I've been attempting to write this post for two weeks now, so it's basically old news at this point and now has a sequel, lol! I do think it's important for me to document and share though so I figured I would go ahead and finish my long-drawn out reenactment of the first of TWO, yes I said two, hospital visits in the past two weeks.
I never in a million years would have imagined that I would have at 33 weeks been going to the hospital to be checked into Labor and Delivery, yet on Monday evening (October 26th that is) that was my reality. Let me preface this by saying, no, I did not have the baby yet, but I definitely had a little scare that baby boy was not interested in waiting it out "on the inside" for the next 6 weeks, but instead had his own plans to make an early appearance. Luckily, things didn't progress that far and I am hoping that he decides to stay put until I have my official c-section date.
Monday started out fairly normal and I was feeling about the same as I have been most days for the most part up until about mid-morning or so. About that time I started having lots of pressure down low in my abdomen and began to also have mild lower back pain that quickly progressed to fairly severe lower back pain over the next couple of hours. The pain wasn't similar to say, lower back pain I've experienced as a result of being too active or overdoing it, but rather much, much more similar to the type of back pain that I would normally experience during one of my menstrual cycles or most recently, back when I had my miscarriage in January. Once the pain had gotten to that point, I knew something wasn't right and that it would probably be in mine and the baby's best interest to call my OB's office to let them know what I had been experiencing. Baby boy had also been very, very active and his movements were so strong and constant, that it added to my worry that something might have been wrong as he could have been distressed for some reason or something, but it definitely didn't seem normal by any means. I called my OB's office around 4 pm and had to call a couple of times before I was able to get a nurse on the phone. Once I finally was able to speak with a nurse, I explained what had been happening and she told me that she was going to speak with one of the doctors working and call me back. Within 15 minutes or so, she called back and asked a couple of questions, put me on hold and then instructed me that I should go to Labor & Delivery for monitoring! That was NOT what I was expecting in all honesty, I really thought she would have had me come to the OB office to see my doctor or another doctor first, but after I asked oh, about three times, she continued to confirm that I needed to actually go to the hospital instead and that they would monitor me and see if something was wrong or if I was actually going into pre-term labor.
So, in a bit of a panic mode, I called David and let him know that they wanted me to go to the hospital. After discussing it a few minutes, I decided to drive home first, so that he could drive me and so that he and Hudson could go along with me all in one car instead of meeting me there. I was in tears at this point that I did NOT want to go to the hospital in the fear of one of two things ----
1. I was actually going into pre-term labor OR
2. I was overreacting and that absolutely nothing was wrong so I would feel like the silliest girl in the world for basically making an unnecessary and likely costly trip to the hospital for no reason.
(Both luckily and not-so-luckily, as it turns out, I wasn't overreacting and definitely had more than enough cause to have felt the way I did and to have gone to the hospital, but until I knew that I was so nervous of one extreme or the other.)
So, I fight the tears, drive home in rush hour traffic and we headed to the hospital. We arrived in L&D around 6:00 p.m. or so and I registered fairly quickly and then they admitted me into Triage. David wasn't allowed in there, so he and Hudson went to the waiting room as the staff brought me back and got me all set up to check me and baby boy out.
