I did it!!! TERM!!!

As of December 5, 2010, I am officially 37 weeks and FULL TERM!!!!!

I was told at the beginning of this pregnancy that because of the reasons for my son Bennett's preterm birth, I had a 30% chance of giving birth prematurely again.   Now, 30% sounds really high when you are talking about your baby!!!  I'll admit, I was a nervous wreck. 

And it wasn't exactly smooth-sailing.  I did have some issues with pre-term labor, including a stint in Labor and Delivery at 28 weeks where I had to be given Terbutaline to stop my 4-minutes-apart contractions that caused me to start dilating and effacing.  The doctor gave me a stern warning that I was "very high risk" for delivering preterm and should take all precautions necessary to keep my contractions under control.  I have a very irritable uterus though, so controling the contractions was a difficult task.  By 32 weeks, I was 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced.  And a nervous wreck.  But the weeks kept passing by and I was still pregnant!!!

So, with several lifestyle restrictions (no lifting over 10 lbs, no exercise beyond light walking, etc.), 19 weekly injections of hydroxyprogeterone into my bum, and 8 cervial surveillance ultrasounds, I did it - I made it to term!!!

Making it this far stirred up a whole pot of emotions.  If I didn't realize before how EARLY 30 weeks is to be born, feeling the difference between 30 and 37 weeks with this pregnancy made it very real.  I am just so happy and thankful to know that Miss Isla won't have to suffer the way her brother did.  I am happy to know she has the best start in life - every baby deserves that! 

As we were counting down the hours until I hit 37 weeks (and yes, I did stay up until midnight!) and it became obvious by 6:00 p.m. of 36w6d that she wasn't coming that evening, I turned to my husband and said "Aren't you so happy we changed our minds and decided to have another baby??"  You see, for a long while after Bennett was born, there was no way I would even contemplate risking having another baby.  I just couldn't go through it again, and I couldn't put another baby through that.  Obviously, I changed my mind.  And I'm so glad I did.  Because, even though she isn't here yet, I cannot even imagine never having Isla. 

FULL TERM BABY!!!!!