Why do these things always start at 1am?

Being awoken at 1am is rarely a good thing. Wednesday morning was no exception. When Sharron announced that we're on our way to the hospital the bottom fell out of my stomach. After one very long day, 3 ultrasounds, a few rounds of blood tests, and a 80-mile ambulance ride we now have an idea what we're facing. To make a long story short Sharron's water broke at 24 weeks (13 weeks early). The name of the game at this point is to hold off delivery as long as possible. It is possible (~50%) for babies to survive at 24 weeks, though at high risk of profound disability.

• 80%[citation needed] of cases go into labor within 48 hours of a rupture.
• After one week chances of prolonging the pregnancy get much better.
• The NICU folks tell us that the possibility of profound disability is greatly reduced at 26 weeks.
• At 28 weeks there is a possibility of transferring back to Nashua (the NICU in Nashua starts taking cases at 28 weeks).
• At 34 weeks the risk of infection extends beyond the risk of premature birth. The goal is to get to this point so that we can induce labor.

Lots of things can go awry here. We have no idea what the outcome will be. Feel free to follow along with us. Be warned that there will be ups and downs. More to come soon.

--Ben