Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Practice Run

Well it has been an exciting past week or so.  It all started out that at my last appointment my Dr checked me and discovered that I was 5cm dilated at only 35 1/2 weeks.  So she sent me home and told me to basically be on bed rest and I could not work any more. That was kind of a relief, work has been pretty hard on me lately and I have been pushing myself a little too much at work - working longer days to try to compensate for the month and a half I'd be off for maternity leave.  Well I guess that wasn't such a great idea.  So she said "if I'm up for 2 hours I need to be down for 1."  That is a great rule of thumb, and it actually got uncomfortable if I was up for longer than an hour, so it was nice to know when my body needed a break.  My sweet daughter is amazing.  She is such a great helper and loves to cuddle with me while we watch movies and tv.  She is such a great helper and is going to be an amazing big sister!  
  Well 36 weeks came and I kept pushing closer towards 37 weeks (that's generally full term).  I knew I could make it to at least 37 weeks, even though I am 1/2 way through the labor process..  Yesterday afternoon around noon, my Dr called me and told me that she wanted me to go into the hospital to be monitored for an hour or so and get a steroid shot to try to boost his lungs before he gets here.  I was there by 2:15 and out the door by 4pm.  The shot sucks, but it was practically déjà vu since I had to do the same thing with my daughter.  All the getting up and down and moving around was rough, so after I picked up my daughter I went home and rested.  I had not been that active since my last Dr appointment.  
  I have been so worried lately about how I am going to make it to the hospital in time to have an epidural, let alone not having him fall out while in route.  So my tentative plan is to have my close by neighbor take me if Andrew is at work.  But traffic sucks around here lately and that makes me nervous.  So I called my insurance and asked them what my plan covers as far as an ambulance ride.  I figure they have the lights, plus medical attention if I need it, and could probably get there much faster.  I come to find out, that the local cities around me, all of their ambulances are covered under my insurance.  WHEW!  That was a load lifted.  Now I know if I really need to book it I can just have them take me, and they will take me to any hospital I want, not just the nearest hospital.  That was such great news!
   I also found out via an email from my Perinatologist that depending on a cervical exam this week, that I could possibly have my induction date moved up to Nov 8th, instead of the 15th.  This made me feel so much better about the whole process.  The entire thought of trying to get to the hospital that is an hour away, being 5cm dilated, gives me anxiety.  So Nov 8th, that's NEXT FRIDAY!  I was pretty confident that I could keep him cooking till then, when ever I thought about being induced on the 15th, it just gave me knots in my stomach.  
    The downside to delivering next Friday, Stella's birthday was planned for that day, and I had Snow White scheduled to come the day, and the invites had that date on it too.  So after a quick couple emails, I got the invites changed and Snow White changed to have her party on her actual birthday.  Then that would give Jefferson 3 weeks to get discharged from the hospital and get into a daily routine.  Plus, my entire family will be out here that weekend of the 8th for my grandpas 80th birthday party and would at least be able to see him through glass.  The 8th just feels so much better.
    Then this morning the neighbor dog was whining, scratching and howling to get out of his kennel at 5:15am.  I am a light sleeper and this just kept me up.  Kinda gave me a little anxiety because I couldn't go back to sleep and I didn't want him to wake Stella up.  Then I felt a few contractions.  They were 12 mins apart, then 10 mins apart, then 8 and that's when I decided to call my Dr.  She said to get to the U and be checked.  I quickly packed a bag and grabbed the necessities and got into the car.  My wonderful mother in law came over quickly and stayed wth Stella till she woke up.  We left the house about 6:40 and we were in the OB Emergency by 7:40.  That was the long best ride of my life!  It was raining, dark, cold and the morning commute was already jam packed.  Not to mention my contractions were only 2 minutes apart and we still had 30 more minutes to drive.  We got there, got quickly into a room and got hooked up to monitors.  The whole process had me super flustered so my heart rate and blood pressure was out of wack.  I was finally able to calm myself down between contractions and tried to rest a little.  Drew and I ate some breakfast and then took a little nap till 9:40.  My Dr was able to come check up on me and called me several times through the process.  I got up and walked for about an hour and went back to the room.  I was checked and everythihg was back to normal.  My cervix had not changed and my heart rate, bp, and contractions were all normal.  So they sent me home about 11:45am.  Thank goodness!  I do not want an October baby, and especially a premie!  I am determined to keep him in there for as long as possible.  Even though I was a little excited to meet him, he is not ready yet!
   That was a terrifying experience.  I would prefer an induction over that much anxiety, any day! Let's just hope the Drs decide Nov 8th is a good day to have him, and I can keep this baby cooking till then!  That is the most ideal plan, but with these things, it's always the unexpected that tends to happen.  So we shall wait and see! 

1 comment:

Derk and Ashley said...

Oh my word Missy! That is quite the ordeal. I hope you are doing well and you and baby Jefferson just take it easy. November 8th sounds like a wonderful day! Can't wait to meet him. Keep me posted.