Bedrest Chronicles Day 59
Weekly appointment with my favorite doc showed my cervix shortened to one cm with some dilation despite the stitch. My stitch is coming out next Thursday at my regular appointment in the office. The nurse advised me to take some Tylenol beforehand as it's going to hurt. Imagine that? You are pulling a stitch out where skin has probably grown over and around it. That's going to feel great! lol. I don't think it will be any worse than childbirth right?
Any bets on when he's coming?
xoxo
Showing posts with label 3rd Tri. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3rd Tri. Show all posts
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Bedrest Chronicles Day 52
For my birthday present, my day brought me forty mph winds, a twelve hour power outage, pumpkin pie, and flowers from my hubby! Being a city girl, before today I had yet to discover the joys of a power outage when you have your own well. Hmm. No power means no water either! I don't mind the lack of electricity but not being able to flush when you're pregnant? That's a different story!
Despite the inconveniences, I had a rather nice day. It's already quite chilly up here, so I first bundled up in a sweatshirt and warm socks. Then, my dad and I basked in the warmth of my fireplace, reading and watching the birch trees bend in the wind. Sigh. Around noon, a man came knocking on the door with a flower delivery from my hubby. This makes the second time in ten years that he has sent me flowers in our ten years together so I was all smiles. His note....incredibly sweet and heartfelt. This evening when the electricity came back on, we were able to crack open our refrigerator in time for me to celebrate my day with a huge slice of pumpkin pie. All in all, it was a simple peaceful day.
Belly pic from 34 weeks 4 days...
xoxo
For my birthday present, my day brought me forty mph winds, a twelve hour power outage, pumpkin pie, and flowers from my hubby! Being a city girl, before today I had yet to discover the joys of a power outage when you have your own well. Hmm. No power means no water either! I don't mind the lack of electricity but not being able to flush when you're pregnant? That's a different story!
Despite the inconveniences, I had a rather nice day. It's already quite chilly up here, so I first bundled up in a sweatshirt and warm socks. Then, my dad and I basked in the warmth of my fireplace, reading and watching the birch trees bend in the wind. Sigh. Around noon, a man came knocking on the door with a flower delivery from my hubby. This makes the second time in ten years that he has sent me flowers in our ten years together so I was all smiles. His note....incredibly sweet and heartfelt. This evening when the electricity came back on, we were able to crack open our refrigerator in time for me to celebrate my day with a huge slice of pumpkin pie. All in all, it was a simple peaceful day.
Belly pic from 34 weeks 4 days...
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Weekly Appointment (u/s pics)
Bedrest Chronicles Day 51 - At home with my dad
Today was my day for the trek down to Anchorage to see my favorite doctor. Today I was once again reminded of how lucky I am to have been under her care for this pregnancy. Due to liability or insurance coverage, very few doctors would have performed a cerclage at 27 weeks. Baby E could have had a very different entrance to life without her expertise in performing this nontraditional cerclage. Besides simply being a great doctor, she's also just nice. For example, she has a 3D/4D ultrasound machine in her office, so every appointment she takes a peak at my munchkin. For fun, she's been trying to get me a face shot. After having feet and hands blocking the shot in previous weeks, she was finally successful!
Today was my day for the trek down to Anchorage to see my favorite doctor. Today I was once again reminded of how lucky I am to have been under her care for this pregnancy. Due to liability or insurance coverage, very few doctors would have performed a cerclage at 27 weeks. Baby E could have had a very different entrance to life without her expertise in performing this nontraditional cerclage. Besides simply being a great doctor, she's also just nice. For example, she has a 3D/4D ultrasound machine in her office, so every appointment she takes a peak at my munchkin. For fun, she's been trying to get me a face shot. After having feet and hands blocking the shot in previous weeks, she was finally successful!
Ha! Keep in mind that my little man has his face squished up against one of the walls. I think his nose looks huge in the last two picks! Too funny. Apparently, he keeps pressing further down towards my cervix with his head putting a lot of pressure on it. The bad news is that my stitch is definitely losing the battle and my cervix has shortened to 2 cm. Today I was sure I was going to have some bleeding after a sharp pain early in the day, but I'm holding on.
Keep baking Baby E!
xoxo
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Bedrest Chronicles Day 49
Happy ICLW! For those of you who are visiting for the first time you can find my history on the sidebar to the right.
I've been home from the hospital for twelve days now. Coming home has been like sliding into my comfy sheets on my bed -- warm and comforting. Having my dog Sweetpea following me around during the day from couch to bed is just the icing on the cake as being without her is like missing a member of my family. Besides, she's a great foot warmer.
On Saturday I switched one good thing for another as my sister flew home and my dad came up to Anchorage. I had such a good time just hanging out with my her during the week as we watched TV, she cleaned, cooked, and organized the baby's room. She did this despite the fact that she has a strained achilles and sprained ankle that isn't exactly healing correctly. My dad has already pulled out his comfort food by making me homemade biscuits on both Sunday and Monday. Since I'm trying not to be a glutton, I didn't have him make them today. :)
Meanwhile back at home in California, my mom has been busy running my sister and dad to and from the airport while holding down the fort there. I have to tell you that she won the teacher of the year award for this school year for her district. Yesterday, the county celebrated all of the district teachers of the year in a big ceremony in which none of the family could attend because of all of this switcheroo to take care of me. We wished we could have been there to support her, but she sacrificed this so I could not be in the hospital. :) We are SO proud of her!
