• About Me
  • Privacy Policy and Disclosure Policy

Shann Eva's Blog

A peek into my messy life with 3 boys

  • Home
    • My Delivery Story
    • Twin Pregnancy
  • Work with Me!
  • Money-Saving Links
  • Blog
    • Shann’s Favorites
    • Shopping
    • Birthdays
    • Health
    • Micro Preemie Mondays
  • Submit Your Story
    • Share an Update
  • Twin pregnancy
You are here: Home / Blog / Bed Rest and Pprom: Sebastian’s Story

Bed Rest and Pprom: Sebastian’s Story

September 10, 2018 By Shann Leave a Comment

Bed Rest

At the beginning of my twin pregnancy, I read a lot about bed rest. It’s a pretty common occurrence in twin pregnancies, and honestly, it didn’t seem to bad to me. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize the full gravity of everything that would lead to bed rest.

Bed rest isn’t simply laying on the couch or in bed just for the fun of it, or just because you are uncomfortable. It is something that is prescribed by a doctor when there aren’t many options to help save your baby and pregnancy.

For me, I had no other options. I wasn’t a candidate for surgery, even though one of my twins was not getting enough blood flow or growing at the same rate as his brother. They weren’t sure if one or both of my babies would survive, but there was nothing they could do to help them. The only advice was drinking lots of fluids, eating a ton of protein, and getting as much bed rest as possible.

They were hoping the bed rest would increase the blood flow to my babies, and lower my blood pressure, which was on the higher side. I took their advice very seriously, and tried to eat, drink, and rest as much as possible.

While bed rest doesn’t sound bad, it is very uncomfortable when you are pregnant. It is also very hard to do when you have a toddler. Bed rest also gave me a lot of time to think, which wasn’t a good thing either.

When I reached viability at 24 weeks, they moved me to the hospital for bed rest and constant monitoring. This was even harder, since it mean physical separation from my son and my family. Sure, they could visit, but it wasn’t the same as being with them all the time at home. I felt like I was missing critical time with my son, and the guilt was terrible.

When Bed Rest is the only option to try and save your baby #bedrest #highrisk #pregnancy #pprom

Unfortunately, I didn’t make it very long on hospital bed rest. After a little over a week, my sweet boys were born at 25 weeks, 5 days.

Today’s mother, Olivia, on the other hand, had a long journey on bed rest. I’m honored to share her journey, along with her sweet boy’s continued fight in the NICU.

Sebastian

1. Tell us about your baby.

Sebastian was born at 29 weeks 5 days, weighing at 3 lbs 5.6 oz.
He is a Pprom survivor. My water broke at 16 weeks on May 02, 2018. He was born 08/04/2018.
bed rest

2. How long was your NICU stay? What was the hardest part?

He is currently going on his 4th week in the NICU, and there’s been no discussion as to when he’ll be coming home.

His biggest milestone was when they took his breathing tube out two days after he was born because he was breathing over it. We were ecstatic because we were told by several professionals that his lungs would be underdeveloped, and we should terminate him.

The Neonatologist says his lungs are good, and he isn’t concerned. They started him on my breast milk 2 days in, and he’s been gaining weight steadily. I just recently was able to nurse for the first time.

He is on caffeine to help his breathing and just got off the cpap. Sebastian is now 5 lbs.

He’s had several setbacks where he was put back on high flow oxygen and the cpap. His little lungs were working to hard when they removed the cpap and high flow.

The NICU roller coaster can be a rough ride.

bed rest

3.Do you know what caused your premature birth?

No, I have two other boys who went to full term with no complications at all.

I am healthy and never thought I would experience a high risk pregnancy.

4.How are you and your baby doing now?

I am emotionally drained. Physically drained.

We were given a 35% survival rate and were told to terminate multiple times. I couldn’t understand why I was being told to end his life, while also being told that his heart rate was strong and my pregnancy hormones were high. It did not make sense that after 2 weeks from when my water broke to being diagnosed with Pprom my body hadn’t gone into labor.

But, the specialist was insisted that he would not make it.

He also informed me I had placenta previa. Once I had a follow-up appointment with my OBGYN and we told him our plans to NOT terminate, we were finally given encouragement that he could make it.

I was put on bed rest indefinitely.

Almost 5 weeks into bed rest at 22 weeks 6 days, I started bleeding, it was light bleeding. I was scared and went into labor and delivery they didn’t even bother doing an ultrasound once they found out I was not at viability. They discharged me saying to come back if the bleeding becomes heavy.

