Yep, the title of this post pretty much describes the theme of my life for the past 24 hours. Yesterday I officially hit 34 weeks, so all of the meds that I have been taking for the last month to stop my contractions ended Tuesday night. We knew that Wednesday was probably going to be an "interesting" day, but I'm not sure we realized exactly how interesting.
I started having regular contractions at about 12:30 Wednesday afternoon and they were coming about 5 to 6 minutes apart. It actually worked out well because we were heading to our appointment with the perinatologist for my weekly sonogram (which happens to be in the same building as the hospital) at 2:00. The sonogram showed that my cervix had shortened back down to 20 mm (down from 40 mm the week before). After confirming that everything was wonderful with Cooper, he sent us down to Labor and Delivery to get monitored. By the time we got down to L&D, not only were my contractions coming 5 minutes apart, but they had increased quite a bit in intensity.
I got all situated in the not-so-flattering hospital gown and got hooked up on all the monitors (which I think I could probably do on my own by now), and Nurse Ratched (as I quickly nicknamed her) looked at me and said, "Wow. . .you are contracting". It seriously took all the restraint I had left in me not to reply back to her, "No sh*# Sherlock"! I mean SERIOUSLY. . .why did she think I was there?? She called the doctor on call from the practice I go to (of course, my doctor is on vacation this week) and they monitored me for about an hour then "checked me". Now, those of you who have had babies and know how "fun" it is to be checked can understand what I mean when I tell you that if felt like her fist was going to come out of my throat. At that point, I was barely a fingertip dilated. She called the doctor back. . .two more hours of monitoring and then they were going to check me again. At this point, my contractions were literally off the charts and I was threatening to stretch Sean's genitiles over his head. . .especially when he was watching the monitors and would say, "That contraction was not so bad". SERIOUSLY??
At 6:00, Nurse Ratched checked me again and indicated that I had not made any progress, but I was bleeding a little bit which was not surprising (back to the whole fist coming out of my throat thing). She said two more hours of monitoring, and then another check. UGH!! Thank goodness they had shift change at 7:00 and I got a very sweet nurse named Abby. By this point, all the other patients that had been in "triage" had long since gone home, so I was the only patient. Abby was wonderful about getting me what I needed and making me as comfortable as possible on those slats of wood they try to pass off as beds.
At 8:00 it was time for another "check" and apparently my cervix WAS residing in my throat, because Abby could not get to it. . .so she was off to get the doctor who was running back and forth between a c-section and another delivery. If you are thinking that this sounds like a scene from Father of the Bride 2, you are exactly right! We finally saw Dr. Light at 9:00, she checked me very quickly and indicated that I was now to 2cm. YEA!! I figured that was great news and we could get admitted to Labor & Delivery (with real beds). . .but no! She decided to wait 2 more hours, pump 2 bags of IV fluids in me and check me again at 11:00. THEN, she and Sean proceed to start a conversation about what they are going to have for dinner since it appeared we were going to have a long night ahead of us!! SERIOUSELY?? Keep in mind that I had no eaten anything since 9:00 in the morning and I was STARVING. But of course, I was not allowed to have anything beyond ice chips. There are just some things that should not be discussed in front of a woman in labor, and food is one of them.
Dr. Light thought that the IV fluids might settle my contractions down in the case that I was hydrated, but they didn't. In fact, they started coming on even stronger and closer together. She checked me again at 11:00 and then got this "look" on her face which I have learned is never good. She said, "Well, this is not what I expected" and indicated that it felt like my cervix had started closing up. SERIOUSLY?? Another topic not to popular with a woman in labor!
By this point, we had been in triage for 7 hours (which I think may be a record). Dr. Light was not comfortable sending me home because my contractions were still coming very quickly. However, since I was not making progress, she could not admit me to Labor and Delivery. She decided at that point to go ahead and admit me to the hospital and start me on some medication for the pain and something to help me sleep.
By the time we got up to my room, it was after midnight and I have no idea how Sean and I were even still functioning at this point. They got me settled and I sent Sean home to get some rest. Once I got my cocktail of narcotics injected into my IV, I was LOVING life. I know I had a conversation with the nurse as she was injecting the meds, but for the life of me, I have no recollection of what the conversation was. It was like she was pouring a bottle of my favorite wine into me!