My family just keeps coming through for me on so many levels. This doesn't happen for everyone so I'm just flat out grateful that I have them to unconditionally love me...broken eggs and all. I know this sounds incredibly sappy but I think that sometimes we forget to think about the things that are really fundamentally good in our lives. Between my husband, my family, Fairyeggs and my other friends and family, I'm just lucky. Baby E might not have had an easy or traditional path of coming to be, but he is coming into a family where he is already loved to bits.
For the first time in this pregnancy, I feel like we are actually going to make it to the finish line.
Our goal is to make it to 37 weeks when my doc will remove the cerclage and my cervix will probably return to a five centimeter dilation. The nurses tell me this does not mean I'll go into labor immediately. What? lol. I can't imagine that Baby E won't drop straight out at that point.
Hope all is well with you.
xoxo
Happy ICLW! For those of you who are visiting for the first time you can find my history on the sidebar to the right.
I've been home from the hospital for twelve days now. Coming home has been like sliding into my comfy sheets on my bed -- warm and comforting. Having my dog Sweetpea following me around during the day from couch to bed is just the icing on the cake as being without her is like missing a member of my family. Besides, she's a great foot warmer.
On Saturday I switched one good thing for another as my sister flew home and my dad came up to Anchorage. I had such a good time just hanging out with my her during the week as we watched TV, she cleaned, cooked, and organized the baby's room. She did this despite the fact that she has a strained achilles and sprained ankle that isn't exactly healing correctly. My dad has already pulled out his comfort food by making me homemade biscuits on both Sunday and Monday. Since I'm trying not to be a glutton, I didn't have him make them today. :)
Meanwhile back at home in California, my mom has been busy running my sister and dad to and from the airport while holding down the fort there. I have to tell you that she won the teacher of the year award for this school year for her district. Yesterday, the county celebrated all of the district teachers of the year in a big ceremony in which none of the family could attend because of all of this switcheroo to take care of me. We wished we could have been there to support her, but she sacrificed this so I could not be in the hospital. :) We are SO proud of her!
My family just keeps coming through for me on so many levels. This doesn't happen for everyone so I'm just flat out grateful that I have them to unconditionally love me...broken eggs and all. I know this sounds incredibly sappy but I think that sometimes we forget to think about the things that are really fundamentally good in our lives. Between my husband, my family, Fairyeggs and my other friends and family, I'm just lucky. Baby E might not have had an easy or traditional path of coming to be, but he is coming into a family where he is already loved to bits.
For the first time in this pregnancy, I feel like we are actually going to make it to the finish line.
Our goal is to make it to 37 weeks when my doc will remove the cerclage and my cervix will probably return to a five centimeter dilation. The nurses tell me this does not mean I'll go into labor immediately. What? lol. I can't imagine that Baby E won't drop straight out at that point.
Hope all is well with you.
xoxo
Thursday, September 16, 2010
No Pictures Please! (u/s pic ahead!)
Bedrest Chronicles Day 44
We had our first checkup with the doc today. Both of us look good which earns a happy dance from me. My doc has a 3D machine in her office which is far cooler than the ancient ones in OB/Triage. Check my babe out, he's ready for the paparazzi:
We had our first checkup with the doc today. Both of us look good which earns a happy dance from me. My doc has a 3D machine in her office which is far cooler than the ancient ones in OB/Triage. Check my babe out, he's ready for the paparazzi:
No pictures please!!
xoxo
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Coming Home & Getting Ready
Bedrest Chronicles Day 42
Every morning I wake up and have a delicious moment where I think "I'm at home" and then snuggle into my comfy sheets and fall back asleep with my dog next to me and baby E still growing safely inside. It's a perfect moment every day.
Coming home couldn't have happened without my sister generously taking a week off to come take care of me. At the last minute there was a change in plans with my dad coming up as he had a work thing come up. Because my dad is a dear, he didn't want to disappoint me so WITHOUT telling me, he arranged for my sister to come up. I was a little appalled to put out my sister in this way since I could easily stay in the hospital. However, because they love me, they took care of it before I could say anything. Control freak much Jen? Regardless, I *really* appreciate their kindness! I'm so lucky to have them in my life. We all are actually.
When I left the hospital I was amazed at how beautiful it is here. After being inside for so long, I had forgotten how amazing the mountains and water look here. On her way up, my sister took this picture from the plane:
Coming home to my new house is surreal and so much fun! I'll have to follow up with pictures soon...well I'll have to get my sister to take them. :) All I can say is that I L - O - V - E it! The peaceful green walls and immense amount of natural light. Sigh. So happy.
With my sister here, we've been working on getting the baby stuff ready. Okay, I lay reclined in the chair and keep her company while she does all the work. :) We've come a long way in getting the clothes and supplies organized with what I have so far. She also put the carseat together...check it out:
Haha!
xoxo
Every morning I wake up and have a delicious moment where I think "I'm at home" and then snuggle into my comfy sheets and fall back asleep with my dog next to me and baby E still growing safely inside. It's a perfect moment every day.
