I'm still sitting here in the hospital, but the day feels like it has gone by pretty darn fast. I got to talk to my doctor this morning and he told me that they'd monitor me today and he'd see me in the morning (when I hopefully get to go home). This is a different doctor than I had yesterday. My favorite doctor is definitely the one that I had yesterday, but I like all three of my doctors. I get along well enough with them. Today's doctor basically told me that he won't be checking me again unless contractions get really bad because he doesn't want something to start that could be prevented. I had the ultrasound today, too, and they said that everything looks great. They still think that there could be some possible bleeding that just isn't showing up on the ultrasound.
After about 12 hours of not being able to eat, I was finally able to get some food and juice! They brought me in some french toast and a bowl full of fruit. Of course I shared with my hubby. He deserves it as much as I do. And I wanted to make sure that he keeps up on his energy. I also got to take a take a nice long shower. I have never been so grateful for a shower. I just felt so icky from not showering for 15 hours. And I had sweated a ton last night. Before I got in the shower, I got my catheter taken out! Relief! Well...at first, there was pain and THEN there was relief. Those things aren't the most comfortable. It did make it nice and convenient that I didn't have to get up out of bed to go to the restoom, though. I feel like I've been bothering the nurses a bit too much with all of my "I need to go to the bathroom" requests since I've gotten my catheter taken out. It's mainly because I'm plugged up too all these different monitors and I didn't know how to unhook them. (Thankfully, my nurse just showed me how so now I can do it by myself! YAY! I love independence. I just don't like feeling like a burden to someone.)
Things are going pretty good. I've had a few annoying contractions, but they haven't been all that consistent. I've had a ton of back pain, though. From the looks of things, I think I'll get to go home tomorrow. *crosses fingers* I really hope so. I like being able to just get up and pee when I need to and not having to buzz a nurse.
I'm not sure if Andrew put this on facebook, but the doctor's aren't going to be stopping contractions anymore. I don't know if this means that I'll still be on bedrest when I go home or what. Of course I'm going to take things easy. If I can keep this baby cooking, I will do whatever I can. I'll be 34 weeks tomorrow! Three weeks away from full-term. I would really like to make it those three weeks. It would even be amazing if I make it beyond! I guess we'll have to see. Keep cooking, Baby Kayson, keep cooking. I'll keep y'all in the know about what's been going on.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Right Now
I'm laying in a hospital bed with a foley catheter in my urethra. Last night I had ro pee really bad and I thought thst I was doing a pretty dang good job lowering my dignity enough for a bed pan. The doctor suggested a catheter so that I could stay in bed and not have to get up. At first I refused the catheter, and then the doctor used his sweet Georgia charm (that's why I like my OB...he's from my home state) and asked, "What if I said 'please'? And I was, "Oh alright then." It's interesting how before I ever had to be admitted to a hospital (we're talking January when I was only about 3 months pregnant), I told Andrew that he shouldn't look down when they're doing stuff between my legs. I've got the nosiest and most curious husband. It's like he couldn't take his eyes off of what he was doing. Like he was looking at some History show. (And for those who know Andrew, you know that he gets really engrossed in watching pretty much anything History.) I bet if you were to turn the tv on to something historical while they were putting that catheter in, he would probably ignore the tv. I guess this means rhar he's probably gonna wanna watch his son being born. Oh well...I guess I can focus on the amazement in his face when I'm in labor.
I've got a nasal tube in to help me breathe. At first I had a face mask, but those things are so darn uncomfortable. I really like the feel of the cool oxygen going up my nose, though.
I've got blood pressure cuffs on my feet. I would put up a picture of what they look like, but I can't find one on Google. I guess basically they try and make sure that blood is circulating through my legs since I'm confined to a bed. It almost feels like getting your blood pressure taken in your arm, but this this regulates between my leg foot and right food.
