We had our first Level III ultrasound today, finally! It was originally scheduled for last week, but apparently the doctor got subpeonaed to testify in court or something, so they had to reschedule it. We had been hoping to find out the sexes before the baby shower so we could tell everybody.
The babies are looking good this week, though. We have two girls and a boy! This means we can finally pick names for everybody, so we have Brenden Connor, Tamara Elayne, and Caitlin Alyssa. Brenden is on the bottom (formerly known as Sleepy), Tamara is in front of him and to the left, and Caitlin is high up on the right. Now I know who’s been dancing on my bladder!
The ultrasound took about an hour and a half, as the tech spent time with each baby, measuring the head, belly, and arms and legs, making sure everything was there and growing normally. What fun! Toward the end, she took a look at my cervix, and apparently something didn’t look right. She said it looked “beaked.” So I was ordered to stay on the table, and they hooked me up to a toco monitor to monitor contractions while we waited for the doctor to come back from a lecture he was giving at the hospital across the street.
When the doctor arrived, he checked me internally, and announced that I wa dilated to the tune of 1.8 cm. Worse, Brenden’s sac was poking through, and the doctor could feel it hanging out. This, obviously, was not good. The technician, ever tactful, commented that if we hadn’t already had an appointment for today, we most likely would have lost all the babies.
So, in short, I’ve been admitted to the hospital and placed on IV fluids and antibiotics in anticipation of a cerclage tomorrow evening. That will sew my cervix shut so we can keep the babies in longer. I didn’t even get to go home first; we had to call some friends to take Brian home and get some stuff. My poor brother is going to be there alone tonight.
Did you know that they measure your urine in the hospital? They put this big cup in the toilet that covers the whole seat. You’re supposed to pee in that. Then the nurse comes in every so often and measures it. Wouldn’t you like to have her job?