Coming home couldn't have happened without my sister generously taking a week off to come take care of me. At the last minute there was a change in plans with my dad coming up as he had a work thing come up. Because my dad is a dear, he didn't want to disappoint me so WITHOUT telling me, he arranged for my sister to come up. I was a little appalled to put out my sister in this way since I could easily stay in the hospital. However, because they love me, they took care of it before I could say anything. Control freak much Jen? Regardless, I *really* appreciate their kindness! I'm so lucky to have them in my life. We all are actually.
When I left the hospital I was amazed at how beautiful it is here. After being inside for so long, I had forgotten how amazing the mountains and water look here. On her way up, my sister took this picture from the plane:
Coming home to my new house is surreal and so much fun! I'll have to follow up with pictures soon...well I'll have to get my sister to take them. :) All I can say is that I L - O - V - E it! The peaceful green walls and immense amount of natural light. Sigh. So happy.
With my sister here, we've been working on getting the baby stuff ready. Okay, I lay reclined in the chair and keep her company while she does all the work. :) We've come a long way in getting the clothes and supplies organized with what I have so far. She also put the carseat together...check it out:
Haha!
xoxo
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
NICU tour
Bedrest Chronicles Day 36
Quite unexpectedly, a woman showed up around lunch time to give me my tour of the NICU which I requested when I first arrived at the hospital.
Early on during my hospital stay, I searched for images of 27 week babies to prepare for what Baby E would look like if I had to deliver. I would follow this up with searching for information on what typical problems could happen during each gestational period as well. But for once, I did not obsess about each catastrophe that could happen. Instead, I just tucked the information neatly into a corner of my brain and did not pull it out. Each time a milestone would be passed, I would repeat this just to know what we would be up against.
Most of my thoughts have been directed towards what is happening in the present. This is not typical behavior for me as I'm always thinking towards the future and seemingly waiting for it to unfold. However infertility has changed me in this way, as I'm finally learning how to balance being in the present with my love of looking towards what is coming next. This stay in the hospital has been a very timely exercise in truly getting through each day as it comes. I can't make plans because I have absolutely no control over what happens next! So instead I pass my time from moment to moment, doing whatever strikes my fancy (within reach of course!).
Within this little cocoon of my hospital room, somewhere along the way I have started thinking of baby E making it until 37 weeks which essentially is full term. This is shocking after everything that has happened over the past month, but quite frankly, also within reach. If I continue on the way I have been going with little to no contractions and baby E keeps plugging away at growing, we could make it to 37 weeks.
As the days have passed by in a foggy haze of making it through each day, this hope of a full term baby has become much more real to me than what I saw today in the NICU. Today it scared the crap out of me thinking of my kiddo in there. Being wheeled through the rooms at this point brought to mind what really could have happened. Maybe I was just blocking out the reality that we could have fallen on the wrong side of the statistics again. He could have died.
Instead of thinking of the fact that baby E hopefully will need little intervention at this point in my pregnancy, I'm kind of turned around looking at what could have happened. Now my stomach is churning and my hands are shaking. Was I just trying to escape reality in tucking everything away? Am I delusional in trying to take things pragmatically moment to moment?
xoxo
Quite unexpectedly, a woman showed up around lunch time to give me my tour of the NICU which I requested when I first arrived at the hospital.
Early on during my hospital stay, I searched for images of 27 week babies to prepare for what Baby E would look like if I had to deliver. I would follow this up with searching for information on what typical problems could happen during each gestational period as well. But for once, I did not obsess about each catastrophe that could happen. Instead, I just tucked the information neatly into a corner of my brain and did not pull it out. Each time a milestone would be passed, I would repeat this just to know what we would be up against.
Most of my thoughts have been directed towards what is happening in the present. This is not typical behavior for me as I'm always thinking towards the future and seemingly waiting for it to unfold. However infertility has changed me in this way, as I'm finally learning how to balance being in the present with my love of looking towards what is coming next. This stay in the hospital has been a very timely exercise in truly getting through each day as it comes. I can't make plans because I have absolutely no control over what happens next! So instead I pass my time from moment to moment, doing whatever strikes my fancy (within reach of course!).
Within this little cocoon of my hospital room, somewhere along the way I have started thinking of baby E making it until 37 weeks which essentially is full term. This is shocking after everything that has happened over the past month, but quite frankly, also within reach. If I continue on the way I have been going with little to no contractions and baby E keeps plugging away at growing, we could make it to 37 weeks.
As the days have passed by in a foggy haze of making it through each day, this hope of a full term baby has become much more real to me than what I saw today in the NICU. Today it scared the crap out of me thinking of my kiddo in there. Being wheeled through the rooms at this point brought to mind what really could have happened. Maybe I was just blocking out the reality that we could have fallen on the wrong side of the statistics again. He could have died.
Instead of thinking of the fact that baby E hopefully will need little intervention at this point in my pregnancy, I'm kind of turned around looking at what could have happened. Now my stomach is churning and my hands are shaking. Was I just trying to escape reality in tucking everything away? Am I delusional in trying to take things pragmatically moment to moment?
xoxo
Monday, September 6, 2010
No labor on labor day!
Bedrest Chronicles Day 34
Well another labor day has passed without any true labor on my part. Considering my position, I'll consider that a major achievement!