I'm starting to feel the really real contractions and they hurt. It feels like I'm on my period. Tons of cramping in my stomach and my back. I had my husband give me a little back massage because here it is 3:30 in the morning and I can't sleep. Then, I felt bad that I was depriving Andrew of his sleep. He has to get up at 7am, go home, get dressed and then take a midterm. I probably won't get to see him until late afternoon because he has classes after his test. I'm trying to breathe through these contractions, but they hurt. I'd better get it figured out before the really real contractions hit. I'm trying not to take any medications. They've already got me hooked up to an IV. They put two bags of antibiotics in me last night and now I'm just getting fluids since I lost a ton last night.
LAST NIGHT...was really interesting and scary. Right now, I'm finally in a non-panicky mode.
I called my doctor at about 4pm yesterday because I had been having contractions every five to twenty minutes. That's about 5-6 contractions in an hour. And they were "take my breath away" painful. I was having only light cramping, though. He told me to drink a ton of water and call him back within an hour if the contractions didn'r go away. I downed like two bottles within 45 mintues and I had to pee so darn much. But...the contractions didn't stopped. I even laid on my left side per my doula's suggestion because laying on your left side tends to stop or slow contractions. I called my doctor after having another 6 contractions witrhin that short time span and he sent me over to labor and delivery.
When I got to the hospital, they hooked me up to the monitors to be sure that I was contracting and I was. They checked my cervix and I was still dilated to a one. No changes from Saturday night. Then, they gave me another shot in the back of my arm to stop contractions. It did the usual speeding up my heart rate. It made me feel like I was on speed. I have no idea why people would like that drug. It doesn't feel comfortable having your heart rate go so high. About 20 minutes later, the nurse came in to give me another shot, only in the other arm this time. After that shot, I started to have some problems. My heart rate was going REALLY fast. I was trying to keep my breathing slow and steady. The next thing I know, I was having a really hard time breathing. My chest got really tight and I just couldn't breathe at all. Andrew ran and got a nurse and they kept trying to help me breathe. I remember Andrew telling me to look at him. I kept trying to focus my eyes on him. I was crying and couldn't stop. My chest was getting really tight and according to the nurse, my stomach was really tight, too. I remember at one point gasping and trying really hard to draw in a breath. The nurses ran out to notify my OB.
At one point, they gave me the oxygen mask and it helped my breathing a little bit. Andrew stayed by my side the entire time. Such an awesome support system. They finally got my breathing leveled and Andrew asked me a bunch of short answer questions like, "Where did you graduate from college?" and "What's my name?"
Unfortunately, after about 10-15 of relaxed breathing and being able to answer short answer questions, I couldn't breathe AGAIN. Andrew raced out to get the nurse. The next thing I know, there are a ton of people in the room. They are all talking to me and trying to get me to respond. Andrew said that he thinks that at one point, I blacked out. He said that my eyes were bloodshot red. I remember my OB come in and asking me some questions, but I couldn't answer him. I was convulsing so bad and I could feel my eyes roam about. I couldn't focus. I was seeing spots. I was shaking a ton. I couldn't talk. All I could do was stroke my chest because that's where the pain was coming from. I ended up choking so much from trying to breathe that I threw up everywhere. On the side of the bed, on the bed, on myself, in the breathing mask, and even on the doctor. Andrew said that when they sat me up, I had a lot of mucus coming out of my nose and my mouth and it was just hanging there. Somehow they got me hooked up to an IV. A respiratory expert came in to check my breathing. It was such a scary experience. My pulse was at 180 while I was convulsing and they said that normal is below 100, so it was definitely not good. I just remember trying to take control of my body, but I couldn't. There was even a white light that I wanted to go to because it seemed like it would take away the pain. Andrew said that it looked like I was having a seizure, only worse. They rushed me down to get a cat scan. I was shaking the whole way down, but it wasn't because I was cold. Cat scan came back okay, but they found some blood. They think that I may have placental abruption. They're going to do an ultrasound check in a few hours to see what's going on. I hope that everything's okay. If not, I could be having my baby boy this week. I know that they're going to keep me until at least tomorrow, though.
