The Background Story

I just now got the idea to start a blog to document this amazing and frightening experience. So here is the background details of everything that has happened to-date!

October 29, 2007 - After many months of trying and two pregnancy losses, Ace and I found out that we were pregnant with our second baby! We were elated, but cautious. As the weeks went on and ultrasound after ultrasound confirmed the baby was growing right on track, our caution began to fade away into excited anticipation. I think big brother Carter was more excited than anyone about the pending arrival of his new baby!

February 15, 2008 - At our 19 week ultrasound we found out that we were having another BOY! We decided to name him Bennett Steven Custodio. Steven is Chantelle's father's name. He looked perfectly healthy at the ultrasound and was measuring only a few days "behind" his gestational age. My fluid levels were just right.

February 24, 2008 - Some time in the middle of the night, Carter woke up to go to the bathroom. As I was waiting for him to finish, I too felt a trickle of fluid run down my leg, as if I were peeing myself. My immediate reaction was panic, thinking my water was breaking. I woke up Ace and we tried to figure out what to do. Do we call the doctor? Do I go to the ER? Do I go back to bed? And then it hit me - I took a loooong bubble bath right before bed that night - it must be some water left over from the bath leaking out!

February 26, 2008 - I was sound asleep in bed when I felt a big gush of fluid. It looked like I had wet the bed, but I certainly didn't feel like I had peed myself! I called my OB's office and they told me to come in first thing in the morning. I was shaking as I drove there that morning. When I got there, the midwife did a pelvic exam to see if she could find any amniotic fluid. She didn't see any fluid and the PH strip test and ferning tests both came back negative. She explained that it could either be leaking urine since moms (particularly second-time moms) notoriously lose bladder control during pregnancy. Or, it could be really watery cervical mucous. Or, it could be amniotic fluid that they just cannot detect at that point. My midwife advised me that if I felt any gushes of fluid while I was up moving around for the day, to come back in right away.

March 19, 2008 - I went to the OB for my routine 24 week check up. I told my OB that I was concerned because I was still experiencing the fluid gushes frequently at night, and I really didn't feel like I was peeing myself! However, I hadn't had any of the gushes during the day. She did a pelvic exam, and like before, didn't find any evidence of amniotic fluid. She told me I "should probably come to terms that I could be peeing myself." I was very wary.

March 22, 2008 - I woke up feeling GREAT (a feat for me during pregnancy)! My best friend Melissa and I hung out the entire day, doing lots of cleaning around the house, laundry, and shopping! That evening I was on a cooking binge preparing dishes for Easter festivities the next day, making a birthday cake for my mom, making a batch of egg salad (which I had been craving of late), doing prep for meals that week, and making lasagna for dinner that night. I was actually feeling so much like "myself" for a while - organized and efficient. I'd been feeling some mild contractions throughout the day which I assumed were braxton hicks, was a little tired, and my back ached, but boy did it feel good to accomplish so much! And then GUSH! Standing there at the counter, I felt a huge gush of fluid that wet the seat of my jeans. I ran to the bathroom panicking. I was afraid to call my OBs office for fear they would tell me I was peeing myself, so I decided to lay down for a few minutes to think. Despite that, I continued to feel the fluid gushes. Ace looked at me and just said "Go!" - that was all the push I needed to make a bee-line to the hospital. I hugged and kissed Carter before I left, unaware that I wouldn't be home again for a very long time.

I didn't even bother calling my OBs office. I didn't want them to tell me I was just peeing myself and they'd see me in the morning. No, I wanted to be checked out NOW! If I really WAS peeing myself (which I truly hoped I was!), I needed the peace of mind to be checked out right then and there. They took me up to Labor and Delivery right away. The house doctor examined me since no one from my practice was there that night. She took one look and said "yep, you are ruptured!" Yet, oddly, the PH test was negative! And the ferning test only showed very small areas of ferning. But she was suspicious enough to order an ultrasound, which confirmed my biggest fear. I was in fact ruptured. My amniotic fluid was very low - an Amniotic Fluid Index of 3 (they measure the visible pockets of fluid around the baby and add them together to get the AFI). The baby looked very good on the ultrasound and monitors and I wasn't contracting at all. They gave me a shot of betamethasone (steroids) in my bum, which helps accelerate growth and maturation of the baby's lungs in case he was born early, and started me on very aggressive antibiotics to ward off or nip in the bud any infection, which could be VERY VERY dangerous to the baby. Ace was able to join me for a while, as they were keeping me overnight for observation (ironically, in the same room I labored in with Carter!). We were terrified, not knowing what this meant for baby Bennett, or what this meant for us.

