Coming from the infertility world, I felt like I was constantly preparing myself for something bad to happen during the pregnancy. On paper, I was a great candidate for pregnancy. Any fertility issues stemming from my body were minimal and were being treated. I just had a feeling that things couldn't be easy. My first several appointments were great- the babies heart rates were always strong, they were growing, and my body was tolerating pregnancy well.
In my 18th week, I noticed an interesting tightening feeling in my stomach. It didn't hurt, but I was concerned nonetheless. The doctor checked me out and concluded at this point that I was just contracting from my uterus being stretched so much. At week 20, I noticed these same tightenings again but increasing in frequency. Because it was a Sunday, we headed to Labor and Delivery. It was once again concluded that these were just early Braxton Hicks contractions that commonly occur throughout multiple pregnancies. At week 21, I noticed more tightening and went into the doctor again. This time, my cervical length had shortened from 4.5 centimeters the week before to 2.5 cm. I was put on home bed rest, prescribed progesterone and Nifedipine, and instructed to go to the hospital if the contractions continued that night. Well, they did and I was admitted to the hospital on December 6, 2012.
My body seemed to respond well to the medicine while I was in the hospital for the first few weeks. My cervical length stayed the same and the contractions lessened, but it was decided that I should stay in the hospital until at least Christmas. At week 24, I had my weekly cervical exam and it had shortened to 0.5 cm. This was a very scary day and my medical treatment changed drastically. I was hooked up to a magnesium IV and placed in the Trendelenburg position (flat on the back with feet elevated higher than the head- think slightly upside down). I stayed in this position for the remainder of my stay, and rotated between magnesium and indocen as the contractions became more painful. It was decided that I would have no more cervical checks unless my condition seemed to worsen.
On the morning of January 7, 2013 (27 weeks 1 day of my pregnancy), I started experiencing very painful contractions. My monitor activity didn't look any more concerning than usual, but I knew something was wrong. A doctor came in to do a cervical check and I was dilated 4 cm. I had been dilated 2 cm for over a week, so the doctors thought I had a chance at holding out a bit longer. However, 30 minutes later, my doctor checked my cervix again and I was dilated to 8. It was time for an emergency c-section.
At 10:32 am and 10:33 am, I gave birth to Lawson (2 lb. 2 oz.) and Sutton (2 lb. 8 oz.). We would spend the next 11.5 weeks in the NICU before bringing these precious miracles home.
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