A Long Night/Morning!

Well, here is the latest on Herm. You will get another one hopefully within a few days as we have another Herm appointment on Wednesday, April 30. So, what's with the title? Well, I have been experiencing contractions at various points since about week 17. I have been told that it is normal considering how close together my babies have been. Well, Saturday night I was feeling them so I did what the doctor told me the last time I called. I took some benedryl and water and went to bed at about 10:30. A few hours later at 1, I woke up and they were still there and pretty regular. I told Stephen that something didn't seem right and we needed to go to the hospital. (Stephen is still in a splint from his ankle surgery on the 21st.) We got in and they put me on a monitor straight away. Sure enough, they were just strong enough to show up and they were coming at mostly regular intervals. They checked my cervix which was long and a little soft (long is great, soft is normal at this point). They also did a test called Fetal Fibronectin. It is supposed to detect protein found in the amniotic sac and fetal membranes. They are not supposed to be present until about 38 weeks, unless a woman is in premature labor. Luckily, that came back negative. Simply put, a negative means they didn't find any of the protiens and there was only a 1-2% chance that I would go into labor in the next week or two. So, the contractions were not braxton hicks because they were regular. However, they weren't doing anything to dialte and soften the cervix. We are taking it pretty easy this week. We have an appointment on Wednesday. At that appointment hopefully we can schedule the next sonogram which is the one that will check Herm's heart. I feel that once I get past that and get good news on that, I will feel a little less anxious. I am still just taking things a day at a time. I just get really discouraged at times. I start to think about all that could go wrong and it puts me in an anxiety attack of sorts. I am trying to find comfort in the sound of Herm's heartbeat as well as the many strong kicks that I have been getting lately! Herm kicked so hard Saturday night that even Daddy was able to feel it when he was kissing my belly!

Trying to stay calm!
Lacie and Herm