I think it was around 1:00 am when I passed out and did not feel anything until around 5:00. I waddled back and forth to the bathroom with my IV pole and had a few contractions, but nothing significant. I did get a wonderful breakfast tray of Jell-O and chicken broth. . .not exactly what you want at 8:00 in the morning when you haven't eaten in 24 hours! I saw the doctor around 8:30 and he said because the contractions had pretty much stopped, he was going to go ahead and send me home. We had a long discussion about what happened the night before. Basically, he indicated that if I had been 38 or 39 weeks, they would have broken my water and Cooper would have arrived. However, since I am only 34 weeks, the could not do anything to help my labor along. He said that we may be in to quite a few more nights like what we had just experienced until Cooper actually arrives or until my c-section, whatever comes first!
Sean came and picked me up and I was completely exhausted, sore, frustrated and HUNGRY. My sweet husband went through the drive-thru at Chick-fil-a and got me a chicken biscuit, and I don't think that I have ever inhaled food so fast. As soon as we got home, I fell into bed and stayed there until 4:30 this afternoon.
As things stand right now, the contractions have tapered off for the most part. We have an appointment at 10:30 tomorrow morning with my doctor who will be back from vacation (YEA) and will go from there. Until then, back to bed rest for me and trying to hang onto the tiny sliver of sanity that I have left.
Thank you for all of your sweet notes and continued prayers.
Much love,
Sean, Laurie, Kaleigh, Meghan and Cooper
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Home Sweet (but crazy) Home
I know. . .I know! I've been home for a week now and I have not blogged at all. My apologies and hopefully I will get better about this. After all, what else do I have to do. . .right?
I made it home last Wednesday and it was the best feeling in the world! Even though I am on strict bed rest, it's wonderful to be able to cuddle with my girls in bed and give them kisses anytime I want to! Physically, it's much harder than being in the hospital because there are so many temptations. . .I just want to get up and get things done. However, emotionally I don't think I could have made it another day in the hospital. I just needed to get home to my family.
The first night I was at home was a very restless one for ALL of us. Sean has to set the alarm for 2:00 every morning for me to take my medicine which doesn't bode well when we typically don't go to bed until 11:30 or 12:00 in the evening as it is. Between Cooper doing the River Dance on my bladder, the thunder storms early that morning and just the pure excitement of being home, I think I got about 3 hours of sleep.
Meghan woke up Thursday morning complaining of a headache, and we just chalked it up to not sleeping well. When she crawled into bed with me and fell asleep for two hours, we knew there was a problem. When she woke up, her temperature was over 101 degrees. . .ugh!! We called the pediatrician because with the anti-inflammatory medicine she is on for her arthritis, we weren't sure what we could give her for the fever. Our pediatrician steered us in the right direction and told us that if she was still running a fever on Friday to bring her in. She slept off and on most of the day Thursday and as much as Daddy was trying to keep some distance between us so she wouldn't get me sick, there is nothing like cuddle time when your baby is not feeling well.
Friday we woke up and Meghan was still running a very high fever, so Sean scooped her up and headed into the doctor's office. While he was there, we got a phone call from Sean's brother (in Colorado) informing us that he and his wife were in the hospital. Now, let me fill in the holes here on this story. Sean's brother Paul and his wife Kathy found out they were expecting around the same time we did. Kathy's due date is EXACTLY one week earlier than mine, but they also found out that they were having TWINS! About three months ago, they found out that one of the twins had not survived. However, for the safety of the surviving baby, Kathy was going to have to carry BOTH babies until she delivered. OK. . .so back to last Friday. Kathy had not felt Amelia move in about 12 hours, so Paul took her to the hospital. After blood work and monitoring, they determined that Amelia was in distress, so the doctor decided to do an emergency c-section to deliver both babies. Now keep in mind that Sean's mother, who lives in Colorado, is here with us because it looked like Cooper was going to be arriving early. Now we get this call that Amelia is arriving early, and Sean's mother is here in Texas. . .UGH!! I think I cried all day Friday because my heart was breaking for Paul and Kathy and because I felt so guilty that Sue could not be with them. It was a very bitter sweet day, but Amelia Susan Reynolds arrived safely into the world Friday morning weighing 4 pounds 11 ounces. She was immediately sent to NICU, but is doing great. She is now off all of the monitors, and now they are just trying to get the feeding process down.
