Update

It's Ally here, stepping in for Sena. She's not up for writing, but wanted everyone to have an update...

She got to the hospital yesterday afternoon, where they almost immediately gave her three shots (the most allowed) twenty mins apart of Terbutaline (meds to stop contractions). This had almost zero affect; before Terbutaline her contractions were three mins apart; after they were four to five. Not enough change to please the doctors! And they were STRONG contractions; like, reeeeally strong.

They then did a sonogram which showed low amniotic fluid. This also confirmed the source of the bleeding was the remaining clot she had 7+ weeks ago. Because she had dilated the clot burst open again. The biggest concern was the low amniotic fluid. The doctors decided that they would continue to try to aggressively slow/stop the contractions, and then Saturday (this morning) do another sono to check the fluid. The concern there would be that low fluid indicates her water had broken. If that was confirmed this morning, they would have to deliver the baby because of risk of infection.

They admitted her and started the - DUH DUH DUN DUNNN - magnesium sulfate (eeeeew!!). The nurse said just now that being on magnesium sulfate, according to all the doctors, is like having the worst hangover of your life -- times ten. They also gave antibiotics in case water had broken, IV fluids for hydration, and a shot of steroids to rapidly mature baby's lungs in case we needed to deliver (it's a butt shot!! :)). This was all about 7 pm last night.

The night was horrible; Sena says she can't even put into words how bad it was dealing with the side effects of the magnesium. There is nausea and vomitting, but even worse is the dizziness, cotton mouth, extreme heat, blurry vision, loss of muscle control, and disorientation. She actually told Will several times she felt like she was going insane -- the drugs were actually messing w/ her brain. (Add to this dealing with a bed pan!!)

By 5 am they had the contractions down to a couple an hour, which was wonderful. Then they did a sonogram which showed, praise the Lord, that her fluid levels are stable, which indicates her water has not broken. This is huge news! The plan now is to stay on the magnesium sulfate at least through tomorrow morning, if not the whole day, to ensure the contractions have abated. Since being in a hospital bed and obviously observing strict bed rest (the loss of muscle control/strength helps w/ this :)), the bleeding has also significantly lessened.

Right now Baby is measuring a little bigger than average, around 3 lbs 2 oz according to a [not very reliable] sonogram measurement. This is very encouraging in case anything points back to an early delivery. Also, Sena is doing a little better today than last night, as they lowered her magnesium dosage a bit. Sena said it's only mildly horrible; not excruciatingly horrible. :)

Please pray for Sena! Specifically:
- that the side effects of the magnesium would subside
- that she would be able to sleep tonight
- that the baby would be delivered full term and healthy

Thank you all so much!
Ally (on Sena's behalf)