MY FIRST DAYS AT THE HOSPITAL

FIRST OFFICIAL DAY (5/25/14-Sunday)

Let’s see, I think the highlight of my days (other than seeing my family) has been picking out meals. For breakfast I had a breakfast burrito and fruit and yogurt parfait. It was pretty good. The doc came in to check on me briefly and then went about his rounds. I was put on the baby monitor and again heart beat was wonderful and I was not having contractions. Dave called to check in with me and he told me that he woke up in the middle of the night and was all wet! He realized Lincoln had wet the bed and his thought was ‘it’s only my first night without melissa and I’m already doing things wrong’. Poor guy! He knew that if I were there I would have not let him give the boys huge slushies right before bed, but it was a good laugh and I needed it. He’s such a good father and the boys love being with him so I’m not worried.

Dave and the boys came to visit me and they brought some trains and cars and snacks oh and lets not forget my bathroom things. I was really happy to see them and they were happy to see me too. We ate lunch together and the boys played. Dave and I talked and reflected on some things. They stayed for a few hours and then went home for naps and dinner. When they left I called the nurse and let her know I was ready to take a shower…she has to wrap my IV so it doesn’t get wet, but I can bathe on my own. She came into the room and let me know that she just got a call from the MFM (who wasn’t supposed to be here til Tuesday) and he was downstairs and wanted to do my ultrasound today. They brought in a wheel chair and wheeled me down to his office area. At the conclusion of the ultrasound he said that the baby is measuring at 24+0, which was good since I was only 23+4 and many women on my support boards say their baby’s measure early. He also said that he is growing on time and that all of his organs look normal. Of course he can’t say how the lungs are doing, which is our biggest challenge with my waters breaking so early. He saw fluid in his tummy and bladder, which is a good sign because he is swallowing fluids. I also saw that my fluids measured at 1.76cm, which means that my body and the baby are making fluids. That number is a little more than what I had after my 20 week ultrasound (I had 1.6cm) and the 1.76cm was after little leaks and a big gush! That was very comforting to me. I called Dave and told him what was going on and the news made him happy too!

They wheeled me back up to my room and I got to take my shower! I felt very refreshed and just relaxed for the rest of the day. I watched some more drop dead diva and talked with family. Dave also sent me some fun pictures of the boys playing outside enjoying their water table. I’m glad they love it and I’m glad this is the first time they are playing with it, new toys are good in this situation. Dave came back to the hospital last night after putting the boys to bed and we watched a few episodes of Veronica Mars. It was nice to sit and relax with him. When he left, I realized he forgot his cell phone. I had another dose of antibiotics before going to bed and slept almost the entire night. I was up for about one hour and then slept just fine.

DAY TWO (5/26/14-Monday)

Today is Memorial Day and it is the day that I decided to start this blog. My dad mentioned it and writing is a good outlet for me. I woke up today feeling refreshed! I had my morning vitals checked and ordered/ate breakfast. I watched the boys’ cartoons this morning because it reminds me of them and makes me happy. I read on my support boards and little and then started writing this blog. I’ve talked with Dave and the boys on the phone (they went to a Memorial Day service and went home to play with their water table while lunch is getting ready). They plan to take naps and then come visit this afternoon. This blogging thing is actually a good time distractor as I look at the clock it has already been 3 hours! During this initial post I have had my last IV antibiotics and a very good monitoring of baby and contractions. Now since it is 1pm I will eat some lunch and take a shower before the boys get here, plus I need to send Dave a list of some things to bring me today.

The rest of the day turned out to be alright. I watched some more tv (no surprise there), looked up some jobs for Dave (I definitely have the time), and had a visit from my wonderful husband and boys! That is always the best part of my day. They were happy and cute as always! They had a fun day going to a memorial day service and got to visit Boompa’s (Dave’s grandpa) grave and find his name on the wall of rememberance. They got in their swim trunks and played with their water table (but I guess I already wrote this…oops). They must have had lots of fun because they took a late nap! Lincoln told me that “daddy came in and said, ‘wake up Lincoln’ and then I woke up”. We don’t normally wake him up from a nap, but I guess when it’s already evening time it’s a good time to wake him up. Dave brought me clothes because; well I graduated from my hospital gown to regular clothes! It was very nice to change into my own clothes!

