Week 27 update

Belly Time: 27 weeks, 2 days
Time since Rupture: 43 days
Countdown: 46 days

Well, we have made it to 27 weeks! That is much further than I originally anticipated, although, I still hope we make it to 34 weeks. Next Wednesday, we hit 7 months, and I'll have another round of steroids to help his lungs develop.

This week we had our growth US, which are always a little more encouraging. Peanut is still growing very steadily, now at 2 lbs, 6 oz. We are very pleased to see this- at least we know the umbilical cord is doing its job!

I am still having some random bleeding, which we don't know the cause of, but they are still holding out on the exam- I hope nothing happens to cause them to want to do another exam.

I have also had some contractions this week, which is not what we want, at all. Since my sac is already ruptured, my body will progress to labor very rapidly if these get more serious. Our first plan of attack is to make sure I am plenty hydrated, so I'm trying to drink 4-5 liters of water a day. They have also encouraged me to take smooth muscle relaxers should I feel any contractions. Most of my contractions have been fairly mild- showing up on the monitors, but not something I really take notice of- but, Wednesday night I did feel some. I asked if I could take a half dose of the muscle relaxer, already having been warned by one of my day nurses that 100mg is extremely strong. My night nurse agreed to give me 50mg, as long as I would call her if I didn't feel them subside in about 30 minutes. I never made it to 30 minutes. The half dosage of muscle relaxer was enough to knock me out for almost 11 hours. I also had residual grogginess the entire next day. I told Thomas, if I must take them regularly, at least time will fly by, since I'll be asleep all the time.

We had a re-consult with the NICU this week, since Thomas is here. I knew that we had better odds at this point, but we also wanted to be aware of what complications we were looking at for a pPROM baby born in this time-frame. Amazingly, the odds of survival are COMPLETELY different at this point: We were told at 23 weeks, survival rate is less than 20%. Now, at 27 weeks, survival rate is 91%. I am greatly encouraged by this. We still have several concerns at this point- my fluid level is marked "severe", meaning Peanut may have mobility problems, some physical deformities, and, very likely, lung issues. I am praying fervently that I will re-seal. I know it can happen, and I feel like that would be the only way for Peanut to get the fluid he needs for his lungs and mobility. If you are following this, and have been praying for us, please ask specifically for my fluid levels to increase. Even if I don't make it to 34 weeks (which I hope I do) if Peanut has some time in there with adequate fluid levels, his lungs will have more time to mature, he shouldn't have any more heart rate dips from rolling over on his umbilical cord, and he should be able to flip from his breech position.

Please. Please be praying for this with me- I hate to think that this little guy is being squished because of my lack of fluid.