The last four days have probably been some of the most stressful days I have ever experienced in all my thirty years of existence. I believe my last posting was after the crazy Wednesday, but things only got more interesting after that. On Thursday morning we woke up as usual, but Jennifer was having some cramping, which was different and per the doctor’s instructions we called the hospital and they told us to come in as soon as it opened up. We rushed into the hospital and were sent up to Labor and Delivery where they put Jennifer on a monitor to keep track of contractions and the baby’s heart rate. After sitting around for a couple hours a doctor came in and said everything looked okay and to just show up for our scheduled appointment on Friday. We were feeling pretty good about everything after we left, because the doctor was very reassuring and explained that the cramps were probably just caused by the baby’s head moving further down towards Jennifer’s pelvis.

On Friday I went to the gym and work per my usual day and then came home after lunch to pick Jennifer up for the appointment. We went in and met another doctor, who performed a FFN test, a test to see if hormones are present that mean the baby could be coming in the next two weeks. After she took the test, she noticed that Jennifer was now 1cm dilated, which got us sent back up to Labor & Delivery for more monitoring. We sat up in the same room as the previous two days for a few hours before learning the results of the FFN test. The nurse came in and told us the test came back positive, which really got us on edge. Apparently a negative result is very certain, it means the baby is not going to be coming in the next couple of weeks. However, a positive doesn’t necessarily mean it is definitely going to happen, but it does mean there is a higher risk of labor in the next two weeks. The doctor finally came in and explained all of this two us, examined Jennifer one more time (everything was the same) and decided it would be a good idea to get a steroid shot for the baby. You see at this point in the baby’s development the lungs may or may not be ready for breathing. Apparently somewhere between week 33 and 34, they mature enough to work without assistance. The steroids help the lungs develop more quickly and have been shown to work very well. Jennifer got the shot and we were given instructions to come back in 24 hours for a second and final shot. We thanked the doctor for her help and headed back home to contemplate all we had experienced over the past seventy two hours.

I took all of the information pretty hard and it has taken me a couple days to recover. It just makes me so scared to think that the baby may come so early. I know we are at a very good point in the pregnancy, but it is still 48 days until the due date. Jennifer has been a rock though and has been so upbeat, which is super important for the baby at this point. I know I am supposed to be the strong one, but man it is so hard for me. Thankfully we have the nintendo and oddly enough playing has helped me snap back to a better place.

Yesterday we woke up and everything seemed to be okay. Jennifer wasn’t having any new issues and we didn’t need to call anybody in the morning. In the late afternoon we did drive over to the hospital for a quick shot of steroids in the butt, thankfully that was all that happened and we came right back home.

Today, Jennifer’s parents came up from Connecticut to spend some time with us. It was really great having them up here showing there support. We have been so lucky to have so many wonderful people around us and in our life giving support. I can’t begin to list all of the people who have sent their best wishes and offered to help out with anything we need. We are both so thankful for this and couldn’t ask for a better support network. Thank you all!!!

For now we are counting the minutes until Saturday when we will make the big 34 week mark. Of course we want to get beyond there, but as of right now that is the biggest milestone we want to reach. Five more days….

Stressfully yours,
Keegan

PS - We have our regularly scheduled appointment, hopefully everything is still the same and we can continue on as we have been this weekend.