Current weight: +12 which means I lost a pound this week. No, I was not trying to do this. However, hospital food combined with me running out of fun-size milky ways did the trick. I am now restocked with peanut m&ms. Yum.
Baby status: getting gold stars on his non-stress tests (NSTs) and bio-physical profiles (BFP) this week AND he breathed everyday without making me suffer for thirty minutes on the blasted table. What a good boy! He has also reached the next milestone of 32 weeks which is a HUGE difference in premie world. My doc admitted to me that the night she saw me, she never thought we would make it this far. I'm so grateful for this!!!
Best foods of the week: peanut butter and jelly sandwich and cheetos! Having no chips for a month made the cheetos extra delicious.
Crying jags: One.
Activity of the week: hitting the balloon next to my bed over and over again.
Coolest things my hubby did: went to Target and bought a bunch of diapers since they are having a sale. My vision of him standing in the diaper aisle made me giggle. He also washed all of the baby clothes, sorted them, and started putting them away. :)
Score of the week: finding my video baby monitor 20% off at the above store. :)
Moment I'm not so proud of: getting irrationally angry after reading a post from a woman who did one IVF and got three kids (twins and singleton) out of fresh and frozen embryos--then complained about having to do IVF again to have her fourth. I hardly ever feel flat out pissed off because of my circumstances or those of others, but for some reason this time I wanted to kick her a@! (from my bedside of course).
Refreshing moment: hubby briefly mentioned to a work acquaintance (that he reconnected with up here) that I was in the hospital. He and his wife came to visit me with flowers, balloon, chocolate, and comfy socks. Even though we were strangers, it was nice to have someone go out of their way since I don't know anyone up here yet. My hubby said it "refreshed his faith in humanity" that someone would do something so unexpectedly nice.
Biggest news: my dad is feeling much better and is booked to come up to Anchorage on Saturday. This means I might break out of this joint in five days! I'm crossing my fingers on this!
xoxo
Well another labor day has passed without any true labor on my part. Considering my position, I'll consider that a major achievement!
Current weight: +12 which means I lost a pound this week. No, I was not trying to do this. However, hospital food combined with me running out of fun-size milky ways did the trick. I am now restocked with peanut m&ms. Yum.
Baby status: getting gold stars on his non-stress tests (NSTs) and bio-physical profiles (BFP) this week AND he breathed everyday without making me suffer for thirty minutes on the blasted table. What a good boy! He has also reached the next milestone of 32 weeks which is a HUGE difference in premie world. My doc admitted to me that the night she saw me, she never thought we would make it this far. I'm so grateful for this!!!
Best foods of the week: peanut butter and jelly sandwich and cheetos! Having no chips for a month made the cheetos extra delicious.
Crying jags: One.
Activity of the week: hitting the balloon next to my bed over and over again.
Coolest things my hubby did: went to Target and bought a bunch of diapers since they are having a sale. My vision of him standing in the diaper aisle made me giggle. He also washed all of the baby clothes, sorted them, and started putting them away. :)
Score of the week: finding my video baby monitor 20% off at the above store. :)
Moment I'm not so proud of: getting irrationally angry after reading a post from a woman who did one IVF and got three kids (twins and singleton) out of fresh and frozen embryos--then complained about having to do IVF again to have her fourth. I hardly ever feel flat out pissed off because of my circumstances or those of others, but for some reason this time I wanted to kick her a@! (from my bedside of course).
Refreshing moment: hubby briefly mentioned to a work acquaintance (that he reconnected with up here) that I was in the hospital. He and his wife came to visit me with flowers, balloon, chocolate, and comfy socks. Even though we were strangers, it was nice to have someone go out of their way since I don't know anyone up here yet. My hubby said it "refreshed his faith in humanity" that someone would do something so unexpectedly nice.
Biggest news: my dad is feeling much better and is booked to come up to Anchorage on Saturday. This means I might break out of this joint in five days! I'm crossing my fingers on this!
xoxo
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Bedrest: Day 21
The bedrest chronicles: day 21
With my doctor away for the weekend, my interim doc came in on Sunday with the news that I had failed the first gestational diabetes test with a score of 140. WHAT! For the first time, I seriously thought "Common' -- give me a freaking break here!" How many things can be thrown in my path of becoming a mom? But, I got over it and prepped to take the test the next morning which of course led to the grand debate between the nurses of whether or not I could drink water or not during the fasting period (yes, you can). I can deal without food, but not having water makes me exceedingly grumpy.
All food intake stopped at 8 pm, followed with some late night reading until 2 am and a lab tech coming in at 6:05 am to draw my baseline blood level. By 6:35, the nurses still hadn't brought the yummy delicious orange drink to me, so I buzzed them. It turned out that they couldn't find any 100 glucose bottles and instead had to give me two 50 glucose bottles. Essentially they are the same except that instead of downing 10 oz of the icky sweet semi flat Sunkist tasting drink, I got to down 20 oz. My mother told me to "just think of your college beer days" and my hubby wrote, "chug it like a sorority sister!" Ha ha. Oh how life changes. :)
The fun continued between the third and fourth blood draws as I was squeezed in for E's biophysical profile. Normally this would be fine except I started getting really woozy and felt like I was going to hurl about ten minutes into it! I had to grab the nurse's hand and ask her to grab me some water. Of course, this was the day with the training tech who then spent another fifteen minutes practicing her skills. Normally I wouldn't care, but I felt so gross by this point that I just wanted back in bed!
