Well I'm not sure why I'm writing. When I was exactly 31 weeks I started having contractions (a lot of them!) I had 19 in one hour and they were about 3 min apart. First I layed on my left side and drank a bunch of water but that didn't help. (I'd been having Braxton Hicks but nothing like this.) My doctor told me to go to the hospital and be put on a monitor so I went and was there for about 6 hours. They put me on the monitor (which recorded the baby's heartbeat and my contractions) and they gave me some IV fluids. They eventually had to give me a shot of Terbutaline to stop the contractions because they were getting so strong. the doctor ordered a few tests too (Group B strep, wet prep, UA, fetal fibronectin) and all of them were negative. They didn't really know what was causing the contractions. Eventually they sent me home, on bedrest. They said I could go to the bathroom and if I really needed to I could shower but otherwise they want me laying on one of my sides. I've been on bedrest now for a week and a day and I'm going out of my mind. I still live at home so I'm lucky for that but I feel so worthless because I can't even help with the laundry or dishes or anything! I also have a 3 year old son who is potty training and I can't really help with that. I feel really bad about not being able to do anything. Anyway, two days after my hospital my doctor wanted me to make a follow-up appointment so she could check to see how everything was going. i was still having contractions, but not as many, so she sent me home on oral Terbutaline. When she checked my cervix it was still firm and closed so i'm not really worried about that. One thing that was out of the ordinary was my fundus measurement. I was 31 weeks and 2 days and i measured 34! So she wanted me to go in for an ultrasound to check the growth of the baby. I went in for that on Tuesday (2 days ago.) My baby is measuring 2 weeks bigger than he should be. They said he weighs about 4lbs 11 oz and at his gestational age he should weight about 3 lbs 8 oz. so i'm kinda worried about that--that I might have a huge baby. And since I'm on bedrest i'm not sure if he's going to grow more than the average fetus because I'm not able to move a whole lot. His dad was almost 11 lbs when he was born! Now i just kinda have to wait to see what the doctor says. The ultrasound tech said that they might move my due date from May 5th to April 20th. That'd be awesome but I don't think that the baby being bigger necessarily means he's more developed (lungs etc.) I'm also in the middle of my first semester of nursing school and i'm worried about what will happen with school. I don't know what I'll do about clinicals and tests and everything. I guess I just needed to vent. Does anyone else have a similar experience with anything i've mentioned? Thanks for listening (or reading)
Katie

I don't think you should worry about the baby's size that much. Masurements prior to birth are just estimates and prone to error . Anyway, I was a triplet born at 32 weeks and my sister weighed over 4lbs. The baby is big now, but unless he seems to keep inceasing in size unusually fast I wouldn't start worrying. best wishes
Teresa

When i was 26 weeks i started having contractions. My doctor sent me to the hospital and they gave me a shot of terbutaline. (doesn't that stuff suck???!! lol) My cervix was thick and long and closed too. They sent me home after a while and i had to go to my doctors the next day. I was still having contractions so they gave me he terbutaline pills. I was on bedrest for 10 weeks!! I went crazy!! I couldn't stand it. At 28 weeks they gave me shots of steriods to help the babies lungs mature. And after everything i went through, she was born the day before my due date!!!

just wanted to post an update. I had an appointment today (I'm 32 weeks and 3 days) and I measured 36 weeks! My doctor said that i might be measuring so big because my baby hasn't dropped yet, but he's still a big baby as we found out with the ultrasound. My contractions have slowed down considerably so she said that I can try going back to school but if i have to take my Terbutaline then i can't go back to school. I hope that works out. My cervix is still long and closed. i just wish that they'd give me a shot of surfactant and let me have him. She didn't say anything about moving my due date up, which I thought she wouldn't, because just because he's bigger than he's supposed to be doesn't mean that his lungs are more developed. I guess I'm just in for some tough hard labor! I am really bored but at least I get to go to school now! Wish me luck for those contractions to stop.
Katie

BigAlsMom02 wrote:


my baby was 6.5 pds at 36 weeks. you don't sound out of the norm. at birth my baby was 8.13 pds....she gained over 2 pds in a month!

I had a really big baby too. They did extra tests and ultrasounds on me because he grew soooo fast. I was also on bed rest for about four or five weeks, it drove me crazy, so I know how you feel. I had my boy two weeks early and he was eight pounds and one and one half ounces. The doctors said that if he would have stayed in me all of the way to the end, that he would have been ten or eleven pounds! Hang in there girl, it may be hard, but it's all worth it when you hear that first cry, and see those adorable pudgy cheeks.
Hang in there,
Michelle