Hospital Update: Day 1

*Update, I am pregnant & haven't been running since approximately week 8 because of some early on complications. I decided that I have my whole life to run & only these nine months to carry this amazing surprise.  I have continued working out under the guidance of a personal trainer with special pre/post natal experience & have managed to have a very healthy pregnancy up to last night*

Yesterday around 5pm I noticed some discharge, not a lot for this stage in pregnancy & from what WebMB had to say it was perfectly fine. However I noticed as I sat & read more & more - there was a strange leaking feeling.  Uh Oh! Thankfully I have the next best thing to on call nurses - an on call mother with oodles of OBGY/L&D experience.  She very calmly told me I would need to pack a bag & go in to the hospital to make sure I wasn't ruptured.  It became quite apparent the next time I tried to stand that I had in-fact ruptured.  I fired off rapid succession calls to my husband at work to come & pick Jack & I up - 20 minutes later we were on our way.  3 stop lights later I was walking into the ER.

I was admitted to the hospital & taken right up to the maternity center for monitoring & observation.  They confirmed the rupture & let me know I would now be completing my pregnancy on bed rest in the hospital.  This is where I got a little teary eyed & the emotions started to come up.  Normally in high stress situations I am very quiet, calm & have the ability to think really clearly.  But here I was faced with the thought that I might have one very tiny baby coming my way - 8 weeks too early.  I never thought I would have another.  I always thought that it wasn't in the cards for us after we had tried for so long after Jack.  I chocked it up to the weight thing & buried it.  I had one super great kid in Jack & we have a great little family.  When that pregnancy test was positive I was very very surprised, I never expected this & I knew as soon as I saw that little plus sign I wanted this baby more then anything.

I have been prescribed a course of IV antibiotics to prevent infection & have been on a magnesium drip to stop contractions.  Was also given a steroid shot to help mature his lungs.

We have met with the Neonatologist & have gone over what to expect.  It seems delivering a 32 week baby isn't as scary as it sounds.  He gave us a really good prognosis given what we have seen in the last day from Max. 

Here are the highlights:
*Max's heart rate has been ideal, staying between the 120's - 140's depending on when he is sleeping or active
*He is still a very active little man, I notice it even more with the reduced amount of amniotic fluid
*Max as of this afternoon weighs 4.1 lbs - which is above average for a 32 week guy.  My Mother has nicknamed him Mega Max - I think of him as Mighty Max - small but a force to be reckoned with - just like his Mom
*I still have around 7cm's of fluid - which is considered low/normal. However his organs are functioning well enough to keep producing fluid
*The magnesium has stopped the contractions from almost 10 per hour last night with low rectal pressure to possibly a couple an hour now with no pressure

Downsides:
*I only have bathroom privileges - staying in bed drives me crazy. However so far I have been OK.
*Seem to have a really bad reaction to the initial antibiotic drip - thankfully I have a super awesome kick ass nurse who really advocated to the Dr to take me off.  We are going to try an oral round of antibiotics & see if I tolerate that better.

The immediate goal is to get me to 48 hours post the start of the Magnesium drip & steroid shots for his lungs.  Once that happens they will take me off & see how it goes.  Hopefully Max will decide he's not quite ready & will stay in awhile longer.  The big goal (marathon goal I am calling it) is to get me to 34 weeks to get him a little bigger.

Thankful fors:
*One wonderful son who blesses each of my days.  He has hung in there like a trooper & has been passing out the little shoulder rubs like a sweetheart.
*A husband who is really step up kind of guy.  Really did that one right, because there could have been some doosies in those early 20's.
*A mother who has always taken the time to answer anything medical related. It's a serious blessing to know that she is
*Every single word of encouragement, every prayer, every positive thought - they all comfort me & lift my spirits up knowing that I have such support

It may sound odd - but becoming a runner has showed me a strength that I never knew I had.  All those miles of soul searching lead me to a part of me that I never knew was in there.  I feel like mentally stronger then ever.  Each goal is like getting to a mile marker with little water stops along the way. Sitting here on the monitor listening to Max's heart rate is like listening to footfalls.  It's a very familiar cadence to me & we are going to cross this finish line hand in hand.