After I get changed into a lovely hospital gown they have me go into my own little "curtained" room and get me hooked up on some monitors. Both external monitors on my belly, one to monitor the baby's heartbeat and the other being an external fetal monitor to measure any uterine contractions. They ask me lots of questions and have me drink a huge pitcher of water and then tell me that they are going to hook me up with an IV with a saline drip. The nurse basically questions me about what I can and can't feel, pain levels, baby movement, etc. and I come to find out that I am and have been having contractions.....what???? I was somewhat in shock as I really didn't think I was having them prior to that, but it seems that not only was I having them, they were also coming fairly consistently as well. So, they give me an IV and then also explain to me that they were going to give me something that would make me very, very drowsy and loopy feeling, but that it would also in essence hopefully make my uterus "drowsy" as well and would stop the contractions. They give this medication to me through my IV, but actually never told me the name of it, however did say that I would not be able to leave for at least 45 minutes after receiving the medication even if it stopped the contractions because it was going to make me so drowsy and of course, on a similar note, that I would not be able to drive myself anywhere either because of my condition. Within a couple of minutes, I was definitely drowsy and beyond loopy! I couldn't believe how fast the meds worked and how out of it I felt. I called David at that time and let him know what was going on so far and that I would keep him posted on the progress since he wasn't able to come in as of yet. It was really bizarre because the nurse continued to ask me questions, mostly about what I could and couldn't feel, and since I was so out of it and drowsy it was not only difficult to respond, I couldn't even distinguish exactly what I was feeling anymore because of the meds. The OB doctor on-duty came to see me, ask some more questions and then did an internal exam to check my cervix to make sure that I had not dilated or anything, which thankfully, I had not. She said that my cervix was completely closed and both the doctor and nurse were really happy to be able to tell me that. They definitely found that to be the most reassuring thing so far (as so did I), I guess since I was having contractions they were afraid it had caused me to begin dilating as well, but that wasn't the case. So, I continued to just lay there and took in 2 units of saline in the meantime. Sometime during the whole time frame after I got hooked up to the IV, the nurse told me that I could call David and let him know that he could come in with me, but she forgot that Hudson was with him and when I reminded her of that she confirmed that he wasn't allowed in there, so that was that. I called David (for probably the second or third time actually) at that point and let him know what was going on so far. He and Hudson had actually left the waiting area and had gone to the car to wait instead because Hudson was becoming ansty and wouldn't stay in the stroller. I asked him if he wanted to try to call my parents or Marcia to see about dropping Hudson off over at one of their houses in case I ended up having to stay longer, but he wanted to wait a little while longer before making any decisions just in case.
So, shortly after that conversation the doctor on-duty came by again and did another pelvic exam and reconfirmed again that my cervix was still completely closed. At that time they decided to give me a shot of terbutaline in my arm in order to attempt to stop the contractions since they had still continued and in consistent frequency even after administering the initial medication that they had given me through the IV. Within the next hour or so, they went ahead and told me that they were going to release me as the terbutaline had stopped the contractions I was having and since I was not dilated or showing any other concerning signs of possible pending labor, the OB on duty felt I was fit to go home at that point. So, I called David (he was still waiting in the car with Hudson hanging out, lol!) and told him that I was free to go. I groggily got dressed and was wheeled in a lovely wheelchair to the front door where David was waiting to pick me up. I did feel a ton better at that point - was no longer experiencing the horrible back pain that was so prevelant when I arrived and most importantly, was no longer experiencing the contractions that I wasn't even aware I was having when I had checked into labor and delivery hours earlier.
We headed on home after picking up something for me to eat since I hadn't eaten since lunch and then I pretty much hit the sack once I got home. Due to doctors orders or suggestions rather, I also took off on Tuesday and spent the majority of the day either sleeping or lounging around hoping that I would get totally back to my normal self and avoid the contractions from coming back since they actually were still happening sporadically here and there. Apparently, I was probably overdoing it a bit and needed to slow down unless I wanted to have our little boy really, really early which obviously was NOT something I was ready for or wanting to happen at all. He definitely needs to "cook" a bit longer and hang in there as long as he can so he will be as healthy as possible! So, I took a day to rest and then returned to work the following day, but have been trying not to overdo anything in general to prevent any further complications or issues.
Although I warn you, this was just the tip of the iceberg for me in the past two weeks......and yes, I did end up in L&D AGAIN....although, for an entirely different reason the second time around. More on that in another post though, Practice Trip to L&D ROUND 2.