I went home and the next morning the bleeding became heavy. I went back and this time they did ultrasound, measuring of my uterus, monitoring and blood test. He still had a strong heart and my cervix was not dilating. There was no hemorrhaging.

Again, the doctor came in and said he was willing to induce me. He had no encouragement what’s so ever and said I was at risk of infection and sent in a Neonatologist to talk to us.

The Neonatologist gave us statistics, and we still refused to terminate. I told him I’m one week away from steroid shots, I want to try. He left and when the doctor came back in he had a whole different attitude and was somewhat encouraging that I should let nature takes its place. He told me to come back in one week and he would admit me to the hospital at 24 weeks and I would stay until my son was born.

Reaching Viability

Hospital bed rest was hard. On the first day, I was given Magnesium Sulfate, steroids and loaded with antibiotics. The Magnesium Sulfate was terrible. It made me extremely hot and gave me chills. But my son needed it, it would help prevent brain bleeds and help his nervous system. I was prevented from getting up for 2 days.

After finishing my 48 dosage, I was able to use the bathroom and shower. The first two weeks were easy for me. Then I started to bleed heavy again and was monitored for 2 days unable to get off my bed. I had started to contract but they went away within a couple of hours. This episode caused anxiety attacks. I was ready to go home and I cried a lot. I started feeling trapped in my room, and I was convinced that if I had a C Section I would not make it.

I lasted one day shy of 6 weeks before my body went into labor at 29 weeks 5 days. I was given Mag again and steroids for a rescue booster. The Mag was worse this time around because it was mixed with contractions. My nurse kept telling me I was not contracting because the monitor was not picking them up. She said the Mag relaxes the cervix. I was given a device to track the contractions.

Finally, I couldn’t take the Mag any longer and they lowered the dosage from 2 to 1. My nurse was finally done for the day and my night nurse came in.  I was glad because I was sick and tired of being told I was not contracting. My night nurse was someone I had developed a relationship with, and I was happy to see her. Because we lowered the Mag it was no longer heavily relaxing my cervix and the monitor started picking up my contractions.

Progression

They went from minor period cramps to about a pain rate of a 7. She checked me and I was dilated to a 4 and a half. She notified the doctor, and because my son had been breech for the last two weeks, he said we would do the C-Section now. He checked one last time with an ultrasound and he was still breech, and I was taken to the surgery room.

I was scared. I had been having panic attacks over having a C-Section and right after my spinal tap, I freaked out from the loss of feeling to my legs and tried to jump off the table. I was given something to calm me down and it worked. I laid there as they performed the surgery and spoke with my husband about random things. My upper body was shaking because I was so cold.

Finally, I heard a faint cry. I almost missed it. My son was finally born, and I wasn’t even shown him. The NICU wasted no time, they accessed him and gave him a breathing tube. My husband cut the umbilical cord, and then he was taken to the NICU.

bed rest

5. What advice would you give to a new preemie or NICU family?

Do not give up. Follow your heart.

Sometimes these professionals are so discouraging and their bedside manner is nonexistent when delivering bad news. Just know that they aren’t always right. I couldn’t live with myself and knew I would always think of the ‘what if’ I would not have listened and tried to save his life.

Our babies are viable as long as their heart is still beating.  Pprom is not always a death sentence. I went 13 weeks before my body went into labor.

It is possible with complete bed rest.

Thank you so much to Olivia for sharing her story and sweet Sebastian.  If you’d like to follow along on their journey, please click HERE. 

bed rest

Filed Under: Blog, Micro Preemie Mondays Tagged With: 29 weeker, Bed rest, doctor, hospital, magnesium, neonatologist, NICU, Pprom, preemie, premature birth, Premature rupture of membranes, preterm premature rupture of membranes, steriods

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Meet Shann

Shann Hi! I'm a mom, writer, and dancer. I love sharing my parenting experiences, my healthy living tips, my money saving ideas, and our travel plans. My passion to help other women inspired this blog. I hope you'll stay a while and come back often.

Need Help Finding Something?

Follow Me

Subscribe to Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent Posts

  • Middle Mom: Changes and Challenges February 21, 2023
  • Writing as Therapy May 16, 2022
  • COVID: The (Not) Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Guilt August 20, 2021
  • Healthy Lifestyle: Making Baby Steps Back July 27, 2021
  • 2020 Year In Review: The Highlights December 31, 2020

Facebook

Facebook
MKE Moms Blog
Copyrighted.com Registered & Protected 
M6VU-YLWL-D4JY-XAO4

Copyright © 2023 · Blog Design by Quality Websites On A Budget

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT