Kristy/Jackson Update

Hello all! Mike and Leah were kind enough to lend me their laptop so I can blog while in the hospital. As the last post stated, this all started on Saturday morning about 3am when I woke up to use the restroom. I had wet pants (keeping details to a minimum!) and thought maybe my bladder was too full and the baby had kicked me and caused incontinence. Even though I had never had incontinence problems before, I've heard it is very common especially late in pregnancy. So I changed clothes and went back to bed. At 4:30am, I woke up wet again. Knowing I had broken my water, I changed clothes again, called the hospital and woke up Moose. Leah stayed with the kids as Moose and I headed to the hospital. They confirmed my water had broken and started me on IV antibiotics to prevent infection. Since my due date has never really been clear, I am between 34 - 36 weeks, which is a big difference in baby world. At 34 weeks they are concerned the baby's lungs and no mature enough for the baby to breathe on his own, but they are less concerned at 36 weeks. So they sent me to ultrasound to get a better idea of the baby's size. They measured this thigh bone (which measured at 32 weeks), his abdomen (which measured 34 weeks), and his head (which measured at 35 weeks). So averaged out, they put me at 33 weeks 6 days. Although, based upon his abdomen measurement, they guessed his weight at 5 lbs 4 oz, which is huge for a 34 weeker. Anyways, the neonatal pediatrician wanted to play it safe and do the steroids to help the baby's lungs mature. There are really no side effects, except I get 2 shots in the rear (lots of burning. Ouch!). So here sit, just waiting for the steroids to work their magic. As of now, they want me to make it to Tuesday so the steroids have fully taken effect. If I start to have painful contractions before then, they will try to stop labor. After Tuesday, they will not induce but won't stop labor either. They are waiting for nature to take its course and if by some miracle, I do not go into labor by myself, they will induce me at 36 weeks. So, we will definitely have a February baby, but it could be Tuesday or in two weeks. We, of course want what is best for Jackson, but the thought of being in a hospital bed for 2 weeks is unfathomable to me. But the longer he cooks, the less chance that he we need assistance breathing and eating. We were told that is the hardest skill for newborns to master, is eating and breathing simultaneously. And he won't be able to go home until he can. So we will keep everyone updated as we know something new.