33 & 34 weeks With a Trip to The Hospital

So I'm behind again on pictures and blog.....but I think this time I have a legitimate excuse!

The weekend after Thanksgiving, I had my inlaws visiting and my family had just left town. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and fantastic food. Saturday was pretty lazy except for some last minute nursery projects. I started feeling some pretty frequent contractions. None of these were painful, but the amount of them in such a short amount of time concerned my husband and I so we chose to go to the hospital JUST to hear a medical professional tell us we were being paranoid and go on home. On  that day, eventually that happened. I also had to get a shot to relax my uterine muscles (not fun). So I went home and figured it was just the start of some serious Braxton Hicks my body was using to prepare me for the big day.

Family leave and around Tuesday evening they start coming again....six or seven within an hour. All my preterm labor info packets say this is worth going in for, so we did. We fully expected it to be just like the previous trip and didnt think much of it. Then we find out I'm actually progressing at 33 weeks and they want to keep me overnight.....

We stayed in the hospital til the next Saturday afternoon.

It was a long week. I had three more of those nasty shots, along with a few days worth of Magnesium (which I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy), two steroid shots, and a catheter. Most of that week is fuzzy to me. Though I do distinctly remember being terrified of my baby being born too early and the thought of seeing her in an incubator brought me to tears several times. Still does now just thinking about it.

Eventually, we got the contractions to slow down and decrease. I was put on an oral medication that I'm still taking every six hours, and I'm home on bedrest. We have no idea when Elise will decide to make her grand entrance, but we feel confident that it will be the right time. She's at a great weight for how far along she is and the steroid shots have helped her lungs develop a little faster.

I don't think I could've survived this week without my mother, mother-in-law, or my husband. My husband basically stayed by my side throughout all of it, 24/7. He was so incredibly supportive, kept me calm and even made me laugh. My moms dropped everything to be here to help us with housework, cook us amazing food, and take care of Macy. Thanks to them, we came home to a clean house completely caught up on laundry and dishes. This was huge.

The moms are currently taking turns being here with me while Josh returns to work. I'm not allowed to do much and that's been challenging. Especially with Christmas coming up. I've just been doing my best to stay rested and hydrated. Telling myself that this is the first of many sacrifices I'll make as a mother and my daughter needs this from me.

So if you are bored ever, know that I am too and feel free to text me :)