October 2006 Archives
So, I've been in the hospital for over nine days now. The social worker says we're supposed to cross off the days and only look behind, never look ahead. I don't know if that really works for engineer-types.
But nothing has changed so far, and that is a good thing. They can't check me for dilation, b/c of the risk of infection, and any woman knows that is a good thing.
I can't really complain, I have all the time in the world to ponder, pray and play on the computer. The hard things are not being able to care for Luke, and Chad too, and it's still very hard to sleep.
I convinced myself though, that not getting sleep is a good thing. That part won't change when I get home, so I've given myself the OK to take naps during the day, since that's probably the only time I'll sleep with two kids at home.
At least I've gotten through the week. Today is Friday, and Chad and Luke will be here soon. And tomorrow is the weekend. Though I will still only have afternoon visitors like the weekdays, it seems like a milestone. In the hospital, every day is the same, so it's hard to keep track of days, and you have to tell yourself that Saturday still is a better day.
And this week, most of the family will come down on Sunday. Doug will be in town, and all the kids are going to visit in their Halloween costumes. So I am very excited for Sunday!
After a busy day Sunday, I'll have 12 Days Down!
This pregnancy has been very different than my first. Little girl wants to make her mark already. My water broke one week ago. So, now I'm confined to a solitary hospital room to prevent infection.
I hope to make it about four more weeks. At that point, they would induce me. The baby would be developed enough that the risk of infection is greater than the risks of delivering early.
Well, as soon as they introduce one intervention, it snowballs from there. If I'm induced, I might be confined to bed for my labor, which means I would probably need pain meds, and I might need the internal scalp monitor...I can't believe it was 5 days before I thought to ask questions about the birth. I guess I am more concerned about the baby's health. But, I was hoping to improve my performance from my first birth, espeically since the baby will be smaller and second labors almost always are faster.
Hopefully my doctor will be able to visit tomorrow, instead of just getting a phone call. My list of questions is huge. Of course I plan on a natural birth again, but I don't even know whether my doctor's will allow it since I'm "high risk".
There is a baby boom (same as when Luke was born), and they said they've been really swamped at the regular hospital with deliveries. The week Luke was born, there were no spare rooms. This time, I'm at a hospital with a NICU, and the hospital is absolutely huge, and they have ante- (pre) partum , labor, and post-partum wards.
So, I need to try to sleep. With a pill, it's pretty easy; without a pill, I get about 2 hours a night. They give me meds at 10pm and 6am, and take my temp at midnight. And day naps are impossible: it is inevitable that someone either needs my vitals, or wants to change my garbage, 10 minutes after I doze off.
Good news: I am in a great hospital. I've heard nothing but good news about the NICU staff. And I'm at 29 weeks, so most likely Baby is past the most critical hurdles of development. And Chad and Luke are doing great at home.
