Mama and Monkey Update

Monkey's good...Mama's good...overall good appointment yesterday!  Whoo hoo!!!

• Dr. P was in L&D when we got there so we got to spend some time in the waiting room before our appointment.  One of the female teachers from Matt's school walked in and sat down next to me.  I thought he was going to melt into a puddle of embarrassment right there, it was HI-larious! Apparently sitting in an OBGYN waiting room tops Matt's list of awkward experiences.
• Blood pressure was good- 116 over 70
• I've finally reached double-digit weight gain...10 pounds!  Dr P was very happy and said to aim for a pound a week for the next 15 weeks.  My leftover Ohh La La cupcakes from by birthday are certainly helping me with that.  :)
• We started by talking about bed rest and contractions.  I told her I was still having pretty consistent contractions, specifically right before I'm supposed to take my devil drug Terbutaline.  She said this means I need to up my dose to every 4 hours instead of every 6 hours.  NOT what I wanted to hear!! I think I made a combo of enough whining noises/sad faces when she said that she started to feel bad for me, lol.  She then brought up that there are alternatives to Terbutaline that don't have awful side effects, but possibly not as effective as devil drug Terbutaline.  We decided to try this new regimen for a week and re-visit to see how I'm doing.
• So now the plan is Procardia every 6 hours plus a Progesterone injection once a week so slow the contractions.  Procardia is actually a blood pressure drug and she's concerned because a side effect is lower blood pressure, and my BP usually runs a little low.  Hence the appointment next week to check on me.  Good thing I'm 1) not driving a car while on bed rest so if I pass out I don't run into a tree, and 2) a PRO at injections and not scared of needles.  
• She also clarified my bed rest- I can get up and do a few things as long as my contractions stay controlled and I'm feeling okay on the Procardia.  She even let us go out to eat last night for our anniversary!  We celebrated at Taste of Texas, yum! (our cheesecake helped add another pound last night)
• Oh, I'm officially a High Risk Pregnancy.  My insurance is sure to love that. 
• We briefly talked about the possibility of making it to full-term/having a preemie and my main concerns right now are contractions, my water breaking early, blood pressure or my cerclage ripping out (OUCH!!!) She suggested a steroid shot now and again at 32 weeks to help Monkey's lungs mature, just in case.  No- I did not ask her to elaborate on the "just in case" comment, we all know what that means.   
• I asked her about the pain I was having below my right rib, so she ordered an ultrasound so we could check for gallstones or kidney problems.  We weren't schedule for an U/S but I sure wasn't going to complain about getting another view of Monkey!  
• Ultrasound looked great!  Monkey is 1.7 pounds and VERY much a stubborn little boy, just like his daddy.  No gallstones and kidneys looked great, so the pain is likely from my sciatic nerve and likely to get worse.  :(
• Monkey is still head-down and my cervix is still really short.  Thank God we got the cerclage in place when we did!
• Matt was pretty mad at me after the appointment because 1) we were there 2 hours, and 2) he said I asked more questions about me than I did about the baby.  Selfish on my part...probably.  Precious on his part...absolutely.  

So, we will go back this afternoon for another steroid shot and next week for a check on the new medicine.  Praying this works and I don't have to go back on the devil drug Terbutaline and our insurance covers the injection ($50/mL out of pocket).