Preterm Labor

Monday morning, I went to work not feeling great-- more cramping and back pain had started... we had a marathon weekend, so I just thought I had overdone it. I went ahead and called the Dr. from work and they said to come on in and lets just take a look with the Dr. on call. We talked and we both thought I was experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions (not unusual at this point) and ligament stretching (also not unusual). She did an exam and found I was 2 cm. dilated, looked at me and said this changes everything. She said that if I were at 34 weeks, she probably would not intervene and let my body go into labor, but at 32 weeks, the baby's lungs are not fully developed and the next two weeks are very important for growth. They wheeled me up to Labor and Delivery, hooked me up to the baby heart monitor and contraction monitor and started watching. I was contracting regularly, so they gave me a round of Tributeline. They also gave me a round of a steroid shot to boost the baby's lung development in the event I still delivered. By this time, Brent's co-worker had driven him to the hospital (we carpooled) and he was walking through the door (we had just toured this floor a day before during our childbirth class, so he knew right where to go!). My Dr. ordered another ultrasound to measure the baby and check if he/she was in distress. They wheeled me to Dr. Weiss's office and he did his thing. The baby measured 4 pounds 6 ounces-- bigger than most at this stage, but still very small to be out of the womb. The amniotic fluid looked good and he confirmed I was thinning and cervix was still at a 2. We went back to Labor and Delivery and they hooked me back up to the monitors and I began contractions again. Another round of Tributeline did the trick and baby was still looking good. They observed me a little while longer and then took us to a postpartum room where I stayed overnight for observation. More mild contractions followed but they were giving me Tributeline by mouth at this point and it was working. My Dr. came by Tuesday morning for an exam and another steroid shot and said she would release me to strict bed rest for the next 2 weeks and then she would decide what comes next. Brent took me home and my mom came up Tuesday night to help me-- she has been a HUGE help... my list of things to do was long! I am at 33 weeks today, so we have an extra week behind us... it is a good feeling knowing that every day the baby says put is two days we don't spend in the ICU. Thank you everybody for your prayers and phone calls... we feel loved and look forward to introducing you to Luke/ Elliott (in a few more weeks!)