Right now, I am really grateful for everyone's prayers. Someone even brought Andrew dinner. I am grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A bunch of people from my ward have offered to do things to help and I have tried to take them up on that offer. Some people are going to come sit with me while Andrew's in class. There are so many blessings within each storm. I have endured a lot in the past 24 hours, but the Lord wouldn't give me what I can't handle. I feel like I'm on overload, but I just keep having faith that things will work out...and I know they will.
I've got a nasal tube in to help me breathe. At first I had a face mask, but those things are so darn uncomfortable. I really like the feel of the cool oxygen going up my nose, though.
I've got blood pressure cuffs on my feet. I would put up a picture of what they look like, but I can't find one on Google. I guess basically they try and make sure that blood is circulating through my legs since I'm confined to a bed. It almost feels like getting your blood pressure taken in your arm, but this this regulates between my leg foot and right food.
I'm starting to feel the really real contractions and they hurt. It feels like I'm on my period. Tons of cramping in my stomach and my back. I had my husband give me a little back massage because here it is 3:30 in the morning and I can't sleep. Then, I felt bad that I was depriving Andrew of his sleep. He has to get up at 7am, go home, get dressed and then take a midterm. I probably won't get to see him until late afternoon because he has classes after his test. I'm trying to breathe through these contractions, but they hurt. I'd better get it figured out before the really real contractions hit. I'm trying not to take any medications. They've already got me hooked up to an IV. They put two bags of antibiotics in me last night and now I'm just getting fluids since I lost a ton last night.
LAST NIGHT...was really interesting and scary. Right now, I'm finally in a non-panicky mode.
I called my doctor at about 4pm yesterday because I had been having contractions every five to twenty minutes. That's about 5-6 contractions in an hour. And they were "take my breath away" painful. I was having only light cramping, though. He told me to drink a ton of water and call him back within an hour if the contractions didn'r go away. I downed like two bottles within 45 mintues and I had to pee so darn much. But...the contractions didn't stopped. I even laid on my left side per my doula's suggestion because laying on your left side tends to stop or slow contractions. I called my doctor after having another 6 contractions witrhin that short time span and he sent me over to labor and delivery.
When I got to the hospital, they hooked me up to the monitors to be sure that I was contracting and I was. They checked my cervix and I was still dilated to a one. No changes from Saturday night. Then, they gave me another shot in the back of my arm to stop contractions. It did the usual speeding up my heart rate. It made me feel like I was on speed. I have no idea why people would like that drug. It doesn't feel comfortable having your heart rate go so high. About 20 minutes later, the nurse came in to give me another shot, only in the other arm this time. After that shot, I started to have some problems. My heart rate was going REALLY fast. I was trying to keep my breathing slow and steady. The next thing I know, I was having a really hard time breathing. My chest got really tight and I just couldn't breathe at all. Andrew ran and got a nurse and they kept trying to help me breathe. I remember Andrew telling me to look at him. I kept trying to focus my eyes on him. I was crying and couldn't stop. My chest was getting really tight and according to the nurse, my stomach was really tight, too. I remember at one point gasping and trying really hard to draw in a breath. The nurses ran out to notify my OB.
At one point, they gave me the oxygen mask and it helped my breathing a little bit. Andrew stayed by my side the entire time. Such an awesome support system. They finally got my breathing leveled and Andrew asked me a bunch of short answer questions like, "Where did you graduate from college?" and "What's my name?"
