35 Weeks!

We are officially in the home stretch. Alexa should be over 5lbs and 18 inches in length. Her kidneys should be fully developed & the liver should be processing waste products. She still needs to gain a little more weight to help her stay warm & her lungs will need a little more time to mature. I am fully confident that we can give her the time she needs.

This last week was an unexpected challenge for Justin & I. Not only was Justin in the middle of graduating from one class & starting another, but he also had to take care of all of my needs as well as the house. He has been doing a great job. He has been cooking, cleaning & running errands. I am not sure if he is ready for 5 more weeks of it.

The doctor this morning had me do a non stress test. This monitored Alexa's heart rate as well as my contractions. Alexa did great during the entire test. She got the hiccups & even started kicking the contraction monitor. My contractions were timing 5-7 minutes a part and lasting around 45 seconds. Since there was no significant change, the doctor counts this as passing. He wants to me continue on the procardia until early next week. At that point he feels we would have made it past the crucial period & it would be safer for her to arrive early then to continue the medication. I am also to continue being on bed rest. This made me sad because it means I will miss my baby shower on Sunday. We go back to the doctor's next Wednesday for another NST.

My goal this week is to stay in bed & keep this little girl cooking. I will also be sending Justin with a list of last minute items needed for Alexa's arrival. Thank you for all the support!

8/21 1:30pm

My cervix was checked and I am now 2 centimeters & very soft. The doctor told us he felt he had 2 options. The first would be to keep me on the procardia for the 2 weeks or take a more aggressive approach with the magnesium. He felt the procardia was the better way to go.

He discharged me from the hospital under strict bed rest orders. On Monday morning he wants to check my cervix & decide where we go from there.

Alexa needs to stay in for at least 2 weeks & 5 days!