Wednesday, October 3, 2012

First (and hopefully last until January) Visit to Labor and Delivery


Baby’s fine and I’m fine but I had a scary couple of hours last Friday night.  Before I get to that I want to thank you all for your advice and for putting  my fears about measuring behind to rest.  I always tell people to not worry until they have something to worry about and I need to follow my own advice.  I’m not going to fret (too much) about it until my next appointment where hopefully things will have evened out some.  And thanks for the advice on the bottles and other items.  It’s still so strange to be discussing these things with all of you.  But I’m very grateful that I’m at this point.  I put some bottles and a pump on my registry and we’ll see how it goes.  If baby girl doesn’t like them then we’ll try another brand.  I thought it would be wise to start with just the essentials…a few small and a few larger bottles just to see how it goes.

On to Friday night:
Actually, it started Thursday.  BJ, the Little Guy and I went to an outdoor event Thursday night that involved a lot of walking.  It was very leisurely walking for the most part but there were a couple of times that we walked pretty fast.  I started getting some cramps so I slowed down and then we took a break and sat for about 30 minutes.  All in all I had been on my feet for over 3 hours.  The cramps I experienced were quite different from my usual RLP (round ligament pain) that I’ve been having the entire pregnancy.  These were sharp and really low (like down by my pubic bone) and they extended into my lady parts.  They went away and I didn’t give them much more thought as I just chalked it up to overdoing it.  Friday at work I started to get them again.  The pains were really sharp, like stop me in my tracks sharp, and they continued to extend to my nether regions.  I was sitting for about 3 hours working on a project so I know it wasn’t happening because I was walking too much.  But again, they came and went with no real pattern.  Then I had them on the bus on the way home.  Then I had them at dinner.  Then I had them while relaxing on the couch after dinner.  BJ was a little worried and thought maybe I should call the answering service.  I debated on that because as always, I don’t want to be the crazy infertile pregnant lady that has to go to the doctor for every little pain.  But then I started wondering if the cramps were caused by my cervix dilating and then real worry started to set in.  I called the answering service and the on call doctor (not mine) called me back almost immediately.  I described the pain and was asked a bunch of questions about my activity, if I was coughing, if the pains were at regular intervals etc.  After talking with him he thought it would be best to go to L&D and just make sure things were fine.  To say that I had an out of body experience at that moment is an understatement.  I told BJ that he didn’t have to come (it was 10:00pm, after all) but of course he insisted.  I was foolish to even suggest I go alone but like I said, I was not thinking clearly and was feeling like it was a bad dream at this point.  All the thoughts that were in my head were all bad and on the short drive to the hospital I felt like I was floating along completely out of control.  I just wanted her to be ok.  I kept apologizing to BJ about his truck getting dirty (it was raining and he had just washed it) and just staring out the window not sure what to do with myself.

He dropped me off at the entrance to the ER because that is the first step.  I was worried that we’d be there all night because the ER for our hospital is always crowded and always very slow.  I was wrong.  After checking in at the front desk (and trying to explain to the lady that we did IVF and that I had no idea when my LMP was but that we had retrieval on 5/3 and my due date is 1/24 and I’m 23 weeks and 1 day pregnant…she still did the math wrong and messed up the LMP date) we were sent straight to L&D.  We were a bit lost but found our way and were buzzed in and I handed my papers over and was shown straight into a birthing room and given a warm gown to put on.  I changed and explained to the nurse what was happening and why I was worried.  She was so nice and understanding and put us right at ease.  I had to give a urine and blood sample and was hooked up to the fetal monitor and the contraction monitor.  Baby girl’s heart rate worried me because it started out in the 130’s and then went up to her usual 140’s.  The nurse looked at the print out and said that it was perfectly normal for that to happen and that by judging from the heart rate and her movements (which were constant) that I was carrying a beautiful baby and that baby girl is very happy.  That warmed my heart.  I had the pain again and made note of the time so that I could tell the nurse upon her return.  Then I had to pee again.  BJ got up and went searching to find someone to make sure it was ok that I unhooked everything.  He was standing by the baby warmer and picked up the little hat and showed it to me. He was smitten.  He asked if that is where they put the baby after I have it and I told him yes.  I said that you just stay in the same room to deliver and then the baby gets checked out over there in the warmer and then we pretty much stay in that room.  He was confused by that because he has never experience that before.  The Little Guy was a scheduled C-section so he had no idea.  He thought it was pretty cool.  The fetal monitor picked up everything baby girl was doing.  We had a good time listening to her move and then BJ could hear her big kicks, of which there were many.  At one point the nurse saw my belly jump when she kicked.  Listening to her and feeling her move around was definitely comforting to us.