After I get changed into a lovely hospital gown they have me go into my own little "curtained" room and get me hooked up on some monitors. Both external monitors on my belly, one to monitor the baby's heartbeat and the other being an external fetal monitor to measure any uterine contractions. They ask me lots of questions and have me drink a huge pitcher of water and then tell me that they are going to hook me up with an IV with a saline drip. The nurse basically questions me about what I can and can't feel, pain levels, baby movement, etc. and I come to find out that I am and have been having contractions.....what???? I was somewhat in shock as I really didn't think I was having them prior to that, but it seems that not only was I having them, they were also coming fairly consistently as well. So, they give me an IV and then also explain to me that they were going to give me something that would make me very, very drowsy and loopy feeling, but that it would also in essence hopefully make my uterus "drowsy" as well and would stop the contractions. They give this medication to me through my IV, but actually never told me the name of it, however did say that I would not be able to leave for at least 45 minutes after receiving the medication even if it stopped the contractions because it was going to make me so drowsy and of course, on a similar note, that I would not be able to drive myself anywhere either because of my condition. Within a couple of minutes, I was definitely drowsy and beyond loopy! I couldn't believe how fast the meds worked and how out of it I felt. I called David at that time and let him know what was going on so far and that I would keep him posted on the progress since he wasn't able to come in as of yet. It was really bizarre because the nurse continued to ask me questions, mostly about what I could and couldn't feel, and since I was so out of it and drowsy it was not only difficult to respond, I couldn't even distinguish exactly what I was feeling anymore because of the meds. The OB doctor on-duty came to see me, ask some more questions and then did an internal exam to check my cervix to make sure that I had not dilated or anything, which thankfully, I had not. She said that my cervix was completely closed and both the doctor and nurse were really happy to be able to tell me that. They definitely found that to be the most reassuring thing so far (as so did I), I guess since I was having contractions they were afraid it had caused me to begin dilating as well, but that wasn't the case. So, I continued to just lay there and took in 2 units of saline in the meantime. Sometime during the whole time frame after I got hooked up to the IV, the nurse told me that I could call David and let him know that he could come in with me, but she forgot that Hudson was with him and when I reminded her of that she confirmed that he wasn't allowed in there, so that was that. I called David (for probably the second or third time actually) at that point and let him know what was going on so far. He and Hudson had actually left the waiting area and had gone to the car to wait instead because Hudson was becoming ansty and wouldn't stay in the stroller. I asked him if he wanted to try to call my parents or Marcia to see about dropping Hudson off over at one of their houses in case I ended up having to stay longer, but he wanted to wait a little while longer before making any decisions just in case.
So, shortly after that conversation the doctor on-duty came by again and did another pelvic exam and reconfirmed again that my cervix was still completely closed. At that time they decided to give me a shot of terbutaline in my arm in order to attempt to stop the contractions since they had still continued and in consistent frequency even after administering the initial medication that they had given me through the IV. Within the next hour or so, they went ahead and told me that they were going to release me as the terbutaline had stopped the contractions I was having and since I was not dilated or showing any other concerning signs of possible pending labor, the OB on duty felt I was fit to go home at that point. So, I called David (he was still waiting in the car with Hudson hanging out, lol!) and told him that I was free to go. I groggily got dressed and was wheeled in a lovely wheelchair to the front door where David was waiting to pick me up. I did feel a ton better at that point - was no longer experiencing the horrible back pain that was so prevelant when I arrived and most importantly, was no longer experiencing the contractions that I wasn't even aware I was having when I had checked into labor and delivery hours earlier.
We headed on home after picking up something for me to eat since I hadn't eaten since lunch and then I pretty much hit the sack once I got home. Due to doctors orders or suggestions rather, I also took off on Tuesday and spent the majority of the day either sleeping or lounging around hoping that I would get totally back to my normal self and avoid the contractions from coming back since they actually were still happening sporadically here and there. Apparently, I was probably overdoing it a bit and needed to slow down unless I wanted to have our little boy really, really early which obviously was NOT something I was ready for or wanting to happen at all. He definitely needs to "cook" a bit longer and hang in there as long as he can so he will be as healthy as possible! So, I took a day to rest and then returned to work the following day, but have been trying not to overdo anything in general to prevent any further complications or issues.
Although I warn you, this was just the tip of the iceberg for me in the past two weeks......and yes, I did end up in L&D AGAIN....although, for an entirely different reason the second time around. More on that in another post though, Practice Trip to L&D ROUND 2.
1 comment:
Glad you and baby boy are okay after such a scare. Hope all continues to go well!
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