This was my fourth pregnancy, but my
second PROM.
In the 28th week, I lost what I
thought to be my mucous plug, but the
nurse dismissed it when I called the
Doctor's office.
One evening after using the bathroom,
I felt this gush and knew instantly
that it was my water breaking. I
called the Doctor's office, and was
told that it was probably not serious,
but to come in anyway.
At the hospital, they quickly
confirmed that the membranes had
ruptured, and made arrangement for me
to go to a different hospital. I was
taken by ambulance to the nearest NICU
hospital, where I was to stay until
the birth of my baby. They
administered two doses of
corticosteroids, 24 hours apart to
mature the baby's lungs.
During the two weeks that followed, I
was on bedrest with bathroom
priveledges. I was monitored closely
for infection, fetal distress, and had
daily U/S to measure amniotic fluid.
I had no contractions, and thought I
would be there forever.
At 31.6 weeks, on what seemed like
every other day of my hospitalization,
something changed. I had a very
slight fever, and the baby's heartbeat
indicated fetal distress. My daughter
had also changed position FREQUENTLY,
and was now breach. In what seemed
like an instant, It was decided that I
needed an emergency C-Section. I was
terrified, but felt reassured by the
competence of my doctors.
My daughter was born soon after, and I
was able to catch a glimpse of her
before they whisked her away to the
nursery. She looked like she was
folded in half, which they told me is
common for C-section babies. Her
appearance was heart-wrenching when I
first saw her. So tiny, with tubes
and wires everywhere.
In the NICU, she did very well. She
weighed 3'5, and her lungs were
great. No As or Bs, but she was too
small to maintain her body temperature
on her own.
The nurses wouldn't let me nurse her,
but planned on giving her gavage
feedings. I had to protest strongly &
meet with the doctors during rounds to
convince them to let me attempt
nursing. Much to thier surprise, she
did great! Nursing ( and Billi
Lights) helped her jaundice, and after
10 days she was transferred to a
hospital closer to home. I was able
to stay there, too, because I was
nursing. She stayed there forseven
more days, and as soon as she was able
to regulate her temp, we went home.
Vivian is now three years old, and
even the Doc calls her his miracle
baby. Without Early Intervention, she
is one of the most accomplished kids
in her gymnastics class, in the 90th
percentile for height and weight, and
is, IMO, absolutely brilliant.
I am now in my 28th week, and
terrified that my baby boy will be
too early. I lost what I am sure was
part of my mucous plug last week, but
the doc dismissed it. They are going
to do the fFN test at my next visit,
and if it is positive they will start
steroid shots. I am particularly
nervous because I have heardthat boys
don't do as well as girls. I just
want him to be ok.
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