Twenty four weeks pregnant and my water breaks. Nightmare!!
I was getting ready for bed Monday night and noticed excessive fluid when I went to the bathroom. I got up to let Jay know and it was running down my leg. I Googled it (I know) and it said as long as it is clear it is normal pregnancy discharge. So I put a panty liner on and went to bed. Got up 10 minutes later to pee again (which is frequent for me) and panty liner was dry. 10 more minutes went by, I was laying there and felt a gush and had to pee again. Panty liner completely soaked. So I called the dr. Waited for a call back. That was a long 5/6 minutes. She told me to go to the hospital.
I get Jay up and we head to Sarasota Memorial. He keeps me calm, tells me not to react until we know more. No point in freaking out for no reason.
I had a feeling it was my water breaking but never having been through this before I couldn’t be sure.
We get to the hospital and they check us in right away. It’s midnight now. They get us in a room check me and everything starts going in fast pace. They told me my water broke and I was dilated. Immediately they start calling for tests and an ultrasound and tell me I was being admitted and not leaving until I had the babies. Everything they were saying I understood. It wasn’t until we got to the room, only 20/30 minutes later that I realized Jay had no idea what was going on. He asked if I would be sent home in a day or so and they said “no, she is staying until these babies are born”. The look on his face. 😕

It was all happening so fast. They told us the first 24 hours are the most crucial because they needed to get me a steroid shot now and another in 24 hours. They didn’t want the babies to be born without both. It would help their lungs so much more. They also needed to get me hooked up to an iv to get me antibiotics and magnesium. The antibiotics were in case I get an infection since my water had already broke. And the magnesium was for their brains. The magnesium they told me would make me feel like I had the flu. Hot flashes, vision issues possibly, just feelings of awfulness.
They weren’t just saying that. That was tough. But I obviously didn’t care. I wanted/needed these babies to be strong, safe and healthy. They got me hooked up to that and the baby fetal monitors so they can trace the babies heart rates and then a catheter so I couldn’t get out of bed. I was inverted for about 8 hours. Talk about hell. My back and ribs hurt so bad. It was worth it. I had no choice. It didn’t matter my pain. I am the only person who can keep them safe right now. What ever it takes.

I did not get any sleep that night/morning. Jay got very little. We were just so worried. I needed them to stay in for 24 hours at least. That was my first goal. When the nurse that night was changing over shifts to the next nurse at 6am I heard her tell the new nurse that when I was admitted I was already 3 cm dilated. I couldn’t believe it. I’m glad they didn’t tell me that beforehand. I would have fainted.
All day Tuesday we were getting pumped with lots of information. The high risk dr came in and discussed what we were in for. She also said this just happens so not to try to think back on what I could have done to prevent it. Nothing. So get that worry out of your head. And of course that’s all I was thinking. I cried tears of thank you. Because of course I felt guilty.
The NICU nurse came in and let us know the chances of the babies were born today, or at 25 weeks or beyond. The 25 weeks and beyond of course were the best options. It was so much to take in. How did this happen so fast?! This was our new reality. But, we had no choice. We accepted everything she was telling us. Everyone was so amazing.
I didn’t sleep for 39 hours. It’s Tuesday evening. We’ve caught all the family up and Jay went home to check on the dogs and hopefully get some rest. I needed to try. I had just hung up the phone with one of my closest friends and she helped me mentally. I was so miserable, so hot (it was 70 degrees in my room), I didn’t know if I was going in to labor or getting ready to have a panic attack. I calmed down enough to say to myself, this is affecting my babies. I need to pull through. So I downloaded a lullaby app and hit play. It did calm me down but I noticed it calmed baby girl down too. Which, by the way, is whose amniotic sac that broke. I was able to fall asleep off and on and I turned the lullaby on each time I awoke. Of course the nurse had to come in multiple times to check on me and the babies. I probably got like 3 hours of sleep all night. But It felt much better!

I woke up at 1:30am to get that other steroid shot. We made it to 24 hours! What a relief!!! That probably helped me sleep a little more too.

When I woke up at 6:30am I felt so much better. When the nurse came in she said the babies traced all night. Which means they were able to track their heartbeats all night. They were doing so good. Like the water didn’t break at all. I was having a contraction about every hour since I was admitted. I had no idea until they told me. It didn’t hurt or feel like cramping like I have heard or read. It was tightening of the stomach basically. Which means they were mild. Thank God! When I woke up this morning I noticed the contractions weren’t happening every hour any more. They were tapering off. Thank God again! By the time the high risk dr came in to talk to me she told me everything was going so well they were going to stop the dreadful magnesium, take the catheter out (although I have to potty in a portable toilet right next to the bed) and only monitor the babies heart rates 6 times a day instead of constantly. They were so impressed with how well our amazing babes were doing. Hallelujah hallefreakinglujah!!
What a difference a day makes!
I did ask the nurse today how she was still hanging on without the amniotic fluid. Is she still in her sac? She said yes. She is constantly making new fluid by urinating (😱), I had no idea! So as long as I keep her hydrated she will be fine. What makes them be born are the contractions. So as long as they stay away and the babies stay stress free, we are good. Which means mama has to stay stress free too.
I felt the prayers And positive thoughts and all the love that was sent our way last night. And it was needed so bad and appreciated!!
This is my new home For what I hope to be many many weeks. And how many people hope to be in a hospital for many weeks?!?! Not my first choice, but We want the babies to be as strong as possible so they don’t have to spend much time in the NICU. Although, they will be in amazing hands if they do have to spend much time in there. Everyone here has been amazing! We are so blessed. And We know it.

This is not how I thought I’d spend the rest of my pregnancy, but it’s not in my hands. I did have a great 8 weeks of pregnancy bliss. I felt good and lived a happy pregnant life. But, Jay is and has been amazing. He is going through this too, but probably feeling like he wants to do more to protect me and his unborn children.
It’s not going to be easy but it’s going to be worth it.
These are my only goals right now.