Finally we finished up both tests, and I was able to eat something. :) The best news of all--I passed! Whoohoo! For the rest of the day however, I laid in bed feeling off. As long as I can still eat my milky way fun size bars, I can deal with one day of being sick. :) Crisis averted!
xoxo
With my doctor away for the weekend, my interim doc came in on Sunday with the news that I had failed the first gestational diabetes test with a score of 140. WHAT! For the first time, I seriously thought "Common' -- give me a freaking break here!" How many things can be thrown in my path of becoming a mom? But, I got over it and prepped to take the test the next morning which of course led to the grand debate between the nurses of whether or not I could drink water or not during the fasting period (yes, you can). I can deal without food, but not having water makes me exceedingly grumpy.
All food intake stopped at 8 pm, followed with some late night reading until 2 am and a lab tech coming in at 6:05 am to draw my baseline blood level. By 6:35, the nurses still hadn't brought the yummy delicious orange drink to me, so I buzzed them. It turned out that they couldn't find any 100 glucose bottles and instead had to give me two 50 glucose bottles. Essentially they are the same except that instead of downing 10 oz of the icky sweet semi flat Sunkist tasting drink, I got to down 20 oz. My mother told me to "just think of your college beer days" and my hubby wrote, "chug it like a sorority sister!" Ha ha. Oh how life changes. :)
The fun continued between the third and fourth blood draws as I was squeezed in for E's biophysical profile. Normally this would be fine except I started getting really woozy and felt like I was going to hurl about ten minutes into it! I had to grab the nurse's hand and ask her to grab me some water. Of course, this was the day with the training tech who then spent another fifteen minutes practicing her skills. Normally I wouldn't care, but I felt so gross by this point that I just wanted back in bed!
Finally we finished up both tests, and I was able to eat something. :) The best news of all--I passed! Whoohoo! For the rest of the day however, I laid in bed feeling off. As long as I can still eat my milky way fun size bars, I can deal with one day of being sick. :) Crisis averted!
xoxo
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Bedrest: Day 18
The bedrest chronicles: Day 18
Hubby texts: What u doing
I text: Laying here :) You ?
Hubby texts: No really. Standing here.
I text: lol Where's here?
Hubby texts: Here is where the heart is.
I text: groan
Then he walks into my hospital room. Big dork - I love him so.
***
All is quiet here in my corner of the hospital. Baby E keeps passing his biophysical profiles with flying colors and his monitoring each night is strong. He keeps all of the nurses on their toes by continually dodging the heartbeat monitor or evading the ultrasound by curling up in odd positions or doing cheetah flips when they're trying to watch him breathing. Monitoring is really play time for him as he uses the the monitoring point as target practices for his hand chops and karate kicks. There is something about the waves it makes in his amniotic fluid that gets him all revved up! Playtime mommy!
An interesting tidbit of news that my doctor passed onto me was that most women who have preterm labor have one of three infections: strep B, mycoplasma or ureaplasma (spellings?). They start treating patients immediately for all three as the cultures take awhile, however mine came back positive for mycoplasma. The presence of this does not always cause preterm labor, but in my case, I fit the statistics. It's nice to know that it's nothing I could have prevented. More antibiotics it is for me!
Thank for the well wishes on my bathroom privileges! Yes, I'm a big girl now!! lol In all seriousness, it has made an incredible difference in my comfort. However the even bigger news is that we've been doing so well that the doc is going to send us home!!! In my wildest dreams, I did not expect to be able to go home before 32 weeks if at all. However, my lack of contractions, bleeding, and leaking has convinced my doctor that I should get to go home at 31 weeks. That means next weekend people! Yippee, hurrah, cartwheels!
My angel of a dad is flying up on Saturday to tend to me while I'm at home. While I'm a little nervous imagining that my stitch will tear open while we're taking the hour long drive from our house to the hospital, I'm glad that I'll be in such capable hands. My dad is an excellent caregiver who I'm sure will be a good tyrant about me doing absolutely nothing. He's also quite handy in the kitchen which makes me start drooling with longing over some non-mush like food. I swear I have eaten baked chicken and mashed potatoes like seven times this week to avoid whatever the special of the day they are whipping up down there in the hospital kitchen. I digress...
My other source of happiness came yesterday when my hubby brought down my darling dog, Sweetpea, to visit. With the advent of wheelchair privileges, I escaped from my little room into the delightful but rare sunshine that the skies have been hoarding. Apparently, this was the summer to move to Anchorage as it has rained for a record 31 days! So, in the sunshine, my hubby wheeled me out to a little grassy area and brought my wiggle-waggle dog to me. Just sitting there petting her soft fur and getting doggy kisses worked like a charm on my spirits. I must admit that this past week has not been my best as I started getting sad and a bit lonely. It was nothing a nice crying jag couldn't take care of but the happy dog visit really reversed my downward trend.
