Pump it Up

I went to the doctor again yesterday, because I was having a few concerns. When I got there, my doctor was concerned as well - because my pump had still not arrived! And I was still contracting and having other signs of preterm labor. My doctor had ordered the pump for me on Monday, and I was supposed to have had it by Monday afternoon! I won't go into all the reasons for the delay, because it is a long story, but it has to do with insurance and contracts and yadda, yadda, yadda.

My doctor checked me again and still didn't like the position of my cervix. She sent me over to the hospital and had me admitted for observation. She came to check on me after a couple of hours and didn't like the pattern of my contractions. Though they were small, they were still noticable. The nurse gave me three shots of terbutaline.

My doctor said, "I called around and stamped my foot a little bit. I told the insurance people and the home health people, 'You can either pay for her pump or pay for her hospital stay, but I'm not going to have a 28-week baby here!'"

I LOVE my doctor!

Within the hour, the home health nurse was in my room showing me how to install and operate my pump, which will give me a constant dose of terbutaline. It looks like this:
The tube coming out of the top is connected to a syringe full of the medicine. The tube goes all the way to my leg. Like so:

The home health nurse made me stick that thing into my leg all by myself. Granted, it is a small needle, and the needle comes out, leaving only the tube. But still - still - I'm a wuss. I did fine with the poking, but then the thought of it sort of came to me.

I just stuck something in my leg. And then I left it there. And it's in my leg . . .

But it was all ok, after a few minutes of me just laying back.

The terbutaline works like a charm for me! A side-effect of the drug is shakiness and rapid heart rate. But after my three super-doses in the hospital, even though I was very, very shaky, my contractions all but stopped - immediately! I have still had a few contractions, but not as many as before.

The pump stays in a little pouch which I hook onto my pants. The kids were all fascinated by mom's new contraption. Banana kissed it, and kissed my arms where I had gotten my shots. Noodle kissed my arms, too, but she only wanted to touch my site (where the tube goes into my leg). She touched it very, very softly. Chicken Nugget said she felt sorry for me.

Buffalo Wings enjoyed going through the manual and figuring out how to change all the equipment. I have to change the syringe about every day, and the site every five days. Yep, I get to poke myself in the leg every five days. Fun, fun. But it keeps Baby Boy cooking, so I'm happy to do it for him!

I also have to monitor my contractions twice a day. I then transmit the data on this wireless contraption. BW really digs all that stuff. I'm glad he is having fun!

Please keep us all and Baby Boy in your prayers. Much love to all of you!