Well, damn...

Maybe I should have stayed superstitious?

I woke up Tuesday night/Wednesday morning to go to the bathroom. I got back into bed and immediately felt myself start bleeding. I rushed back to the bathroom and relived my experience of eight weeks (exactly) prior. Blood was pouring out of me once again. I woke Brian up and he immediately called Liz over to sit with Oliver. I wasn't feeling Henry moving but I also knew that I was pretty jacked up on adrenaline so I focused on getting dressed and calling the doctor's office. Once I finished that I got some cold water to drink and a piece of chocolate to eat (cold and sweet things usually get him moving). Liz was there by that point so we got in the car and I started chugging the cold water and poking him. He gave me a little kick before we had even left our neighborhood so Brian and I were both relieved. He continued to move here and there on our trip down to the hospital which helped to keep us calm.

We got to the hospital and were wheeled up to Labor and Delivery (by a clueless ER nurse who thought we were there because I was term and in labor). They got us in a room and got the monitor out and found his heartbeat right away. They tried to get an IV in my arm and finally succeeded with that on the third attempt (so many bruises). They didn't start a drip or anything, though, but did draw some blood to run some tests.

In general, the whole experience was markedly less hectic than the first time. Some of that was because we had been told that I could bleed again (although, honestly, after eight weeks I had thought maybe I was one of the lucky few) but most of that was because Henry is now 34 weeks along - a world of difference from the 26 weeker he was last time. The nurse told me at this point that if I were to go into labor, they wouldn't do anything to stop it. And since I was 34 weeks I wouldn't need to repeat the steroid shots that I received eight weeks ago since his lungs should be far enough along on their own. Up until 35 weeks, all babies are automatic NICU patients but she said at 34 weeks they are mostly just "feeders" and "growers" - meaning they are just there to put on some weight and to better learn to suck, swallow, and breathe all at the same time.

The doctor on call came in about an hour later with the test results. She said that the fetal fibronectin test came back negative. This test can supposedly tell you if the patient will go into labor in the next two weeks. I was a little anemic but not dangerously so and everything else looked fine. This led her to believe that I had suffered a(nother?) partial abruption of the placenta. She said I'd be in the hospital at least for 24 hours but that the baby looked great - his heartbeat was strong and he was responding well to the few contractions I was having (most of which I couldn't even feel). She also told me Dr. Reich would be in to see me later in the morning.

Brian went back home around five to try and get some rest and be there when Oliver woke up and Liz came up and sat with me. I tried to get some rest but couldn't get to sleep. Brian came back after he dropped Oliver off at school and we waited for the doctor. Meanwhile the nurse came and asked if I could feel the contractions that the monitor showed I was having. I told her I could but that they weren't painful. On the doctor's orders she started me on some fluid via IV since dehydration can cause contractions.

Dr. Reich came around ten or so. She said she was surprised to see me back as she had started to think that I was out of the woods but she was pleased to see how well Henry and I were doing. She ordered a consult with a perinatalogist to see if they could find a cause for the bleeding, told me I was cleared to eat solid foods and that she was transferring me to the stable antepartum wing since it didn't seem like I was going into labor. She wanted to keep me on continuous monitoring, though. She said I could get up to go to the bathroom and shower but that I was back on strict bed rest otherwise. She said someone from her practice would see me on Thursday but she'd be back on Friday and that if I'm stable at that point, then she might send me home.

My mom showed up around noon and they transferred me to the other unit soon after that. The perinatalogist came by and did an ultrasound. Turns out that my last ultrasound at the doctor's office was incorrect. My placenta hasn't moved as much as they said. It is only 1.28 cm away from my cervix. So, it's still low lying which probably explains the bleeding. He didn't see any other clots in there, which is a good thing but he did say that the bleeding could happen again. He also said it was possible for the placenta to move before I deliver but now I'm back to wondering whether or not I will have to have a c-section. He did some growth measurements on Henry and said that he is looking great. Measuring right on track (if not a little ahead). According to his estimates, he's almost six pounds already. Which means that if he goes the full 40 weeks he should be in the eight pound range like his brother.

I spent the rest of the day trying to relax. Brian and Oliver came by after school to hang out for a bit. My mom took Oliver home to put him to bed and Brian and I had dinner together. He left around 8:30, though, and I took a sleeping pill shortly thereafter and fell asleep. It wasn't the most restful night since I was hooked up to the monitors but I managed to get some sleep.

The doctor came in at six and said everything was looking good so she was going to let me come off the monitors (I thought she meant right away but she apparently meant at 11:30). She told me I had been having a bunch of contractions that I had been sleeping through. So, she warned me that I would be back on the monitors if I started bleeding again or if I started to feel contractions. I went back to sleep and got a few more hours worth.

At 11:30 they took me off the monitors and I immediately took a shower and put on regular clothes (I HATE hospital gowns. Why are they so big?!). I felt human again. So, I've spent most of today trying to get some work done and resting. I'm hopeful for another sleeping pill tonight to help me get some sleep and that Dr. Reich deems me stable enough to go home tomorrow. Fingers crossed!