Update on Baby Boy Pacheco & Kristen

This is going to be a long post, so bear with me...

Well, in my last post, I talk about out eventful weekend at labor & delivery.

So, I went to my doctors appointment on Monday. I had a sonogram, and the baby looks great! They are estimating that he weighs 4lbs. 6 oz. We were feeling good!

Then I woke up at 1:30 am Tuesday morning with nausea, abdominal cramping and just a yucky feeling. I finally fell back to sleep around 3:30. I then awoke again at 5:45 with contractions that were not severe, but definitely uncomfortable. I waited for a while to wake Miguel thinking that they were just Braxton-Hicks. I finally told him at 6:15 that I had been having them every 4 minutes consistently for over 30 minutes. I called into work, told them that I wouldn't make it in, and laid in bed until 7:30 when I called my OB's office. They told me that there weren't going to be any doctors in the office until after lunch, so I should head over to L&D.

Miguel and my mom insisted that I head straight to L&D, but hard-headed me decided to try and wait it out. The contractions lessened, but never stopped. I finally gave in (mostly to appease my mom and Miguel), and went to L&D. As soon as they hooked me up to the monitor, they saw the contractions.

A little while later one of the doctors in my OB's practice came in to see me. She checked my cervix and told me that I was 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. Not good :(

The ordered a sonogram from a high risk OB doctor (the one who did my sonogram when I was 12 weeks) and he told me that my cervix is very thin and the baby is very low. He estimated that the baby weighs 4lbs. 3oz.

Next thing I knew, the OB was back in the room telling me that technically I am in preterm labor since I've had cervical changes. She told me that I had to spend the night (which has now turned into at least 2 nights) at the hospital so they can monitor the baby and my contractions.

They started me on PCN, an antibiotic every 4 hours to prevent baby from getting a strep infection in case he's born early. The also gave me 2 shots of steroid to to help mature "rev up" his lungs since they are still immature in case he comes early. The are also giving me a dose or Procardia (a blood pressure medication, but apparently works to stop contractions as well) daily. I got my first dose of that yesterday afternoon, and the contractions dwindled. The last one that I felt was around 10:00 pm last night. Yay! The medicine is working.

I waited all day for my OB to come in and see me today and send me home...but that didn't happen. She finally saw me at 7:30 this evening and told me that she definitely wants to keep me until late tomorrow afternoon, but that she may decide to keep me until I turn 34 weeks (Monday). I am pushing her to let me go home tomorrow, but she is concerned about me being on STRICT bedrest. Strict bedrest meaning: no cooking, no cleaning, no taking care of Colin. Basically all I can do is lay in bed and take 1 shower per day and bathroom breaks. That's it.

I guess that I am doing okay. I am a stressed that I won't get to work for as long as i had originally planned, that I can't clean my house, cook for my husband or take care of my child. I am trying to mentally prepare for that for when I go home. It's going to be so hard.

Miguel has been great through all of this so far. He is the best husband/father that anyone could ask for. He has totally stepped up to the plate and taken over all of my duties on top of his. He's so wonderful!

It's going to be a long road...but if we can keep baby boy in for another 2 2/1 weeks, he'll most likely be healthy enough to come home with us after birth and avoid the NICU.

I want to thank everyone for all of your prayers, thoughts, concerns, visit, e-mails, texts, & phone calls. They mean the world to me to know that so many people care for me...and us. I can't thank you all enough. I'd like to ask for your continued prayers. I know that prayer works, and that God is good and can do anything!