So here I lay on day 18 of hospital bed rest, overjoyed that tomorrow we will hit the 30 week mark. The next real milestone from the doc's perspective is 32 weeks, but I'm celebrating every day. Who would have thought I would make it here!
xoxo
Hubby texts: What u doing
I text: Laying here :) You ?
Hubby texts: No really. Standing here.
I text: lol Where's here?
Hubby texts: Here is where the heart is.
I text: groan
Then he walks into my hospital room. Big dork - I love him so.
***
All is quiet here in my corner of the hospital. Baby E keeps passing his biophysical profiles with flying colors and his monitoring each night is strong. He keeps all of the nurses on their toes by continually dodging the heartbeat monitor or evading the ultrasound by curling up in odd positions or doing cheetah flips when they're trying to watch him breathing. Monitoring is really play time for him as he uses the the monitoring point as target practices for his hand chops and karate kicks. There is something about the waves it makes in his amniotic fluid that gets him all revved up! Playtime mommy!
An interesting tidbit of news that my doctor passed onto me was that most women who have preterm labor have one of three infections: strep B, mycoplasma or ureaplasma (spellings?). They start treating patients immediately for all three as the cultures take awhile, however mine came back positive for mycoplasma. The presence of this does not always cause preterm labor, but in my case, I fit the statistics. It's nice to know that it's nothing I could have prevented. More antibiotics it is for me!
Thank for the well wishes on my bathroom privileges! Yes, I'm a big girl now!! lol In all seriousness, it has made an incredible difference in my comfort. However the even bigger news is that we've been doing so well that the doc is going to send us home!!! In my wildest dreams, I did not expect to be able to go home before 32 weeks if at all. However, my lack of contractions, bleeding, and leaking has convinced my doctor that I should get to go home at 31 weeks. That means next weekend people! Yippee, hurrah, cartwheels!
My angel of a dad is flying up on Saturday to tend to me while I'm at home. While I'm a little nervous imagining that my stitch will tear open while we're taking the hour long drive from our house to the hospital, I'm glad that I'll be in such capable hands. My dad is an excellent caregiver who I'm sure will be a good tyrant about me doing absolutely nothing. He's also quite handy in the kitchen which makes me start drooling with longing over some non-mush like food. I swear I have eaten baked chicken and mashed potatoes like seven times this week to avoid whatever the special of the day they are whipping up down there in the hospital kitchen. I digress...
My other source of happiness came yesterday when my hubby brought down my darling dog, Sweetpea, to visit. With the advent of wheelchair privileges, I escaped from my little room into the delightful but rare sunshine that the skies have been hoarding. Apparently, this was the summer to move to Anchorage as it has rained for a record 31 days! So, in the sunshine, my hubby wheeled me out to a little grassy area and brought my wiggle-waggle dog to me. Just sitting there petting her soft fur and getting doggy kisses worked like a charm on my spirits. I must admit that this past week has not been my best as I started getting sad and a bit lonely. It was nothing a nice crying jag couldn't take care of but the happy dog visit really reversed my downward trend.
So here I lay on day 18 of hospital bed rest, overjoyed that tomorrow we will hit the 30 week mark. The next real milestone from the doc's perspective is 32 weeks, but I'm celebrating every day. Who would have thought I would make it here!
xoxo
Friday, August 13, 2010
Bedrest: The beauty of...TMI alert!
Really, this is a TMI alert for you. Seriously. You have been warned.
Most of my self consciousness about exposing my girly parts was eradicated by the repeated wandings and probings that occurred during my infertility treatments. For example, the twice daily "peri" care for the catheter insert didn't really phase me. I do wonder though, how many people have now seen my girly parts in the last year. I bet the number would now rival any working girl! :) lol However, I realized there was a new level of consciousness when it came to my backside.
So this being said, I must tell you that the title of this blog refers to: The beauty of bathroom privileges!!!!! As of Wednesday night, I have been granted bathroom privileges which I promise feels as wonderous as driving a car for the first time or turning twenty-one! It seems like life has just gotten so much better with the return of a little autonomy. One of the really nice benefits of being able to stand up once in awhile is that I don't ache as bad from lying down so much. Sigh. Relief.
When my hubby first heard of my release from the catheter, I swear he turned a little green with worry. This is unlike my husband as he is usually rock solid with any news. Yet, I think with all of the craziness that has been had until this point, he would like to tuck me away, preferably into a coma, until baby E can emerge safely. I think I love him a little more for showing his worry for me. :)
Despite the new freedoms, my lack of contractions has stayed consistent which makes everybody happy. My doctor even mentioned today that she is contemplating when I might get to go home! I didn't expect that until at least 32 weeks, so we'll see.
Hope all is well with you.
xoxo
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Bedrest: care package!!
Today my day was made when my favorite nurse, M, walked in with a box for me. Care package, people! I literally took like an hour in opening it because, well let's face it, my days are pretty wide open! My sister with help from my dear friend E picked all sorts of items to keep my spirits up. Let me share with you:
Skittles, Starburst, wipes, hair clips, Olay facial cleansers, one use toothbrushes, Tootsie pop drops, some Paul F socks, Southern Living mag....
Bare.Minerals sun-kissed pack, a complete set of everything needed for a pedicure including mini nail polishes of my fave brand...
A whole travel case to hang from my bed stocked with all the essentials to make my lips, face, hair, and nails look fabulous dah-ling...
