Curtis household is in lockdown!

Well when I said Jason was sick I just thought he had a bad cold.... no he has influenza A! He went to the doctor yesterday and got some medication Tamiflu. He doesn't really feel much better, he is still in bed with a fever. The doctor made him clean the bathrooms and the bedding and he has to sleep in his own room until he is feeling better :( I feel like I have a roommate who I never see, I stay in my room and he stays in his. If I am in the den he is out in the living room, I am avoiding him like the plague! Jason did not get his flu shot... I did... but the doctor still said that even with the flu shot I guess it has not been as effective this year so I can still get the flu from Jason but it will probably be a milder and shorter version of what he has. Who knows how long he will be sick for... So far I am feeling okay still so I am hoping I do not get it! I'll keep you posted!

FFN test

My FFN test was negative! This means I have a 95% chance of still being pregnant in 2 weeks. Yeah! Her is some info below to better explain the FFN test. I was also reviewing my ultra sound results... because the baby dated more than 2 weeks ahead they put my expected due date at April 19th, according to the ultrasound. They will not change my due date it is still May 5th, but my mom is convinced the baby is going to be born on her birthday (April 18th). Looks like the baby thinks it is going to come on her birthday too!

Fetal fibronectin
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Fetal fibronectin (fFN) is a protein produced by fetal cells and a type of fibronectin. fFN is found at the interface of the chorion and the decidua (between the fetal sack and the uterine lining).
It can be thought of as an adhesive or "biological glue" that binds the fetal sack to the uterine lining.
Contents[hide]
1 Diagnosic test
2 References
3 See also
4 External links
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[edit] Diagnosic test
Fetal fibronectin "leaks" into the vagina if a preterm delivery is likely to occur and can be measured in a diagnostic test.[1]
It is an excellent biological marker of premature (preterm) delivery; a delivery before 37 weeks of gestation.
When the fFN test is considered positive, delivery is likely to occur soon. When the fFN test is negative, it means that there is little if any danger of preterm labour for 7-10 days. The test is easily performed. A specimen is collected from the patient using a vaginal swab. The swab is placed in a transport tube and sent to the lab for testing. The lab can easily produce a test result in less than one hour.
A systematic review of the medical literature found that fetal fibronectin is a good predictor of spontaneous preterm birth before cervical dilation.[2] The test may be run on patients between 22 and 35 weeks gestation.
A negative fetal fibronectin test gives a more than 95% likelihood of remaining undelivered for the next 2 weeks. On the other hand, a positive fetal fibronectin test only only means a higher risk of preterm delivery (61% of delivery before 34 weeks)[3]. So, the fetal fibronectin test can't tell you for sure that you are in labor, but it can tell you that you're not.

Ultra sound pictures!

Pics from ultra sound! The top pic is a profile shot... look at that big head! The bottom pic is a fist and arm! Looks like the baby is ready to fight!

Jason is sick!

I know there has been so much on the news about all of the flu and such going around, but I have kind of been living in my own world the last few weeks! Jason went to a fishing tournament from sun-tue and he came home and sounded pretty funny voice wise and started coughing. It came on pretty fast and now is he really sick. Pale, fever, chills, coughing... He has been sleeping all day. I really hope I do not get it! And I hope it is short lived not this 2 week long crap everyone else seems to have. I am afraid if I get the coughing part of it I might cough and my baby will fall out! Just kidding I am sure that wouldn't happen :)

