Update on Allison

Some of you are aware Allison has had a bit of a rough week (for those who aren't, don't worry, I'll get you caught up). I wanted to take a few minutes to let you know how's she doing right now.

Last Saturday got started a little earlier than usual, as Allison woke me up at 3:45 a.m. with the news she had been having strong, regular timed contractions for about 45 minutes. So, we threw some stuff in a bag, put in calls to the doctor's office and Aunt Elise (more on her in a bit), and off to the hospital we went. The hospital confirmed she was having contractions. However, she was not at all dilated and a negative result from the fetal fibronectin test indicated is was highly unlikely she would go into labor within the upcoming two weeks. So, after about 4.5 hours, they sent her home with a diagnosis of a bad case of Braxton Hicks. She had a second round of them later that day, but she eventually had recovered enough that we made our scheduled dinner date with friends that evening.

Fast forward to yesterday (Thursday). Again, she woke me up in the middle of the night and told me she was in severe pain. This time, she was feeling it on the right side of her back, only (thus almost certainly ruling out Braxton Hicks). After some time and some Tylenol, the pain subsided and we both went back to sleep. Around 7 or 7:30, it came back. So, once again, we called the doctor and Aunt Elise and off to the hospital Allison went. There were several initial theories. Eventually, a renal ultrasound (sounds worse than it is; renal = kidneys) put one of those theories at the forefront. Basically, something (either a kidney stone or the baby) was causing a blockage, leading to fluid backing up, leading to swelling and excruciating pain. The doctor eventually settled on the baby being the culprit (I interpret this to mean they didn't see a kidney stone on the ultrasound, though that doesn't automatically mean there isn't one there) and sent her home with a prescription for dilaudid and instructions to drink a lot of fluid (in case there actually is a kidney stone). She was at the hospital for about eight hours.

Unfortunately, the dilaudid hasn't really done much, to the point she's stopped taking it (what it seemed best at was making her more nauseous than she already was). So, several times last night and into this morning, she woke up writhing in pain. As of now, we are waiting on a phone call from her OB. Part of what we expect to here about is the results of some lab tests for infections (on top of everything else, it looks like she picked up an infection during last weekend's hospital adventure). Since about 8 this morning, the pain has not been anywhere near as bad, which has allowed to her to get some of the sleep she didn't last night. Hopefully we'll hear from the doctor soon and she will have some type of plan (though, regardless of whether it's a kidney stone or the baby, she'll probably say there isn't much to do other than try to manage the pain). All I know is she can't continue like this indefinitely. Something has to give at some point, which is a dangerous game to play with a pregnant lady, I think.

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Through all of this, there have been no indications there are any issues with the baby. When he was on the fetal monitor last Saturday and yesterday, they saw no issues. (He beat the hell out of the monitor the first trip, which is to say he beat the hell out of Allison's insides. Yesterday, he was apparently so uncooperative they eventually just turned it off.) Yesterday's fetal ultrasound raised no alarms. In fact, the technician used some type of device I'd never heard of (I didn't see it either, I was home with Ayden all day) to test the baby's ability to breath. He responded to it immediately.

In fact, in some ways he may be doing too well. In my (highly trained, obviously) opinion, he's starting to outgrow his space. Both Allison and I think he's tracking well ahead of Ayden in weight. In addition, he tends to stick to one side of her belly, thus further limiting the available room. Add all of this up and I believe you get a baby that's putting some serious pressure on his host's insides, probably even to the extent of becoming the equivalent of a kidney stone.

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As for Ayden, he has been incredible. We are both so proud of him. He was not at all phased when it was Aunt Elise greeting him when he woke up last Saturday morning. G-Daddy and Grancee were coming in town that day to get TCoA (Taking Care of Ayden) training for when the baby arrives (Saturday ultimately turned into a dry run for that day). He did great with them, too. He's known Allison hasn't been feeling well and has tried to love on her, in his own way. He's a big fan of routines. Very little has been routine lately, but he's handled it quite well. This makes both of us feel good about how he will fair when we're both at the hospital for the delivery.

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One final note. Our close friend (Aunt) Elise has gone above and beyond the call of duty this week. As I said, she came over in the middle of the night on Saturday so we could go to the hospital. She stayed to help take care of Ayden even after G-Daddy and Grancee showed up. Then, yesterday, she took Allison to the hospital, stayed with her all day, kept me updated, brought Allison home, then even went and picked up her prescription. Having friends like this is such a blessing. Thanks, E.