I'm still on bed rest. The doctors keep saying "stay on bed rest a few more days, and we'll check in at that point." A few days go by, I check in with them, and they say the same thing.
The medication seems to work in keeping my contractions around every 30-90 minutes, (which is down from about 9/hr on Tuesday, if we're going off the non-stress test rate-- the NST caught contractions I wasn't even aware I was having), but it hasn't stopped them completely. Luckily, the contractions aren't painful, even with my embarrassingly low pain tolerance. Some are more intense than others, some wrap all the way from my belly to around my back. The bad ones start with a hot flash before I feel the tightening and I find myself holding my breath until they pass-- but still, they aren't causing anything I would call pain. Thank God!
I'm trying really hard to keep a good attitude about bed rest, but it hasn't been easy. Bed rest seems like fun when you aren't pregnant, but really, it's not. It's boring, isolating, and for me-- frustrating. I'd rather be going to work, running errands, seeing friends, visiting family, doing things outside while it's summer, cooking, and getting the most I possibly can out of this time before becoming a mother.
The worst part: There's no scientific evidence that bed rest is even effective at preventing pre-term labor. I'm still doing what the doctors and nurses say to do, but it's hard to be enthusiastic about doing something that is prescribed because "it can't hurt." I'd rather be putting my energy into something that's been proven effective, rather than putting my faith in "it can't hurt," and "well, that's just what we say to do in these situations." If you're actually interested, here's what I've been reading on this: this article from the Chicago Tribune, this from the New York Times, this from March of Dimes, this from the Mayo Clinic, and-- a little less hard-hitting, but this I've also read this from Parents Magazine, and this from BabyCenter.
On to better things--
One upside from this has been the additional ultrasounds we've been doing last week and this week. They aren't quite as fun now because he's too big to get a good shot of any particular body part. And anyway, right now, they're more focused on checking to see if his kidneys are functioning and his blood flow is good than on getting good shots of adorable little noses and toes. (Happy for his kidneys to work and all, but I just don't get quite as excited about kidneys as I do looking at his face or his hands.) But we could see that so far, all X's organs are doing fine. The contractions have had zero effect on him-- he's still as active as ever with no change in heart rate. He's now flipped & in birthing position, and he's practice breathing now-- both of which earned him "lots of points" from the ultrasound tech. And not surprisingly, the tech also said his diaphragm is well developed. (He's gotten that comment on his diaphragm from every tech & doctor who's seen his ultrasound since he was 12 weeks along.)
And, bed rest isn't awful all the time. On nice days, I've tried to spend an hour or so laying down by our apartment complex pool. I'm on modified bed rest-- so I'm allowed to go on brief outings in town, to take the dog outside to do her business, etc. as long as I'm still spending 9 hours a day laying down. Getting outside helps with the cabin fever... and it makes me feel like I'm able to enjoy a little bit of our fleeting Seattle summer.
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