Do I not have the best sister and friend? They completely made my day.
xoxo
Bare.Minerals sun-kissed pack, a complete set of everything needed for a pedicure including mini nail polishes of my fave brand...
A whole travel case to hang from my bed stocked with all the essentials to make my lips, face, hair, and nails look fabulous dah-ling...
Do I not have the best sister and friend? They completely made my day.
xoxo
Monday, August 9, 2010
Bedrest: tidbits
The Bedrest Chronicles:
Bedrest Type: Complete. May raise bed up to 30 degrees to aid digestion during meals. No bathroom privileges (yes, this means a catheter and bedpans).
Food: Whatever I want. Including afternoon and midnight snacks such as cheesecake, fresh fruit or shakes. Best food items so far: fresh grapes and pineapple, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cereal, and the pizza we ordered in.
Necessary Items: iphone, computer, books, lip junk, facial wipes (so you don't have to wait to clean your face in the morning), breath mints (so you can kiss your hubby without knocking him over), your own pillow, a pen (for luxuriously choosing your hospital oh-so-delicious meals and snacks in the morning), a huge cup for water, TV series on DVD (my choice today - Alias Season I), family and friends ready to text, call, and facebook, a complete lack of dignity and modesty, and a sense of humor.
Items Still Lusting After From Afar: Kindle (dammit they just came out with a new one but it won't be ready for delivery until September), an air mattress bed (mine is far too uncomfortable--might I mention there are only two in the prenatal ward--hello going too be here for a loooong time!)
Activity of the Week: shooting trash across the room at the bin and completely missing many times until there is a little pile of garbage on the floor.
Favorite Moment: having pizza and movie with hubby yesterday
Least Favorite Moment: breaking out into contractions during pizza date and requiring anti-nausea and anti-contraction meds. Thankfully it only took one shot to get them under control.
Move Status: We closed on our house Monday before I came to the hospital. Now my fantastic hubby has unpacked 75% of the house along with a huge list of things required when you move into new construction such as ordering blinds, arranging for landscaping, etc.
Work Status: I called my scheduler and quit all of my online classes as soon as this happened. I don't want any stress!
What I miss: my dog.
Attitude Status: I no longer cry when my hubby leaves after visiting. Pretty mellow for the rest of the day. Not angry. Not sad this happened. Just taking one moment and day at a time. Happy that we reached 28 weeks.
That's it!
xoxo
Bedrest Type: Complete. May raise bed up to 30 degrees to aid digestion during meals. No bathroom privileges (yes, this means a catheter and bedpans).
Food: Whatever I want. Including afternoon and midnight snacks such as cheesecake, fresh fruit or shakes. Best food items so far: fresh grapes and pineapple, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cereal, and the pizza we ordered in.
Necessary Items: iphone, computer, books, lip junk, facial wipes (so you don't have to wait to clean your face in the morning), breath mints (so you can kiss your hubby without knocking him over), your own pillow, a pen (for luxuriously choosing your hospital oh-so-delicious meals and snacks in the morning), a huge cup for water, TV series on DVD (my choice today - Alias Season I), family and friends ready to text, call, and facebook, a complete lack of dignity and modesty, and a sense of humor.
Items Still Lusting After From Afar: Kindle (dammit they just came out with a new one but it won't be ready for delivery until September), an air mattress bed (mine is far too uncomfortable--might I mention there are only two in the prenatal ward--hello going too be here for a loooong time!)
Activity of the Week: shooting trash across the room at the bin and completely missing many times until there is a little pile of garbage on the floor.
Favorite Moment: having pizza and movie with hubby yesterday
Least Favorite Moment: breaking out into contractions during pizza date and requiring anti-nausea and anti-contraction meds. Thankfully it only took one shot to get them under control.
Move Status: We closed on our house Monday before I came to the hospital. Now my fantastic hubby has unpacked 75% of the house along with a huge list of things required when you move into new construction such as ordering blinds, arranging for landscaping, etc.
Work Status: I called my scheduler and quit all of my online classes as soon as this happened. I don't want any stress!
What I miss: my dog.
Attitude Status: I no longer cry when my hubby leaves after visiting. Pretty mellow for the rest of the day. Not angry. Not sad this happened. Just taking one moment and day at a time. Happy that we reached 28 weeks.
That's it!
xoxo
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Dereliction of a Blogger and a Cervix
For many days now I have been wanting to blog but either too busy or too tired to write anything! First I didn't want to write to complain about the 60 days we've spent traveling or living in an on post hotel (because it can get old after awhile). Then I was way too busy partying like a pregnant woman (ie eating and providing old friends with copious amounts of alcohol) in California! Hitting the ground running when I landed back in Alaska, I've been busy closing on our new house. More on all of these fun fantastic events later as they definitely deserve their own posts.
Last night I surpassed my dereliction of duty as blogger and added an MIA cervix to boot. Yes, just when I thought everything was okay and I was ready to start preparing for this baby....my incompetent cervix hit.
