Bedrest, not Bahamas

We were supposed to fly off to the Bahamas (for an 11-day trip) in about an hour, but my OB's practice recently ordered my on bedrest for at least the next 6-8 weeks.

Here's how it came about: last Friday, I went in for a regular appointment, and told the doctor that my family and I were going to the Bahamas for 10 days. She thought it would be a good idea to do a simple test to measure the risk of preterm labor. I'm about 26 1/2 weeks, and the test results - if negative - would indicate a 1% chance of going into preterm labor over the next two weeks. The assay tests for the premature leaking of fibronectin, which is the glue that hold the embryonic sac to the uterus. As you can guess, the test came out positive. This result, however is not as helpful becuase of the 40% false positive rate. So, I requested and obtained a retest for yesterday morning, but an ultrasound showed a probable reason for the first test result: my cervix is effacing (shortening) prematurely. The possibility of cervical shortening was the real reason the doctor ordered the test; multiple early losses (such as my two miscarriages) increases the risk.

So, here I am, limited to 10 minutes of on-feet activity per hour. The goal is to prevent my baby's head from putting more pressure on the cervix (from 26-28 weeks, the baby's head is small enough to really get into the cervix), and get me to at least 32-34 weeks. The baby's head by this time is bigger, so the pressure is spread over a larger area; a baby born at 32-34 weeks also does much better than a baby born at 26 weeks. Luckily, I have some projects: organizing photos (as far back as grad school, but I'll be happy enough if I can get photos of my wedding and Nikita organized), Dostoevsky (I bought The Brothers Karamasov for the trip - oddly because Laura Bush, a former children's librarian, cited it as one of her favorite books in the Wall Street Journal; Igor would rather have me read Crime and Punishment), and knitting (being in and out of OB triage all weekend allowed me to get a fair amount done on my mom's sleeveless blouse). And I haven't cancelled my Netflix account. But I think watching Nikita will really keep my mind off my forced bedrest. Nikita enjoys hold the cup to my mouth so that I can drinkn (if he were only old enough to cook!), and he continues to be obsessed with puzzles. He memorized a 36-piece puzzle, so we bought a 100-piece floor puzzle last Thursday. Just finished it yesterday.

Despite the daunting possibility of spending my final trimester on my back, I am grateful for three things. First, the external fetal monitor showed that I'm not having contractions, and that my baby is really healthy. The heartbeat is that of a 32-week old, but that doesn't mean that baby's ready to come out! Second, I successfully used my selective anesthesia technique (which I hadn't used since giving birth to Nikita) to dampen significantly the pain associated with the steroid shots I was given to help the baby's lungs mature faster (if it were to come out early). How significantly? I didn't want to move for a few minutes after the first shot (which felt like a bee sting), but was able to get off the table right after the second shot. Third, the Bahamas trip (which was approved by my OB before I booked the flights because Nikita was born at term and my pregnancy was uncomplicated) was fortuitous, if not a blessing. If I hadn't told the doctor we were going on the trip, she probably would not had administered the preterm labor test.

And now, I better use my 10 minutes to get back to bed!