Hi Beans,
I've been following your story, and keeping my fingers crossed that you and your wife can hang in there for many more weeks! I'm pregnant with twins and was admitted to the hospital for preterm labor at about 27 weeks. My cervix was very short: in fact I can't even remember now what the number was, because it turned out that I was also 3 cm dilated, 90% effaced, and contracting on top of that, and those other issues were a lot more pressing at the time. Anyway, the medical staff followed standard procedure, giving me magnesium sulfate, steroids, and antibiotics upon admission, and they continued to monitor the contractions and dilation closely. The combination of meds and bed rest worked well enough for me to be sent home on bed rest at 29 1/2 weeks, and I'm still here, pregnant, at 34 weeks. Since the initial round of meds I've been on nifedipine (procardia) for the contractions, which seems to be keeping them to a minimum: I've had no further dilation. While its true that I was several weeks further along than your wife when I was admitted, it is also true that nobody at the time thought I'd still be pregnant at 34 weeks. While I was on the prenatal ward at the hospital, I met several other families who were dealing with similar issues. One couple was there expecting their second child. Their first, it turns out, had been born at the same hospital six years earlier... she was born somewhere around the 26th week, if I remember correctly, and weighed about 1.5 lbs at birth. She turned out to be a very healthy, happy little girl! It is pretty amazing what they can do in the NICU these days. I know that the thought of giving birth to a micro preemie or even a preemie is really daunting, but one thing that I found really helped was to just take one day at a time and focus on very short-term goals. My husband has been fantastic throughout all of this, and having him by my side has made all the difference. The fact that you're on these boards suggests that you're just as good, and you should know how much that must be helping your wife!