Rigby’s vet called us on Saturday to give us the results of her blood work, and thankfully, everything was normal. That meant she was cleared for surgery, so we scheduled it for the next day at 1. Mike and my mom took her in, and they were assured that we’d be called as soon as she was out of surgery. So we waited anxiously, and around 3:30 the vet finally called to give us the update. He’d pulled seven stones out of her little bladder, and he said they were huge compared to her size. I’m a little worried about her spending the night alone at the vet’s office (there isn’t someone there overnight, but she is hooked up to a monitor), but that’s mostly because I’m worried she might be scared or hurting. I know she’s on pain medicine, but it still makes me a little sad to think of her alone and uncomfortable. I can’t wait until I can take care of her at home.

My mom went with Mike to drop off Rigby because I couldn’t. It started on Saturday. I lay on my side most of every day. I am lucky that I can do my work from my computer so my prone position doesn’t impede my productivity. But, since I’m not on full bed rest, I can still get up and do stuff when I need or want to. On Saturday night, Mike and I had dinner with my parents and some of our friends. About halfway through dinner I noticed that I was having some discomfort in my stomach. I chalked it up to being upright and figured it would go away after I went home, went to the bathroom, had a bunch of water, and laid on my left side. But it didn’t. Instead, my back started throbbing and the discomfort became cramps. After a few hours, I called my doctor’s after-hours number and was instructed to go to Labor and Delivery. Wheeee.

In L&D I was put in a room and on monitors right away. My nurse was awesome and I had a really caring and attentive doctor (since Dr. Risky is affiliated with a teaching hospital, residents handled my care with her consulting by phone). The monitors showed that my uterus was active – not full on contractions, but not relaxed like someone on anti-contraction meds should be. Dr. Risky ordered a full exam and a bunch of tests. The exam was to see if I was dilating, check cervical length, and fluid around Binky. The tests were looking for signs of labor and infection. Luckily, everything turned up negative.

The monitors were still showing uterine activity, so Dr. Risky ordered a shot of terbutaline. Terbutaline is a tocolytic that helps stop contractions. The doctor warned me about the side effects – namely a racing heart and shakiness. I felt those pretty quickly…and unfortunately that’s all I felt. My uterus was still active. So then I was given a large dose of something called nifedipine. The side effects that I felt from that were light-headedness, dizziness, and a little bit of difficulty breathing. It also lowered my blood pressure. Luckily, that finally did the trick and my uterus calmed down. They kept me for a while to monitor me (and I got a visit from my friend Nancy, a NICU night nurse and one of Maddie’s favorite nurses), before I was finally released with strict orders to take it easy until I see Dr. Risky on Tuesday.

The different anti-contraction meds left me feeling pretty crappy all day on Sunday. I was also given a prescription for a smaller dose of nifedipine, which I took about 30 minutes ago when my uterus refused to stop cramping. The smaller dose of nifedipine is a bit easier to take, although I feel the shakiness and dizziness starting to kick in. But my cramping is also going away, so it’s worth it. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her in there safe and sound.