Anyway, when the nurse returned she checked the print out and at the time I had the pain I did not have a contraction.  Yay!  And then my blood and urine came back all normal (they never did check my cervix) and I was free to go.  We were in and out in just over an hour.  I felt so relieved that we went and that we had a good experience and that everything appears to be fine.  I told the nurse that I didn’t want to see her again until January and she said the same thing.

It was very scary but it turned out well and that is what I’m going to focus on.  I had a good experience with the staff and was comfortable and was not made to feel like I was overreacting.  What could have been a very bad night ended on the great high of knowing that as of right now, our baby girl is doing just fine and everything is as it should be.

8 comments:

someday-soon said...

I'm so happy she turned out to be just fine! I forbid any more L&D visits before January and you can tell the little miss that =) It's great that you got a little experience with the hospitals nursing staff and were pleased with the care they gave you.

Augusta said...

I am very relieved to read that all is well, and can empathize with how scared you felt at the time. I'm hoping that the next time you go to L&D is weeks after you've seen Santa.
Without saying that this was a good thing that happen (because you certainly DON'T deserve to be scared like that), but it's nice that you now have a sense of what happens in L&D, and that you now know one of the nurses. It will help you create a sense of where you will be in january on that most important day.
You're doing so well, TeeJay. Almost at viability!!!

p.s. thank you so much for your ongoing support. Your comments on my blog are always so kind and thoughtful.

Rebecca said...

So glad that you and your daughter are doing just fine. Now here is hoping that you don't have to go back until January!

Pie said...

So glad everything is ok, and good for you for calling the service and going in to get checked out. Better to be overly cautious at this point.

I must have missed the last post, or brain farted or something but I wanted to add my 2 cents about baby supplies. Don't buy too much of any one bottle, every baby prefers different ones. My girl liked the Dr. Browns wide nipple, after trying Avent and something else I don't remember the name of. The Dr. Browns are sort of a pain, there is more to wash, and you really need to wash all those little tubes with little brushes, but hey, it is only for an year then you are done. I also really liked the My Breast Friend nursing pillow, lots of burp cloths, and Swaddle Me wraps with velcro. I could never get the swaddle tight enough with just a sheet-style. I'm sure there is more, but you will also do a lot of trial and error and find what works best for you and the girl.

newbie said...

Phew, I'm glad you are okay and that the pains aren't contractions. Maybe the little girl is just lying on something that causes pain. Either way, remember to lie down enough during the day. It's so easy to forget that your body is working hard just sitting still...but I think our bodies are also good at telling us when to slooow down. Have fun outfitting the nursery...it's one of the best parts of the pregnancy!

HopeBPatient said...

So glad everything is ok! And, well, you got a preview of L&D :-)

I had a couple of times when I had these stabbing pains into my pelvis - it felt like into the walls of my vagina. Enough to stop me from taking a next step. But never anything as frequent or constant as it sounds like you had.

Hope you don't have to experience that again!

Alex said...

So glad that everything is ok!!! I know it's scary when weird things happen in that body of yours, now that it's occupied by a cute little one. But so nice that you were treated so well by the staff!!!

Pie said...

Hey TeeJay! Just checking in with you, making sure you are ok. I know, I know,i'm not the best at posting regularly either, but I just wanted you to know I'm thinking of you.