Unfortunately, after about 10-15 of relaxed breathing and being able to answer short answer questions, I couldn't breathe AGAIN. Andrew raced out to get the nurse. The next thing I know, there are a ton of people in the room. They are all talking to me and trying to get me to respond. Andrew said that he thinks that at one point, I blacked out. He said that my eyes were bloodshot red. I remember my OB come in and asking me some questions, but I couldn't answer him. I was convulsing so bad and I could feel my eyes roam about. I couldn't focus. I was seeing spots. I was shaking a ton. I couldn't talk. All I could do was stroke my chest because that's where the pain was coming from. I ended up choking so much from trying to breathe that I threw up everywhere. On the side of the bed, on the bed, on myself, in the breathing mask, and even on the doctor. Andrew said that when they sat me up, I had a lot of mucus coming out of my nose and my mouth and it was just hanging there. Somehow they got me hooked up to an IV. A respiratory expert came in to check my breathing. It was such a scary experience. My pulse was at 180 while I was convulsing and they said that normal is below 100, so it was definitely not good. I just remember trying to take control of my body, but I couldn't. There was even a white light that I wanted to go to because it seemed like it would take away the pain. Andrew said that it looked like I was having a seizure, only worse. They rushed me down to get a cat scan. I was shaking the whole way down, but it wasn't because I was cold. Cat scan came back okay, but they found some blood. They think that I may have placental abruption. They're going to do an ultrasound check in a few hours to see what's going on. I hope that everything's okay. If not, I could be having my baby boy this week. I know that they're going to keep me until at least tomorrow, though.
Right now, I am really grateful for everyone's prayers. Someone even brought Andrew dinner. I am grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A bunch of people from my ward have offered to do things to help and I have tried to take them up on that offer. Some people are going to come sit with me while Andrew's in class. There are so many blessings within each storm. I have endured a lot in the past 24 hours, but the Lord wouldn't give me what I can't handle. I feel like I'm on overload, but I just keep having faith that things will work out...and I know they will.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
In all honesty
1. Contractions feel nothing like what I was expecting. Maybe it's because I'm still in the early stage. I had and still have no idea how to tell the difference from the real thing and the fake thing. I mean...the contractions I was having were the real thing, but they weren't always consistent. I wonder if I was having a mix of Braxton hicks and true contractions. Is that possible? Shoot, I wouldn't know...I'm a first time mom. The only reason I know if I'm having contractions is that my stomach gets really tight and along with that, my chest gets really tight. It makes it harder to breathe. I've only had to use my asthma pump once this week, though, and that was this morning--YAY! I have no idea how people manage to breathe through the pain when they can barely breathe at all. I guess I'll come to that point when I reach it.
2. Yeah...no one tells you how uncomfortable it is to be checked. I've watched a lot of TLC and I see some of the women squish up their faces...other women look totally relaxed. I don't think I looked relaxed at all. I bet my nose was turned all up like someone farted. The nurse checked me after hooking me up to the monitor and realizing that I was having consistent contractions. Then, the doctor checked me about an hour after they gave me the medicine to stop labor. Thank goodness I was only dilated to a one each time.
According to stuff that I've read, being dilated to a one is just barely the tip of the OB's finger. Gee, it felt like him and the nurse were digging for gold, though. Soooo much fun, let me tell ya. Andrew looked all concerned when he saw the blood on the doctor's fingers. Apparently it's all normal, though.
Well...those are the two things I can think of. I'll update again when I find out about more stuff that I didn't know about.
2. Yeah...no one tells you how uncomfortable it is to be checked. I've watched a lot of TLC and I see some of the women squish up their faces...other women look totally relaxed. I don't think I looked relaxed at all. I bet my nose was turned all up like someone farted. The nurse checked me after hooking me up to the monitor and realizing that I was having consistent contractions. Then, the doctor checked me about an hour after they gave me the medicine to stop labor. Thank goodness I was only dilated to a one each time.
According to stuff that I've read, being dilated to a one is just barely the tip of the OB's finger. Gee, it felt like him and the nurse were digging for gold, though. Soooo much fun, let me tell ya. Andrew looked all concerned when he saw the blood on the doctor's fingers. Apparently it's all normal, though.
Well...those are the two things I can think of. I'll update again when I find out about more stuff that I didn't know about.
Grateful
There's so much for me to be grateful for and I wanted to list them all right off the top of my head.
~First and foremost: a WONDERFUL HUSBAND. He has been my comfort through all the things that have been happening. When we were in the hospital, he kept telling me to just breathe. He was great to focus on when I was having a contraction, and he let me hold his hand. (Thank goodness, I haven't gone in the 'squeeze the heck out of your spouse's hand' stage of labor.) For the past four hours, he has been sleeping on his left side. Usually right after he falls asleep, he turns over onto his back or his right side to sleep. Not tonight. He has been sleeping cuddled up to me. I married such a sweet man.
