Another scary evening...

Wow, our situation took a turn for the worse yesterday. We are doing well and coping but we were hit with a pretty big blow yesterday that will really make the next 3 months interesting to say the least. Here is the story...

I was at home yesterday and still felt like I was having quite a few contractions. I counted about 7 in an hour. The Dr. happened to call to check on how I was doing and I told her about the contractions. Of course she immediately told me to come in so they could monitor me and make sure everything was ok.

I got hooked back up to the monitors and my contractions were constant and about 1 min apart. They checked my cervix and it was down to a 1.9 from about 2.4 on Sunday! Anything below a 2 is in the danger zone. The Dr. made a few calls and she immediately sent me over the high risk Dr across the hospital. J met me there and they did a complete u/s and checked my cervix again and this is when we realized there was something really wrong. During the u/s it was discovered that my fluid levels were extremely high. Normal fluid levels are between 10-20, 25 is considered high and mine was 31. This was putting pressure on my uterus and cervix and causing the contractions.

The Dr came and basically explained to us that if we hadn't have caught this I would probably have gone into labor in the next week or so. My cervix was already at a very dangerous level and another couple days of contracting like I was and this baby would have been born. She immediately rushed in all of her staff and did an amnio reduction right there in her office. This is where they stick a very long needle into your uterus through your stomach and remove some of the fluid. She removed 1 liter, over 4 cups of fluid from my uterus. It was not fun! My stomach looked smaller right away and I felt a lot less pressure. She then sent me over to L&D to monitor my contractions and thankfully they had subsided.

We got home at about 10 last night with a lot of questions and unknowns. Most importantly, why is the baby producing so much fluid? There is a 30% chance that we will never know why so much fluid is being produced and everything will end up normal but it's more likely there is something wrong that is causing the problem. We are doing a ton of tests via blood, amniotic fluid and u/s to try and rule out as many causes as possible. There are some very serious problems associated with excess fluid and there are also some more minor ones. At this point we have no answers.

Another concern is when will the fluid return? Will I need another amnio reduction? My cervix is now so short there isn't much wiggle room so if I have any contractions and the fluid returns it has to be dealt with asap. More than likely the fluid will return and another amnio reduction will be required. I will be monitored weekly and as soon as the fluid level gets high again she will do another amnio to reduce it. Anymore shortening of my cervix will lead to bed rest. Therefore, when the fluid returns if I am having contractions they need to be caught asap.

The good news is that the little guy is looking great on the u/s and still measuring about 2 weeks ahead. There are no abnormalities that can be seen and he was very active all day yesterday. He is also weighing about 2lb2oz which is great.

I think we have a long 3 months ahead of us and we have no idea what will happen. We are hoping this little guy will stay put for a while longer and we will do whatever we can to make that happen. Now we wait...for test results, appts and progress. Other than being a little sore from the amnio I am feeling fine and trying to take it easy today. I'm watching out for contractions and trying to drink lots of fluids. My next appt is on Tuesday and they will measure my cervix as well as the fluid levels and of course I will post an update as soon as we know more.