Our pediatrician tested Meghan for strep, the flu and mono. . .all of which came back negative. However, she did see some puss pockets on her throat (sorry for the gross factor) and based on her blood work, it looked like what she had was bacterial, so she was put on a course of antibiotics. By Saturday, Meghan was feeling much better, I had stopped crying, and all seemed to be much better with the world.
My contractions for the most part have not been bad since I have been home. I have my good days and bad days. . .Sunday and Monday were both pretty bad days for me. But I learned a lot of "tricks" while I was in the hospital for keeping the contractions at bay. It's so funny now listening to Dr. Sean when the contractions start. He asks me (typically in this order) how far apart they are, what the intensity is on a scale of 1 to 10 and if it's time to go to the hospital. I think he must practice in his sleep!!
Yesterday I hit 33 weeks and my doctor is THRILLED that I have made it this far. Cooper is doing great and is weighing in at 6 pounds 4 ounces. I love it when we have a new doctor/technician that does my sonograms, because I get to watch the expression on their face when they calculate Cooper's weight. They typically look at the screen, look at me, and then look back at the screen again. Then, without them even having to ask me, I say, "Yes, my due date is right and yes, I know how big his head is". Based on all the measurements they took yesterday, Cooper is in the 86th percentile and I should actually be 37 or 38 weeks along. . .LOL!!
After the sonogram, we went for the appointment with my OB/GYN who informed us that because of his size, Cooper will be delivered via c-section. I was disappointed, but completely understand that it's what's best for both of us. Kaleigh was a c-section and Meghan was a VBAC (Google it if you are not sure what that is), and I was really hoping to have another VBAC, but the chance of my uterus rupturing is too great based on the pure enormity of this baby! One of my friends told me that instead of a VBAC, I will be having a CBAC. . .I thought that was pretty clever!
So. . .where does that leave us? I go off the medication that is stopping my contractions next Wednesday (34 weeks). I will stay on bed rest until 36 weeks and, if Cooper has not made his arrival yet, I imagine my c-section will be scheduled for sometime around 37 or 38 weeks (we'll probably be scheduling the date at my doctor's appointment next week).
Sean's dad comes into town this Saturday (I have LOTS of projects scheduled for him) and then he and Sean's mom will leave next Saturday (the 15th) to head home to Colorado. I am so thankful that Sean's mom has been here with us and she has been a HUGE help with running errands, entertaining the girls and getting me whatever I need. We continue to be blessed by all of our friends who are checking in on us, bringing us meals, and helping us out in any way possible. We are very lucky to have such a huge support system, and this little guy has no idea how much he is already loved!
Much love,
Sean, Laurie, Kaleigh, Meghan and Super Chunk!
I made it home last Wednesday and it was the best feeling in the world! Even though I am on strict bed rest, it's wonderful to be able to cuddle with my girls in bed and give them kisses anytime I want to! Physically, it's much harder than being in the hospital because there are so many temptations. . .I just want to get up and get things done. However, emotionally I don't think I could have made it another day in the hospital. I just needed to get home to my family.
The first night I was at home was a very restless one for ALL of us. Sean has to set the alarm for 2:00 every morning for me to take my medicine which doesn't bode well when we typically don't go to bed until 11:30 or 12:00 in the evening as it is. Between Cooper doing the River Dance on my bladder, the thunder storms early that morning and just the pure excitement of being home, I think I got about 3 hours of sleep.
Meghan woke up Thursday morning complaining of a headache, and we just chalked it up to not sleeping well. When she crawled into bed with me and fell asleep for two hours, we knew there was a problem. When she woke up, her temperature was over 101 degrees. . .ugh!! We called the pediatrician because with the anti-inflammatory medicine she is on for her arthritis, we weren't sure what we could give her for the fever. Our pediatrician steered us in the right direction and told us that if she was still running a fever on Friday to bring her in. She slept off and on most of the day Thursday and as much as Daddy was trying to keep some distance between us so she wouldn't get me sick, there is nothing like cuddle time when your baby is not feeling well.