March 23, 2008 - Happy Easter! My OB (the same one who delivered Carter) came in first thing in the morning and examined me again. My cervix was long and closed (thank God!) and this time I FINALLY turned the PH test positive! She told me I had bought myself a bed at the hospital until the baby came. The statistics weren't promising. About 1/2 of PPROM (pre-term pre-rupture of membranes) moms deliver within the first 48 hours. Most of those deliver within the next week. I was only 24 weeks and 3 days at this point, and only about 25% of babies born at that time survive, and most of them have major major problems and disabilities. However, it was encouraging that my blood work showed no signs of infection and I wasn't showing signs of labor. So, she transferred me to a much more comfy room and bed on the Maternal Child Unit (where moms go after they deliver) to wait it out. If by chance I make it to 34 weeks, they will go ahead and deliver the baby then because the risk of prematurity at that point is outweighed by the risks of infection and cord compression!

March 25, 2008 - We had a very high-tech ultrasound to see how Bennett was growing. His weight estimate was 1 lb 5 oz and he was measuring about a week behind overall. My AFI was 1.5. But everything looked very reassuring overall! My doctor wasn't concerned b/c his head and tummy measurements were proportionate.

March 31, 2008 - After the first week in the hospital I was upgraded from using a bed pan to go to the "bathroom" to being allowed to actually get up and take 5 steps to the actual toilet. At about 3 a.m. on the 31st I got up to go and to my horror discovered that I was bleeding! I was beyond terrified thinking that this could be "it." I was only 25 weeks and 4 days!!!! A very detailed ultrasound, however, showed that nothing major (like placental abruption) had occurred, and it looked like there were just patches of my uterus that were irritated. Makes sense considering there was nothing cushioning me from a very active baby! The bleeding, however, landed me back on the bed pan :( The bleeding completely subsided within 4 days and a few days after that, my doc got me a much-appreciated bed-side commode and let me up for a shower once a week!!

April 9, 2008 - I woke up with a raging rash ALL over my body. In between my toes even!! It was terribly itchy and painful! Turns out I had the luck to come down with a very common pregnancy rash called PUPPPS. It usually occurs later on in pregnancy, and is treated with an oral steroid. However, because of my condition, I cannot take steroids, so hydrocortisone it is. Luckily, it turned out to be a VERY mild case, and the rash was gone within a week!!

Fortunately, the next few weeks were very calm and boring for us. We started to fall into a routine (as much as you can under the circumstances). All of Bennett's fetal heart strips looked beautiful and no contractions or signs of infection. We were really thinking we could make it all the way to 34 weeks!

April 15, 2008 - We had another growth ultrasound at 27 weeks 5 days. Bennett was given a weight estimate of 1 lb 13 oz. I felt really discouraged by this, as most babies by this point are over 2 lbs, nearing 2.5 lbs! But the doctor reassured me that they aren't concerned and the ultrasound estimates could be off by quite a bit. My AFI was a 2.6!!! I guess drinking 100+ oz of water a day was helping!

April 17, 2008 - I FAILED the 1 hour gestational diabetes test! My score was 136 and the cutoff is 130! The next day I took the 3 hour test and failed again! But just barely. Now I have to test my blood sugar four times a day and am restricted to a diabetic diet. Its not so bad, but it is annoying.

April 20, 2008 - I passed a large chunk of tissue that looks like it could possibly a piece of my amniotic sac. I started having contractions about 15-30 minutes apart, but thats it.

April 22, 2008 - That afternoon I felt my contractions getting stronger and closer together. When I told my nurse that I felt some pelvic pressure, they whisked me away to Labor & Delivery. The contractions were about 7 mins apart but my cervix was still closed so they decided to try to pump me with IV fluids to slow it down. After a few hours on fluids, the contractions started to slow and they started talking about moving me back over here. Then around 7 pm the contractions picked up again with ferocity coming 5 mins apart or less and very strong. My doctor was convinced I was going to be delivered last night (baby is breech which means c-section and they don't have a long tolerance level for delivering me once labor starts). Then at 8:30 they miraculously slowed down again. I was able to sleep a little and woke up again at 3 am with a ton of cramping, nausea and contractions again. They flipped me around in the bed a bit and made me eat some graham crackers and the contractions slowed once more. I was able to get a few more hours of sleep. In the morning the contractions were still very sparse and mild, so they moved my back to my more comfy room in the MCU!

I've been having some contractions here and there since. Hopefully no more excitement for a while! I am 29 weeks, 3 days today!!!