31 Weeks: Improvements

Last week was a transitionary one. We went from "This will all be okay in a couple days" to "It's going to be a long road." Ryan gave me a blessing of healing in addition to the blessing of comfort he gave me a few days earlier. And I stopped longing so much for home and started hoping for little Nora to stay put as long as possible.

That's her name. Nora. We weren't going to put it out there until she was born, but we've been praying for her by name and calling her by name and it's made a difference in all this. "Baby" just isn't the same. So Nora it is.

On Tuesday I had a magnesium treatment that made me pretty sick. If a mother is given a magnesium treatment before a baby is born prematurely, the child has greater neuro-protection after birth. I'd feel like I had the flu for 24 hours but my baby's risks for cerebral palsy would drop dramatically. Easy choice.

But along with the treatment came stronger, heavier contractions and I was kind of a wreck by the time Friday's ultrasound came around. I knew there was a chance I could go home, but I was so concerned for Nora and so sure things had gotten worse that I hardly thought of home. I just hoped I wouldn't be wheeled straight from the perinatologist's office to Labor and Delivery when it was all over.

The results? There is some improvement. Improvement! The goal was twofold: longer cervix, shorter funnel. The cervix was the same length precisely (not shorter!) and the funnel was 6 mm shorter. Horray!

I'm still here for 10 more days at least ("We'll reevaluate when you get to 32 weeks, and maybe I can fight for you to go home," the perinatologist told me.) but to be honest I'm just so relieved all this working that I wasn't terribly torn up.

There have been a lot of improvements this week.

Improvements in baby's situation. I couldn't believe my ears when they told me things were actually improving. We can do this!

Mom's here. Praise the heavens, my mother is in town. That woman is an absolute saint. She arrived on a one-way ticket to Dallas, bought us some Quiznos, smothered Lyla with hugs, stocked the fridge and freezer and sent Ryan off to the hospital for date night the minute she got here. Words cannot express the relief I feel. Lyla can stay in her own home with Grandma every day now. Ryan won't have to do so much around the house. I'll have a friend to visit and bring Lyla to me. Moms are the best.

31 weeks along. Which is longer than 30. And longer than 29, which I was when I got here. They say every day in the womb is equal to three days in the NICU. So we plan on keeping her cooking for a good long time.

Improvements in hospital routine. Most of the nurses know me by now. Getting through the daily routine of medications/monitoring/water refills/more medications/more monitoring is easier when you know the nurses. They also give me more privacy now than they used to, which I appreciate.

More to do. Freelance work is increasing and my book is progressing well. I'm also getting really good at Sudoku (thanks to a care package from my sweet sister). I've also listened to about a thousand amazing General Conference talks. In short, life in the hospital is becoming more normal, more routine, more doable.

So I'll be here until at least next Monday, but with Mom at home and hope that things are getting better, this week is already shaping out to be better than last. We're holding on and looking forward to good things to come—namely, sweet baby Nora.