Out of the hospital but still in Beantown

Well, it has been a week since the contractions started, and with no contractions to be seen at this point, I cannot stay at the hospital anymore (go insurance). I have been moved to the Yawkey Family Inn which is an affordable inn through boston children's hospital for patients and their families.

Things are good here and I have already been able to meet several people. We are hoping that Chase will come in with Brian this weekend as long as I am still here. It will be good to see him after more than a week. It is truly amazing how much you can miss someone (and that goes for both of my Coombs men).

Sandy

2/08 Update

All is still quiet on the baby front. Brian drove back in last night in anticipation of staying ahead of the snow we got. He just headed out to go back to the little man.

We signed up for 2 CDH studies which will hopefully help out other families in the future. One deals with genetics and the other deals with social/emotional impact.

We are hoping that Riley bakes for a bit longer (the larger she grows, the better).

Sandy

2/6 Update

No contractions so far today. The nurses come in to check the baby's heart rate about every 4 hours and inevitably, the comment is either "great heart rate!" or "wow she's a kicker!" Sandy is resting comfortably and doing well overall.

We talked over the last couple of days and decided that if there are still no contractions today, I will head back home later this evening. This will give me the opportunity to spend some time with Chase. He'll still go to daycare and I'll head back to work tomorrow. I'll be waiting for the call from Sandy to jet back to Boston, should any contractions start at any point in time.

I want to take the opportunity to thank everyone that has been helping us out, whether taking care of Chase, running odd 'n ends out to Boston or just sending us a kind word. We truly appreciate your support.

Brian

Saturday 2/5 Morning

No new news as of this point. I received mY last dose of nephedipine this morning to stop the contractions. We had asked to extend the time taking it to hold out till Monday for delivery when Dr. wilson is back from a conference but the drug has been shown to have no real effect after 48 hours (which is how long I have been taking it). At this point we are just waiting to see when I will start contractions back up.

Update

Well, the contractions have stopped and Brian and I were able to get about 7 hours of sleep (after running on 2 hours within the previous 42 hours). They moved us up to a labor prep room where we will be until I start going into labor again. The nice thing about that is that the beds are MUCH more comfortable.

I got a second dose of steroids this morning to help Rileys lungs grow and they will take me off the meds that are stopping the contractions in 24 hours. Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes. They are very much appreciated.

Sandy

P.S. We love you Chase!!!

Keeping our hope up

Hi all,

I am writing this from my bed at brighams so please excuse the typos. We went to baystates eval unit last night around 9 after I started having contractions. I was transferred out to Boston around 2 this morning and came here at about 4 cm dilated. I was given a steroid shot to help mature Rileys lungs and they are currently working to stop the contractions for 48 hours. All seems to be on track for that at this point.

Please keep us all in your prayers (even Chase who won't see mommy and daddy for a while). We will update when we know more.

Sandy

Setbacks and Progress

Well, with yet another winter storm upon us, we had to push back our latest trip to Brigham and Women's in Boston. So now we will be heading out next Wednesday. Guess what? Snow is anticipated for next Tuesday! We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed that the snow stays away from Wednesday. If not, we'll just have to overnight in Boston like last time. Thank goodness for having family and friends that are able to take care of Chase!

We do have some good news! Sandy is tentatively scheduled to be induced on Monday, February 28th. We've been told we're first on the schedule at 6AM. So if Riley behaves herself, we have 26 more days until the BIG DAY.

I hope everyone is enjoying being inside with loved ones during these snow storms. Stay warm and safe!!