30+ weeks

Back to the doctors today. Everything went well. They looked at my cervix and believed it looked about the same as last week 2cm dilated so they did not touch it… yeah! They did another FFN test which predicts labor in the next 2 weeks, the results are pending but I should have them by tomorrow. Dr. said I have to stay on the same amount of bed rest until 32 weeks. Then I might be able to go to a little more modified bed rest! My pubic symphysis is very sore (pubic symphysis- is the midline cartilaginous joint uniting the superior rami of the left and right pubic bones). Feels like I did the splits and ripped something. The doctor assured me this is normal stretching caused by the baby’s head being so low, yippee (sarcastically). The ultra sound went well… the pictures are kind of hard to see because the baby is getting so big but I will try and post a few tomorrow. My cervix was 2.7 on ultra sound (length) so it has stayed the same… good news. The baby’s head was so low they had a hard time seeing it and getting pictures, again yippee! Haha. The baby was not small by any means… they estimated it to weigh 4 lb 2 oz! They dated it to be 32 weeks and 3 days (currently I am 30 weeks and 1 day)! So the baby is growing just fine! I gained half a pound this week… my doctor said I see you did not gain any weight this week, I said no I gained half a pound. She said no the baby gained half a pound and you gained nothing. I guess the 5 brownies a day are not enough! Back to the doctors next week, stay posted for pictures and results of the FFN test! PS Thanks to all of my visitors for bringing food, books, company, chipotle, Buffalo wild wings, brownies, flowers, walking Beretta, etc. You have all been such a blessing in our lives!

Hanging at the cabin!

So my doctor was so nice to let me come to the cabin for the weekend as long as I knew where the closest hospital is (Crosby- 50 miles) and I made sure to have my medicine. Plus Longville (where the cabin is) has an ambulance now! My grandpa is on the ambulance board here, not that I am planning to ride in the ambulance again! PS Just in case you were curious my 20.5 mile ambulance ride was $1,950! So I am just hanging out relaxing at the cabin. Plus grandma got a new lab top computer and she is letting me use it, and it even has high speed Internet... way faster than home! Jason is at home, he is working this weekend and then leaving for an ice fishing tournament in Lake of the Woods Sun-Tue so he is getting a nice break from having to serve me day and night! He probably needed the break, he has been working soo hard... and I am getting a break from the bed rest Nazi! (Not that there aren't enough people around up here to keep track of me!) Gotta run, grandma just made me cheesy macaroni and grapes, YUM!

Boy or Girl?

What do you think baby curtis is? A boy or a girl? Vote on the blog to the right, Jason and I are curious to see what you think we are having!

So I really think it is a girl for multiple reasons. First of all I have had many baby dreams... in all of my dreams the baby is a girl! Seccond I had/still have sometimes bad morning (all day) sickness.... people say that happens more with girls! Third the babies heartrate has always been high.. 150-160. Although at my last apt it was 140. Fourth I have had lots of lovely face acne... people say that comes more with girls. And Fifth... my great-great aunt Marion who predicts the sex of babies has said girl 3 TIMES! (Let me explain a little about Marion, her memory is going (rightfully she is 93), she doesn't usually remember what happend 5 minutes earlier. So everytime I go to visit I ask her what I am having... she doesn't even remember that I am having a baby let alone that I aksed her the same questions 1 month ago... so everytime I get the same answer... GIRL and she has never been wrong before! She has predicted me, my sister, and brother with out a doubt for each one of us. Maybe she still has the skill even though her memory is gone, scary!) Jason and I will keep visiting Marion and keep asking her what we are having... we really want her to say boy just once! (Of course once I am off bed rest) We'll see if Marion is right!?

Maternity Clothes!

So here it is... my big outing that I got all dressed up for!

