The contractions have been coming and going lately, but thankfully the Procardia I have been taking for the last month has kept them from getting too close together and we haven't had any excitement...until Sunday night, that is.
These two played on the iPad and patiently waited while I was hooked up to monitors and checked out to see what was going on.
The initial assessment showed that I was definitely having contractions 3-4 minutes apart but when they checked me I was only 1-2 cm dilated, which told them that all of the contractions weren't active. Dr. Cook was on call Sunday night and made the decision for me to get a series of three terbutaline shots to try to stop the contractions. The plan was to give me one every fifteen minutes, unless my heart rate increased too much, then they would have to wait until it came down. I was fine after the first shot but after the second shot they had to wait about an hour to give me the third one. After the third shot, my contractions really slowed down and we decided to send Lili and Shuffie home with the boys so everybody could get some sleep in case Monday ended up being Morgan's birthday! Since I got the third shot around 3 a.m. on Monday morning, they decided to just wait and leave me in Labor and Delivery to be monitored until Dr. Cole came in around 7:00 a.m.
About 6:30 Monday morning I was sitting up in bed fixing my makeup, ready for whatever news Dr. Cole gave us. Would it be baby day or not?
When Dr. Cole came by, she checked me and said that she was hopeful to hold me off a little while longer with some serious bed rest. She also ordered an ultrasound that showed Morgan was doing great and measuring around 6 lbs. She did want to keep me in the hospital a bit longer for observation so they moved me from Labor and Delivery to the Antepartum Floor for at least one more night.
This guy was worn out from the previous night's festivities and took a nice nap in the chair/bed when we got moved to our room.
In between our resting, he tried to keep me laughing. I told him that the baby in his belly wasn't half as cute as the one in my belly!!
Late Monday afternoon, the weather turned really bad like they had been predicting for a few days. Adam and I experienced a "first" together by being a part of a tornado warning during our hospital stay. If you've ever wondered what happens to the hospital patients when there is a tornado warning....we all got moved out into the hall. Thank goodness they didn't make me stay in my bed and wheel me out, but instead they let me just sit in a chair. We spent about 45 minutes out in the hallway, lost power for a while (until the generators came on) and even made some new friends with the people in neighboring rooms that were out in the hall with us. Of course, the only thing we could think of while we were in the hall was our boys and hoping they were ok during the storm. They were spending the afternoon with Bobi and we were so relieved when she sent us their "thumbs up" picture after the storms passed to let us know they were safe. We missed them!
This morning Dr. Cole came by and checked me once more before she made the decision to let me go home and continue my rest there. She was clear that I wasn't to get out of the bed unless I needed to use the restroom or take a quick shower. Before we left I was offered this interesting plate of food for breakfast....I politely declined.
This afternoon I am resting my bones and wondering just when we will get to meet our sweet girl. On the way to the hospital Sunday night I was experiencing a real mixture of emotions. I was excited at the thought of getting to hold this little girl we have waited so long to see but worried that she might be too early and need to spend some time in the NICU. My prayer is that she can stay put for a little longer until her lungs are strong and she is ready. I am going to do my best to rest and keep her safe but I know she'll come when it is her time. Thanks to everyone that helped us with the boys and other things while we had a short stay in the hospital. I hope next time I leave Woman's Hospital I get to bring a sweet baby home!
