27 weeks, 5 days...

...and it was back to the hospital I went.

My contractions were very regular Saturday evening, but since that's been the norm I really didn't worry about it. The kiddos and I were home hanging out since Daddy was working late. I had just popped some popcorn, and we were about to cuddle up and watch Peter Pan. But Mama needed to run to the bathroom.

And I was bleeding.

To say that I was overwhelmed and a complete mess is a huge understatement. I called my OB's answering service, and as I was waiting for the nurse to call me back I called my mother-in-law who lives 3 minutes away. I could barely speak through my sobbing, and only managed to get out, "Can you come here right away?"

The nurse called as soon as I hung up with Kathy, and I could barely talk to her either. I did manage to get some deep-ish breaths in, and told her what was going on. She told me to go to the hospital right away. So when Kathy and Cleve (Scott's dad) got here, Kathy and I left.

I get to the hospital, just 7 full days after being there last week, and everything starts again. Of course this time there is bleeding involved, so things are taken extremely seriously. I am also cramping very badly by this point, but they can't do the fetal fibronectin test b/c I am bleeding. They do give me a shot of Terbutaline to make my contractions stop.

(Insert side story - Scott gets pulled over on his way to the hospital. The police officer was taking his sweet time getting out of his squad car, so Scott gets out and starts walking toward him. The officer gets on his loud speaker and orders Scott back into this truck. When the officer gets to Scott's window, he shows him my texts - my room number and all - and the officer says, "Well you had better get going then!" -- Thankful for an understanding officer and no speeding ticket.)

Scott gets to the hospital and gets updated by the nurses, and I am given my first shot of steroids. We finally hit the sack a couple of hours later. But, if you've ever spent the night in a hospital, then you can imagine how much sleep we actually got. Scott says he didn't go to sleep before 3 a.m., and I was still awake at 4 a.m. But we did sleep until almost 7, so we got a little shut-eye in.

The contractions calmed down for the most part, and once again Porter was very adgitated and didn't settle. I don't know how many times the nurses had to come in to the room and "find" him again on the monitor. Needless to say, Scott and I became experts on finding him quickly so that we could get back to sleep.

The doctor ended up giving us our second round of steriods earlier than expected. Man, what painful shots those are. I had to squeeze remove-all-feeling-from Scott's hand b/c they were rough. But we are praying that they do their job and help Porter get ready for his probable early debut. My bleeding has almost stopped, and there is no clear conclusion as to why it happened - which, in all honesty, is not reassuring.

But we are home now, and we are thankful to be here. Modified bed rest continues for me, and I'm trying to be as good as I can. I have given myself THREE goals for the rest of February: 1) make it to my baby shower this Saturday, 2) make it to Landon's birthday party on the 26th, and 3) NOT go back to the hospital!

Thank you for your continued prayers on this crazy journey called Pregnancy #3. I am trying to remember all of the times that the Lord has been faithful to me and to our family in the past, and I am clinging to the Truth that His promises are always true. And maybe, just maybe, I'll have a new topic for my next few blog posts!