~INTUITION: Sometimes a woman knows when something's going on. I was having timeable contractions on Tuesday, but I decided to wait it out. I didn't want to call the doctor like some dummy because I wasn't even sure if I was having contractions. I thought they were just Braxton hicks. By Friday night, they were coming every 5-20 minutes. I still decided to wait it out. On Saturday, I was having contractions no matter what. If I moved, the contractions didn't stop. I could be laying down, sitting up, walking around...I'd keep having the contraction. I decided to call the doctor and let him know what was going on. I had had contractions about 10 minutes apart. He sent me to Labor and Delivery, they hooked me up to monitors, and sure enough I was having real contractions. They didn't hurt or anything, but they were extremely uncomfortable and made it so that I could barely breathe. I'm so glad that I trusted my gut and finally called the doc!
~TERBUTALINE: These are the drugs that they use to stop contractions. Once they confirmed that I was having contractions (I actually had the nurse feel my stomach at the hospital because it was really tight and that's what I had been timing...she confirmed that yep, it was a contraction.), they gave me the shot in my arm. Then, they monitored me. The contractions stopped after about 5-10 minutes after the shot. Thank goodness!
~STEROIDS: Because the doctor thinks that Kayson will make his way into the world before 37 weeks, they gave me some meds to help mature his lungs. I got the shot in my hip and it wasn't all that pleasant. The nurse was like, "It'll be quick and painless." Andrew tried to distract me by asking me about the new Harry Potter movie...it helped enough to get me through the poke. I still took a really deep breath in, though. I have to go back tonight to get another shot. I know that babies born preterm sometimes come into the world with breathing problems, so if those shots help him I am all for it. I want my baby healthy.
~SENSE OF HUMOR: I've had to learn to just laugh at myself and through all of the anxiety. If I don't laugh, I will probably cry. I think I've cried enough this pregnancy.
~PRIESTHOOD BLESSING: One of our neighbors from the apartment complex came over with her husband, while he helped Andrew give me a blessing. (Just so you know, this neighbor has been beyond amazing. I love her so much right now! She's almost like my substitute mom and she's only 3 years older than me.) For those of you who don't know what a priesthood blessing is, here's a short description taken from lds.org: "A blessing given by a Melchizedek Priesthood holder (basically a worthy guy in the church), by the laying on of hands and by inspiration, to one who is sick or otherwise in need of special counsel, comfort, or healing. If the blessing is for the sick, consecrated oil is used." I think the blessing helped out a bit. I haven't had a contraction since 11:30 last night! YAY!
~ENTERTAINMENT: Since it looks like I'll be spending a lot of time on the couch and/or bed, I am grateful for the things that I'll be able to do...like read, watch tv, get on the internet. I'm such an active girl and these things should keep me "settled," I hope, until week 37. Only 2 weeks and about 2 days away from 37 weeks! Almost there.
~MY LITTLE BOY: As soon as the nurse put the monitors on my stomach last night, Kayson decided that he was going to be FEISTY. He kicked those monitors so hard. I don't think he rested/relaxed the whole 2 and a half hours that I was at the hospital. It gave me a lot of comfort, though, because he's such a little fighter already. I'm going to have my hands full when he gets here.
~MY SAVIOR: I wanted to put this last because He is the most important to me. Without Him, I have no clue what I'd do. It's nice to have someone who has gone through this and can relate to me personally. When I get worried, it's easy for me to say, "Hello, Jesus. I could really use some help right now." I just know that He listens. My Savior died not only for my sins, but my illnesses. I feel like I have such a strong bond with Him as my body is being tested and pushed towards its limits. I can almost hear the Savior's voice saying, "Keep going. You can do it. You're almost there."
