A Little Hospital Preview

First, preface: We're fine.

That said, it is hard to write with an IV stuck in my wrist, but since Charlie and I have been hanging out here (at the Labor & Delivery floor of our hospital) for the past 16 hours, I am bored enough to do it anyway. :)

Why are we in labor & delivery at 29 weeks? Because Charlie's mama decided to wear high heels last night, regardless of the fact that her feet have been absent from view for weeks and weeks now. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but coming back from church last night (Saturday) around 10 in my super cute super high heels, I totally wiped out on the cement walkway leading up to our front door. I scraped up my knee and palms, but the belly got the brunt of the fall.

I was terrified.

(Decided it was too hard to write with the IV and without disrupting the fetal heart monitor... So now I am writing again later from home--hooray!)

Anyway, I got myself up the steps and inside where I hysterically told Steve what had happened. We looked it up in WTE, which said it was probably fine. Steve cleaned up my scraped knee and we collapsed on the couch with his dad to watch TV for a little while, then headed off to bed.

I had just gotten into my jammies when Steve asked if I would call the OB office, just to be safe. It was around midnight, so I called their emergency line, and the nurse told me to head over to the hospital to get checked out, warning that it would probably take a couple of hours. We were so lucky to have Curt staying with us so we could just pack up and head out without having to wake Gracie in the middle of the night.

We got there and a nurse immediately crushed our dreams of a two-hour stay by saying it would be at least 4. She had me shimmy into a hospital gown and secured two monitors around my tummy--one to watch Charlie's heartbeat, the other to check for contractions. Steve settled in to an uncomfortable chair and I tried to get comfy on a bed in a triage room. We watched TV for a while, and finally I sent Steve home to sleep in a real bed.

Meanwhile they took my blood for a KB test (a test that shows if any of baby's cells have mixed with my blood). I took a nap, watched some more TV, and then at 5am the nurse came in to tell me that I was having contractions. She hooked me up to a hydrating IV and told me I would probably have to stay for 24 hour surveillance. Also, the KB test came back positive, meaning some of the placenta could have separated from the uteran wall. I was scared. I called Steve, and he came back down to sit with me. For a long while, the contractions were fairly consistent, and they hurt. Around 11 they moved me into a larger labor & delivery room (pictured) so I could have more space, privacy, and my own bathroom.

It was a long day, but Charlie's heartbeat stayed consistant and happy the whole time. Steve sat with me for hours at a time, alternating between the hospital and time at home for rest and time with his dad and Gracie. I watched a lot of cable TV. Steve came back with non-hospital food and stayed with me until 5.

Eventually the contractions calmed down enough that my doctor said I might be able to go home early. Four hours later the nurse came in to say I had finally been cleared. I called Steve and he headed over as I got dressed and packed up my stuff. It was so wonderful to be unhooked, freed of the IV, and holding Steve's hand in the parking garage. We got home to a hot meal cooked by his awesome pops. I took a much needed shower, and we crawled into our (SO COMFORTABLE) bed.

I woke up this morning and had a little scare because Charlie wasn't doing his usually busy morning kicks. After feeling scared for a little bit, Steve gave my tummy a little kiss and Charlie bamped at him. ("Bamp" has quickly become slang for Charlie wiggles.) He has been kicking and wiggling ever since, so I know he's feeling okay.

We feel so lucky that he is healthy and okay and not arriving this early. When they moved me into the labor & delivery room, I kept looking over at the little baby table set up in there, and thinking how he would be so teeny if he were born that day. He's probably only about 3 lbs right now. But all day I kept feeling strongly that he would be okay and come on time--not yesterday--and that feeling was confirmed again and again throughout the day. We are so thankful for the care our Heavenly Father takes of us.

Oh, and needless to say, I'll be saving my high heels until after Charlie arrives.