29 1/7 week Dr apt

My big outing for the week! I got to go to the doctors today. I used to see a nurse practiconer but since this preterm labor stuff they want me seeing a dr now. So I went to see dr Ayika, she is really nice and I really liked her. I wore my maternity clothes as I have not gotten to wear any of them yet and was afraid I wasn’t going to get to wear them. My pants were falling off…. But it was worth it when someone asked me if I was expecting....yeah! Anyways they did my blood glucose screening today, I do not have the results yet, but the fruit punch drink they gave me tasted like cough syrup! They also checked my cervix... it was still 1.5-2cm dilated, 50% effaced and soft. No change so that is good too! I gained back a few pounds from the weight I lost at the hospital but was only up one pound from 24 weeks. The dr was sure I will pack on some more weight being home on bed rest. I am 29 1/7 week today but my uterus only measured 27 weeks. At 24 weeks it measured 25 weeks. So for whatever reason it is on the small side. Next week (at 30 weeks) they are going to do an ultrasound of my cervix and ultrasound of baby to make sure it is growing okay. I am not too worried about the baby, it has always been on the larger side! They will also repeat that fetalfibronectin test which predicts if you will deliver in the next 2 weeks. I am still on strict bed rest. I really thought maybe she would let me get up and move around a little more… nope not yet she said, but she is going to let me go to the cabin this weekend… yeah! I promised my husband I would behave. So I guess it is status quo until next week. O yeah I can wean myself off my oral meds as my body allows. If I am not cramping or contracting I can take my medicine less or as needed. We will see how that goes. And if things continue to go well I can go back to work 8 hour shifts at 34 weeks (March 24th). That is it for now!

Dreams

Ever since I have been pregnant I have been having soooo many dreams... not sure if I never dreamed much before or if I just remember them now. I hate dreaming because I am such a scaredy cat and I am afraid I am going to have bad dreams... which I do. Thank god jason has been home most of the times I have had bad scary dreams. Another frequent dream I have is that I am in labor or just delivered a baby... then when I wake up I usually have cramps or contractions, weird I think my body is trying to tell me something. I hope the dreams stop after the baby comes and I hope I do not have very many when Jason is gone working nights, makes it very hard to go back to sleep. One night I was trying to screem out but my voice would not work, I was reaching for Jason and he was pushing me away and the bad guy got me.... when I woke up I knew he had pushed me away, he was laughing but I was mad I told him next time he needed to save me. I know I am crazy! And the dreams get crazier! Maybe I should buy a dream analysis book!

No News is good news!

I have no news at this time. Everything is status quo. Layed on the couch, took a nap, even through I was trying not too since I slept in until 1030. That is about it! Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Exhausted!

You would think I am not doing much so I would have lots of energy… wrong. I am exhausted. I slept last night from 1am until 11:30am and had to pry myself out of bed at that time. I still feel exhausted! What is wrong with me? Just taking a shower was like going for a 1 mile run. Hopefully I am not coming down with anything… my voice sounds funny also as my mom said, but when you don’t use it for a while I guess it gets froggy. I better start taking to Beretta more! Anyways meds seem to be working well, still mild cramping, but the contractions seem less every day! Baby is very active and going crazy in there. My belly is growing everyday! I have read some tips on surviving bed rest… so I organized all of my recipes last night! There were a few more orgazational tips I will be able to work on while off. Did I tell you Jason set up the nursery while I was at the hospital? It still needs some work, but it is really weird to walk by the bedroom and see a crib! Makes me more excited, this whole thing (the pregnancy) seems like a dream, it is so weird to think we are going to have our own baby in a few months! Crazy! Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Home Sweet Home

I am home, things are going well. My dad brought be home yesterday around 5 pm. It was nice to see my puppy Beretta although she was more excited to see my dad! I have a dr apt next tue and will hang out and stay on my medications until then. I am still having cramping, but the tightening/contractions seems to be less. I must have been really tired from the hospital as I went to be last night at 12am came downstairs around 9am and fell asleep until 2pm. Guess I needed the rest. My husband is the bedrest natzi... I will not be getting away with anything. Everytime I move he is saying lay down, or where are you going, shower faster. I think I am pretty compliant, but I wont be doing anything wrong with him around! Luckily he is very helpfull and constantly asking me what I need or what he can do... hopefully that last for the next 6 weeks! All in all things are better and I am just taking it one day at a time!

Going Home!

