What joy!! While I was on bedrest I
hoped that someday I would be able to
post my story to give hope to other
women as these stories gave hope to me.
Now, here I am!!
My bedrest began four weeks earlier than
my PPROM becaue I had gushes of bleeding
at week 14. The bedrest seemed to help
stop the bleeding and I stayed at home
doing as little as physically possible
(which is not easy with a 2 and a 5 year
old in the house). At week 18 I had
PROM and went into the hospital for 3
days. I was given antibiotics and told
that I would most likely go into labor
soon and the baby would not be viable.
My doctor, thankfully, is a faithful man
and told me that although many docs
would advise to abort because of the
small chance of a live birth (much less
a live birth without complications) he
would not advise such a move unless it
was something we definitely desired. We
did not, choosing to give our baby the
best chance possible, and our decision
was supported.
It was pretty daunting to think that the
best we could hope for was another 20
weeks on bedrest, but we took it day by
day. My mom-inlaw came to stay with us
to help with child and house (and Queen
of the Futon) care for several weeks and
slowly the time passed. My membranes
seemed to reseal from week 18 until week
24 when I had another gush and began to
leak steadily for the remainder of the
pregnancy. Weeks 24-26 were very
stressful as we dealt with the
possibility of a child with severe
medical complications. Finally at week
28 we decided that the benefits of
closer monitoring at the hospital
outweighed the benefits of staying home
(less infection risk and more
comfortable more mom and other
children). Weeks 28-31 were the most
difficult because of being at the
hospital and away from home and our
boys. It was terribly lonely. I felt
best when I could focus on the big
picture of what we were trying to
accomplish. I would spend much time
stretching and rubbing my tummy and
talking to our baby. Finally at week 31
I went into labor. I had contracted an
infection which seemingly caused the
labor. The baby's heartrate
skyrocketed and we were wheeled in for a
c-section. Rosemary was born!! She had
perfect LITTLE lungs and was very
healthy for a few hours until the
infection took hold in her system. Then
it was touch and go for two days. She
pulled through and spent 9 more weeks in
the hospital but is now home being
adored by her big brothers and seems to
be a healthy little baby. She is our
miracle girl and we are very thankful.
God bless anyone who finds themselves
with early PROM; faith was the key to
maintaining our sanity and happiness
through this ordeal.
|
|