Oliver sat with me on my bed and played his Kindle while Dave went with Lincoln to grab some dinner. We ate and then they had some time playing with their toys. They played trains together and Lincoln played with his Book of Mormon heroes. Normally he wants me to tell him the stories, but he’s doing a pretty good job on his own and remembers their names (most times).

Lincoln is always so curious and wants to check in with the doctors and asks why I’m in the bed. They both love looking out of the windows and looking at the buildings and the water fountain outside. Unfortunately, the only cartoon on while they were here was sponge bob, which normally I don’t allow them to watch, but under the circumstances 20 minutes won’t hurt their brains too much! I’ll just have to read them extra books and teach them extra things to compensate haha!!

After a while they start to get anxious and bored and just want to start pushing buttons, which is when we start winding down and getting ready to leave. They last for a few hours so that is nice! Lincoln must have still been tired because when Dave told him it was time to leave he started to cry and say he didn’t want to leave and then he walked to the door and tried to open it and then started to say that he did want to leave. Luckily he stopped crying, because that’s the hardest part of my stay here…having to watch them leave. Dave brought Ollie over and he gave me a kiss and told me “night night” and then I got an “I love you” from all of my boys.

Later that night I skyped with my parents, had my second monitoring of the baby and contractions (baby’s doing great and no contractions!), and started my oral antibiotics. After talking to my parents I got ready for bed and then fell asleep so fast!

DAY THREE (5/27/14-Tuesday)

I actually slept the entire night last night! I vaguely remember the nurse coming in to flush my IV, but other than that I slept great. I woke up at 6:45am, sometimes I wish there were blackout curtains because then I could sleep in and pass half the day! I love the view when I wake up. I get to see the mountains and lots of green. Of course there are some buildings, but there is a huge American flag and each time I look at it I think of Dave so it’s very comforting.

The doctor came in this morning to check on me. He said things look good. I asked him about taking the actual IV out of my arm and he said sure. I asked if I will need to have the IV antibiotics again and he said that the only reason I’ll need it is if I get an infection, which at that point we would have to deliver the baby…so we are praying that doesn’t happen!

The nurse came in after he left and did my morning check of vitals, reflexes and swelling. Everything looked good. She took out my IV, which hurt a bit when the tape was being peeled off, but it feels very nice to have out! Now I’m left with some tape residue and a little gauze and tape.

Lunch was great, but I’m realizing that I haven’t been eating this much during my pregnancy and now I feel like I’m going to gain weight! Plus they put the amount of carbs on your food order and I look at it and think, “what! I never felt guilty about eating an apple”, but now that I realize it has like 20+ carbs I feel guilty. I guess the positive twist is that I’m not going to have a full 40 week pregnancy so I’ll just enjoy…find the joys in the little things right (and carrot cake is a joy for me)!

I actually got to take a shower with two hands today since my IV is completely out! It was really nice. You definitely take things for granted. I took care of some bills and financial things and even took a short nap! After my nap I read for a couple of hours. Dave called me and he will be stopping by tonight to watch some Veronica Mars and hang out for a while.

After dinner, I relaxed for a while and then I had some visitors from the Parent Support Group here at the hospital. It was very nice and they brought me a notebook and pen and some lotion and Chap Stick. They shared their stories and one of the ladies had her water break at 15 weeks and her fluid never reaccumulated. Her little guy was born at 27 weeks and is now almost 3. That definitely gives me hope! They gave me some good ideas to keep the boys entertained (window clings and dry erase markers) and mentioned that I have the best room in the hospital! They also said to ask about wheelchair privileges in a few days if things remain stable and that there is a scrapbooking class that other moms go to so it’s a good place to socialize for a bit. I’ll hopefully be able to do those things.

When Dave stopped by he brought me some Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream…very thoughtful! He also brought some cookies for my “friends” (aka the nurses), but I’ll let the boys give those to the nurses when they stop by tomorrow. It will be a good way to say thanks for taking care of my mommy. He also had a green security band, which is good because last time he came security stopped him to question his visit. I guess it’s a new procedure (started because of him…hmmm who knows). I had some ice cream and the rest is in the freezer so I can share it with my little guys another time. Dave and I talked about what we did today and then we watched a couple of Veronica Mars episodes before he had to leave. He told me the boys would be stopping by tomorrow so of course that was wonderful news! Til tomorrow…it’s time for bed!