Friday we woke up and Meghan was still running a very high fever, so Sean scooped her up and headed into the doctor's office. While he was there, we got a phone call from Sean's brother (in Colorado) informing us that he and his wife were in the hospital. Now, let me fill in the holes here on this story. Sean's brother Paul and his wife Kathy found out they were expecting around the same time we did. Kathy's due date is EXACTLY one week earlier than mine, but they also found out that they were having TWINS! About three months ago, they found out that one of the twins had not survived. However, for the safety of the surviving baby, Kathy was going to have to carry BOTH babies until she delivered. OK. . .so back to last Friday. Kathy had not felt Amelia move in about 12 hours, so Paul took her to the hospital. After blood work and monitoring, they determined that Amelia was in distress, so the doctor decided to do an emergency c-section to deliver both babies. Now keep in mind that Sean's mother, who lives in Colorado, is here with us because it looked like Cooper was going to be arriving early. Now we get this call that Amelia is arriving early, and Sean's mother is here in Texas. . .UGH!! I think I cried all day Friday because my heart was breaking for Paul and Kathy and because I felt so guilty that Sue could not be with them. It was a very bitter sweet day, but Amelia Susan Reynolds arrived safely into the world Friday morning weighing 4 pounds 11 ounces. She was immediately sent to NICU, but is doing great. She is now off all of the monitors, and now they are just trying to get the feeding process down.
Our pediatrician tested Meghan for strep, the flu and mono. . .all of which came back negative. However, she did see some puss pockets on her throat (sorry for the gross factor) and based on her blood work, it looked like what she had was bacterial, so she was put on a course of antibiotics. By Saturday, Meghan was feeling much better, I had stopped crying, and all seemed to be much better with the world.
My contractions for the most part have not been bad since I have been home. I have my good days and bad days. . .Sunday and Monday were both pretty bad days for me. But I learned a lot of "tricks" while I was in the hospital for keeping the contractions at bay. It's so funny now listening to Dr. Sean when the contractions start. He asks me (typically in this order) how far apart they are, what the intensity is on a scale of 1 to 10 and if it's time to go to the hospital. I think he must practice in his sleep!!
Yesterday I hit 33 weeks and my doctor is THRILLED that I have made it this far. Cooper is doing great and is weighing in at 6 pounds 4 ounces. I love it when we have a new doctor/technician that does my sonograms, because I get to watch the expression on their face when they calculate Cooper's weight. They typically look at the screen, look at me, and then look back at the screen again. Then, without them even having to ask me, I say, "Yes, my due date is right and yes, I know how big his head is". Based on all the measurements they took yesterday, Cooper is in the 86th percentile and I should actually be 37 or 38 weeks along. . .LOL!!
After the sonogram, we went for the appointment with my OB/GYN who informed us that because of his size, Cooper will be delivered via c-section. I was disappointed, but completely understand that it's what's best for both of us. Kaleigh was a c-section and Meghan was a VBAC (Google it if you are not sure what that is), and I was really hoping to have another VBAC, but the chance of my uterus rupturing is too great based on the pure enormity of this baby! One of my friends told me that instead of a VBAC, I will be having a CBAC. . .I thought that was pretty clever!
So. . .where does that leave us? I go off the medication that is stopping my contractions next Wednesday (34 weeks). I will stay on bed rest until 36 weeks and, if Cooper has not made his arrival yet, I imagine my c-section will be scheduled for sometime around 37 or 38 weeks (we'll probably be scheduling the date at my doctor's appointment next week).
Sean's dad comes into town this Saturday (I have LOTS of projects scheduled for him) and then he and Sean's mom will leave next Saturday (the 15th) to head home to Colorado. I am so thankful that Sean's mom has been here with us and she has been a HUGE help with running errands, entertaining the girls and getting me whatever I need. We continue to be blessed by all of our friends who are checking in on us, bringing us meals, and helping us out in any way possible. We are very lucky to have such a huge support system, and this little guy has no idea how much he is already loved!
Much love,
Sean, Laurie, Kaleigh, Meghan and Super Chunk!
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