Yeah.... we (baby and me) get to go home on bed rest. After they stopped the medications yesterday I had some cramping/contracting late last evening and this morning. So they started me on an oral drug that I will have to take every 6 hours. Things have stayed calm so I get me next dose at 2 and should be able to leave! (not that I don't like it here, I am just excited to go see my puppy and be by my hubby) I am still having mild cramping but they are okay with the amount and are sure that it is not causing my cervix to change and said I may just have that cramping for the rest of my pregnancy. So hopefully it is home for now with the next 6 weeks being nice and quite. Thanks for the prayers and support, I am sure I will have pleanty of time to update my blog... probably daily!

Bed rest!

Thanks to all of my visitors, phone calls, and e-mails. Jason, Baby Curtis, and I are truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family in our lives! Special thanks to uncle dale who is letting me borrow his computer for a few days so I can keep myself from going crazy!

28 weeks!

28 weeks today. They said it was a good date to make it to. One day at a time. Here is a recap of the last few days. First of all survival rate of 28 weeker is 85-90% but we are planning on leaving our 28 weeker in there for a little while longer. Survival rate goes to 100% at 32 weeks. (we are hoping for a 36+ weeker). Anyways so the baby has been doing well, always looked good on the monitor and ultrasound. It's heartrate was a little lower then usual for the last few days but that was due to the magnesium sulfate I was on. The magnesium sulfate is a drug they use to help stop contractions, it makes you feel like crap, but it will be worth it in the end. I am fianlly off of the magnesium sulfate as of this morning. I am still having mild cramping/occasinal contractions, but they are not as concerned about those. They tested my cervix by ultrasound today and it was 2.7 cm wide (4cm is normal) so the perinatologist is happy because that is over half of the cervix still left. On friday my cervix was about 2cm thick and they said it is normal for the cervix to get a little thicker because the contractions have stopped and the babies head is not pushing down on it as hard (the head was still right there during the ultra sound). I am starting to think this baby is not very patient... wonder where it gets that from? Anyways my placenta was 3cm away from cervix and looked good so that should not be causing any problems or bleeding. They have not checked the dilation of my cervix since I have been to abbott, and they said they will not check it unless I start contracting hard again... I am hoping that it stayed strong at 2cm. Also they checked a fetalfibronectin test on friday at mercy and again today. The test is 88-99% accurate to predict if you are going to deliver in the next 2 weeks. Both of my test came back negative which is a great thing! Everything is starting to run together so I hope this makes sense but basicaly if they can get the contractions to slow or stop then I can go home on bed rest for 4-8 weeks until the baby is closer to term. As most of you know this has been very hard on me emotionally and physically. I do not like being tied down. I am doing my best to listen to the doctors/nurses as I know they know what is best for my baby, and my ulitmate goal is to have a healhty baby! I will write more tomorrow:)

Scary Weekend!

From Sunday:

Hello My wonderful family and friends-Just wanted to send you a quick update. Baby Curtis is already deciding his/her future and was trying to make an entry into the world 3 months early on Friday evening. I was contracting (thankfully had just gotten to work 1 hour earlier) and had some dilation of my cervix. They gave me lots of meds to stop the contractions and kept me at mercy for observation for the night. During the night I began contracting more and my cervix dilated more to 2cm. At this point they decided to ship me by ambulance to Abbott Northwestern Hospital where the baby needed to be right next to children's in case I delivered. It was very scary. The nurses at Mercy did a great job getting all of my proper meds on board to help stop contractions and they did slow a few hours after getting to Abbott. (Thank goodness). The baby will be 28 weeks tomorrow... still way to early to come out! My status is changing today from high risk to lower-high risk (a good thing) so I will be going to station 54 more of a long term floor. I will be there for at least 3-4 more days... if they can wean me off all of my meds without the contractions coming back I may be able to go home, no promises. This has been a very difficult time for Jason and I but we are so thankful for everyones love, prayers, and support! I will keep you updated as much as possible, I may have limited internet access on my new floor. (Took my dad and I 4 hours to get this out, haha!)Thanks again, we love you all!Erin, Jason, and Baby Curtis (PS baby is doing great! Just has a mind of its own!)