~First and foremost: a WONDERFUL HUSBAND. He has been my comfort through all the things that have been happening. When we were in the hospital, he kept telling me to just breathe. He was great to focus on when I was having a contraction, and he let me hold his hand. (Thank goodness, I haven't gone in the 'squeeze the heck out of your spouse's hand' stage of labor.) For the past four hours, he has been sleeping on his left side. Usually right after he falls asleep, he turns over onto his back or his right side to sleep. Not tonight. He has been sleeping cuddled up to me. I married such a sweet man.
~INTUITION: Sometimes a woman knows when something's going on. I was having timeable contractions on Tuesday, but I decided to wait it out. I didn't want to call the doctor like some dummy because I wasn't even sure if I was having contractions. I thought they were just Braxton hicks. By Friday night, they were coming every 5-20 minutes. I still decided to wait it out. On Saturday, I was having contractions no matter what. If I moved, the contractions didn't stop. I could be laying down, sitting up, walking around...I'd keep having the contraction. I decided to call the doctor and let him know what was going on. I had had contractions about 10 minutes apart. He sent me to Labor and Delivery, they hooked me up to monitors, and sure enough I was having real contractions. They didn't hurt or anything, but they were extremely uncomfortable and made it so that I could barely breathe. I'm so glad that I trusted my gut and finally called the doc!
~TERBUTALINE: These are the drugs that they use to stop contractions. Once they confirmed that I was having contractions (I actually had the nurse feel my stomach at the hospital because it was really tight and that's what I had been timing...she confirmed that yep, it was a contraction.), they gave me the shot in my arm. Then, they monitored me. The contractions stopped after about 5-10 minutes after the shot. Thank goodness!
~STEROIDS: Because the doctor thinks that Kayson will make his way into the world before 37 weeks, they gave me some meds to help mature his lungs. I got the shot in my hip and it wasn't all that pleasant. The nurse was like, "It'll be quick and painless." Andrew tried to distract me by asking me about the new Harry Potter movie...it helped enough to get me through the poke. I still took a really deep breath in, though. I have to go back tonight to get another shot. I know that babies born preterm sometimes come into the world with breathing problems, so if those shots help him I am all for it. I want my baby healthy.
~SENSE OF HUMOR: I've had to learn to just laugh at myself and through all of the anxiety. If I don't laugh, I will probably cry. I think I've cried enough this pregnancy.
~PRIESTHOOD BLESSING: One of our neighbors from the apartment complex came over with her husband, while he helped Andrew give me a blessing. (Just so you know, this neighbor has been beyond amazing. I love her so much right now! She's almost like my substitute mom and she's only 3 years older than me.) For those of you who don't know what a priesthood blessing is, here's a short description taken from lds.org: "A blessing given by a Melchizedek Priesthood holder (basically a worthy guy in the church), by the laying on of hands and by inspiration, to one who is sick or otherwise in need of special counsel, comfort, or healing. If the blessing is for the sick, consecrated oil is used." I think the blessing helped out a bit. I haven't had a contraction since 11:30 last night! YAY!
~ENTERTAINMENT: Since it looks like I'll be spending a lot of time on the couch and/or bed, I am grateful for the things that I'll be able to do...like read, watch tv, get on the internet. I'm such an active girl and these things should keep me "settled," I hope, until week 37. Only 2 weeks and about 2 days away from 37 weeks! Almost there.
~MY LITTLE BOY: As soon as the nurse put the monitors on my stomach last night, Kayson decided that he was going to be FEISTY. He kicked those monitors so hard. I don't think he rested/relaxed the whole 2 and a half hours that I was at the hospital. It gave me a lot of comfort, though, because he's such a little fighter already. I'm going to have my hands full when he gets here.
~MY SAVIOR: I wanted to put this last because He is the most important to me. Without Him, I have no clue what I'd do. It's nice to have someone who has gone through this and can relate to me personally. When I get worried, it's easy for me to say, "Hello, Jesus. I could really use some help right now." I just know that He listens. My Savior died not only for my sins, but my illnesses. I feel like I have such a strong bond with Him as my body is being tested and pushed towards its limits. I can almost hear the Savior's voice saying, "Keep going. You can do it. You're almost there."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)