch with her! I feel blessed to have great doctors, and I am thankful for all of your kind words and prayers. All of that is why we've still been able to hang in through all of this and move forward. Just wish I could give everyone a little hug!

(Sorry again for the long radio silence - I will honestly try to post sooner next time - my husband has been just staying the night and showering here and the internet stinks in labor and delivery. It works in antepartum, but it's not really easy to drag the laptop over to another unit I'm not staying on. I'll have someone else update next time - I promise. But thanks for hanging with me none the less :-)