On Friday, my husband and I shared a little loving which has been far and few between with our mutual fear of somehow hurting baby E. Later that night I noticed the mucus I had been discharging for about a week was tinged with blood which made me a little nervous. When I called L & D to check with the nurse, she indicated that it was probably something coming loose from earlier in the day. So I continued on with life, checking but not worried about this. However, on Monday, it got worse which prompted phone call #2. The nurse didn't think that it was too much of a problem, but said to go ahead and come in anyway just to check.
When I arrived, they hooked me up to hear the baby's heartbeat and for contractions which they said I was not having. After finishing the vaginal exam, the doctor asked me, "How much do you know about pregnancy complications?" Dum dum dum. You really don't want your doc asking you that! I braced myself said, "enough to know a lot of crappy things can happen." To make a long story short, I was four inches dilated with the amniotic sac and feet hanging through my cervix. Antibiotics to ward off infection and steroids for baby E's lungs were administered. They transferred me by ambulance to the larger hospital in Anchorage with the NICU (which I came to find out is ranked #2 in the country). There, I had definite contractions which slowed down a little with some lovely drugs. My new doc shot very straight telling us we had three options: 1) Have surgery to put in a cervical stitch after they pushed the amniotic sac and feet back in and then remain on bed rest in the hospital until delivery; 2) do nothing and bed rest in hospital until delivery, or 3) deliver him right then. We went with option one even though it's not typical to do this stitch after about 22 weeks. We didn't really have anything to lose with option one and our doc has had success with this even past the 22 week mark.
I may be kind of morbid in this sense, but I have the knowledge that with any surgery there are risks. So I told my husband that if I died, to know that I loved him and to make sure baby E knew I loved him dearly. After many phone calls to my family, I finally managed to wake my dad up and let him know what was going on. They whisked me off to surgery immediately after this. Thankfully everything went smoothly and they had me tucked away in the prenatal ward in the early morning. Where now I sit typing this and will remain for either the duration of my pregnancy or possibly until 32 weeks if I have someone to take care of me at home.
Speaking of home, my terrific husband is going to get to receive our household goods and unpack all by his lonesome AGAIN! Last time we arrived somewhere new, I was in my 2WW for IVF #2. He had the whole house unpacked in four days! Now he gets to do this again which will actually be a great distraction for him instead of sitting here with me.
The whole ordeal is in perspective for me. While I don't love or even like that this happened, I am grateful that everything is okay for now. I'm ecstatic that we're at 27 weeks and have a chance at a viable healthy baby. I know that I love my husband, my family, my friends, and my baby B. It could be better, but it could be a lot worse. So for that I'm grateful.
xoxo
Last night I surpassed my dereliction of duty as blogger and added an MIA cervix to boot. Yes, just when I thought everything was okay and I was ready to start preparing for this baby....my incompetent cervix hit.
On Friday, my husband and I shared a little loving which has been far and few between with our mutual fear of somehow hurting baby E. Later that night I noticed the mucus I had been discharging for about a week was tinged with blood which made me a little nervous. When I called L & D to check with the nurse, she indicated that it was probably something coming loose from earlier in the day. So I continued on with life, checking but not worried about this. However, on Monday, it got worse which prompted phone call #2. The nurse didn't think that it was too much of a problem, but said to go ahead and come in anyway just to check.
When I arrived, they hooked me up to hear the baby's heartbeat and for contractions which they said I was not having. After finishing the vaginal exam, the doctor asked me, "How much do you know about pregnancy complications?" Dum dum dum. You really don't want your doc asking you that! I braced myself said, "enough to know a lot of crappy things can happen." To make a long story short, I was four inches dilated with the amniotic sac and feet hanging through my cervix. Antibiotics to ward off infection and steroids for baby E's lungs were administered. They transferred me by ambulance to the larger hospital in Anchorage with the NICU (which I came to find out is ranked #2 in the country). There, I had definite contractions which slowed down a little with some lovely drugs. My new doc shot very straight telling us we had three options: 1) Have surgery to put in a cervical stitch after they pushed the amniotic sac and feet back in and then remain on bed rest in the hospital until delivery; 2) do nothing and bed rest in hospital until delivery, or 3) deliver him right then. We went with option one even though it's not typical to do this stitch after about 22 weeks. We didn't really have anything to lose with option one and our doc has had success with this even past the 22 week mark.
I may be kind of morbid in this sense, but I have the knowledge that with any surgery there are risks. So I told my husband that if I died, to know that I loved him and to make sure baby E knew I loved him dearly. After many phone calls to my family, I finally managed to wake my dad up and let him know what was going on. They whisked me off to surgery immediately after this. Thankfully everything went smoothly and they had me tucked away in the prenatal ward in the early morning. Where now I sit typing this and will remain for either the duration of my pregnancy or possibly until 32 weeks if I have someone to take care of me at home.
Speaking of home, my terrific husband is going to get to receive our household goods and unpack all by his lonesome AGAIN! Last time we arrived somewhere new, I was in my 2WW for IVF #2. He had the whole house unpacked in four days! Now he gets to do this again which will actually be a great distraction for him instead of sitting here with me.
The whole ordeal is in perspective for me. While I don't love or even like that this happened, I am grateful that everything is okay for now. I'm ecstatic that we're at 27 weeks and have a chance at a viable healthy baby. I know that I love my husband, my family, my friends, and my baby B. It could be better, but it could be a lot worse. So for that I'm grateful.
xoxo
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