Still holding on - Weeks 32 to 34

Wow – we have made it to week 34! This is a huge milestone for us and one of our big goals. I’ve now been on restricted bed rest for 9 weeks, but we are still going strong. Every ultrasound has shown that my cervix is staying closed but this past week it has shortened to 0.6cm, which means I have to stay on bed rest a bit longer than I thought… but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help the little one stay inside as long as possible, hopefully until May. Every day is so important!

The last three weeks have definitely had their ups and downs. Spring has officially begun, ushered in by 4 days of snow! G went to pick up the stroller & car seat. Unfortunately I accidentally reserved a “compact” car for him and the stroller box wouldn’t fit in the car, so it was a bit of a hassle for him! But he was a trooper and now it is all assembled and ready to go. He also bought some of the first baby things we may need and packed our hospital bag, just in case.

It was good he took care of all that when he did, because on the next day, Easter Sunday, G pulled his back so bad that he couldn’t even stand up! It was so scary with both of us completely immobilized and I had no idea how to help him. Being Easter Sunday, almost everyone we knew was out of town (Easter is a four day weekend here so most folks are off traveling). I managed to pull one of the pads from the bed onto the floor so at least he had a place to lie down, but he was in excruciating pain and I knew we had to do something.

Fortunately Mr. Kofi was in town and when I called him to ask about what pain relievers I could get without a prescription here, he immediately contacted “SOS Médecins” for us. SOS Médecins is a service that sends a doctor to your house and is much better than having to deal with an ambulance and going to the hospital.

The doctor gave G a shot and prescribed some medicine for him. What a lifesaver! Another one of our friends who was in town came to our rescue and picked up the prescription for us (since I couldn’t do it). I tell you, what would we do without our friends – they really saved the day and I am so thankful they were there for us!

After a couple days G was up and around again and by mid week he was feeling much better. Thank goodness I didn’t go into preterm labor! We really would have been in trouble then! Looking back it was a bit funny, both of us flat on our backs trying to reassure each other and comfort each other. It’s an Easter we will never forget!

Things settled down after that, thankfully! I had three more weeks of visitors who brought lunches and delicious pastries! I also am continuing to talk to the psychologist who I was assigned to in the hospital for the study on at-risk mothers. I talk to her about once a week when we go into the hospital for our ultrasounds. She is great and is also very happy with our progress!

Oh, and I’ve forgotten to mention our nicknames for the belly! G has been calling my belly “little Obus” (after his nickname of Obus) for quite a while. I like the name but haven’t really been calling my belly that, usually I just talk to the “baby”. But in the last few weeks I've been calling my belly Ruemont or Rumi for short. Where did this come from? Well, G’s workmates thought we should name the baby “Rue-Mont Cinq Blucher” after our address at 5 Rue du Mont-Blanc. It hasn’t made our list of possible names, but now I’ve been calling my belly Rumi which I really like!

week 32 ~~week 33 ~~ week 34