Thursday, January 22, 2009
I had been told that my sister in law, Jen and my sister Erin were coming down to see me with my niece Isabelle. They were bringing me the best present, Troy. I couldn't wait to see him. I was so excited, I got up early and was ready to see them. I could've cried when I seen them. The day or so before, I asked a nurse to take me to the gift shop. I got Troy a puzzle that he could do when he came to visit me. I gave it to him that day. He and Isabelle played with it well. This day sticks out in my memory because I missed him so much. You have to understand that I had only ever been away from him for 1 night since I had him. Even then, he was home with his dad. Now he was being passed around and I wasn't there to kiss him goodnight and put him to bed like I was used to. When it came time for them to head the 2 hours home, more for Erin, I was so sad. I cried for a long time after they left. Troy was crying as they left. I was so sad. I wanted them to take me with them. I couldn't stand it. Tears are spilling now as I recall what that afternoon felt like. It was one of the best days out of the 14 but one of the hardest. I was extremely grateful of Erin and Jen for taking the day to come down and see me and bring Troy. I couldn't bare not seeing him again for 2 days. Plus, he had to be put to bed another night without neither of his parents. That was the hardest part throughout the entire 14 days was not being with Troy, not knowing if he was happy or sad, not being able to hug or kiss him whenever I wanted, not knowing how his first days went at the new daycare, not putting him to bed, not being able to smell that sweet fresh out of the bath smell and hoping and praying he wasn't forgetting about me. I shed a lot of tears over that little boy. So day 8 was a great but hard one!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The 14 days before Rylee, Day 7
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Kris's parents came down for a little while to visit. During this time, while Kris and Troy were home, my dad and Deb were watching Troy while Kris was at work and Kris would go sleep at their house until morning then go home and then to class since the semester had just started. Those poor boys. While Kris's parents were there, an aid stopped by my room to take me to peds cardiology. Another 2 hours of laying on a table measuring blood flow and taking photos and discovering what the shadow was. After returning to my room, I sat the rest of the day. Periodically throughout my time before Rylee, I received patient emails from Kris and some coworkers. I also got tons of personal emails and phone calls. My mom called me everyday at least once or twice. I had a set routine of getting up at 7 am, ordering breakfast, quick shower, eat when my food arrived, fetal stress test, meds, order lunch, eat lunch, read or nap, order dinner, eat dinner, talk to kris, watch tv, go to sleep. That was the pattern of my weekday. Laying around all day makes for a long day!
Kris's parents came down for a little while to visit. During this time, while Kris and Troy were home, my dad and Deb were watching Troy while Kris was at work and Kris would go sleep at their house until morning then go home and then to class since the semester had just started. Those poor boys. While Kris's parents were there, an aid stopped by my room to take me to peds cardiology. Another 2 hours of laying on a table measuring blood flow and taking photos and discovering what the shadow was. After returning to my room, I sat the rest of the day. Periodically throughout my time before Rylee, I received patient emails from Kris and some coworkers. I also got tons of personal emails and phone calls. My mom called me everyday at least once or twice. I had a set routine of getting up at 7 am, ordering breakfast, quick shower, eat when my food arrived, fetal stress test, meds, order lunch, eat lunch, read or nap, order dinner, eat dinner, talk to kris, watch tv, go to sleep. That was the pattern of my weekday. Laying around all day makes for a long day!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The 14 days before Rylee, Day 6
January 20, 2009
Many remember this day as a day that made history. President Obama was inaugurated. I was in the waiting room of Radiology waiting for my big ultrasound. I got to see much of his speech. I got to see his inauguration. It was bittersweet. I was an Obama supporter. I was excited for our country. I was sitting in the waiting room in a hospital gown and those white leggings in a wheelchair nervously waiting for an ultrasound while people clapped and cheered around me.
That ultrasound lasted for 2 hours. Now ultrasounds are fun. You get to see your baby. I did infact get to look and stare at all my baby's parts for quite a while. I was sore lying in the chair for that long. My tailbone was severely bruised from the days of laying around. The ultrasound tech confirmed the enlarged kidneys but was more concerned with a shadow around the baby's heart. The fluid was indeed low. And my baby was on average measuring 2 weeks behind schedule. Not great news. However, not much we could do right now. I was going to have a doctor look at my baby's heart while still in utero. I was interested to see how this would work.
Many remember this day as a day that made history. President Obama was inaugurated. I was in the waiting room of Radiology waiting for my big ultrasound. I got to see much of his speech. I got to see his inauguration. It was bittersweet. I was an Obama supporter. I was excited for our country. I was sitting in the waiting room in a hospital gown and those white leggings in a wheelchair nervously waiting for an ultrasound while people clapped and cheered around me.
That ultrasound lasted for 2 hours. Now ultrasounds are fun. You get to see your baby. I did infact get to look and stare at all my baby's parts for quite a while. I was sore lying in the chair for that long. My tailbone was severely bruised from the days of laying around. The ultrasound tech confirmed the enlarged kidneys but was more concerned with a shadow around the baby's heart. The fluid was indeed low. And my baby was on average measuring 2 weeks behind schedule. Not great news. However, not much we could do right now. I was going to have a doctor look at my baby's heart while still in utero. I was interested to see how this would work.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The 14 days before Rylee, Day 5
Monday, January 19, 2009
I was dreading this day. I knew that after lunch, Kris and Troy would be heading home. And I would be all alone. Sure enough. After lunch, Kris and Troy headed back to Wisconsin. It was the worst day yet. I laid in my bed and cried.
Later on, I was transferred to a post-partum room. Even though I was still pregnant, I was put on this floor, just to monitored since everything had calmed down. This is where I would remain until my baby was born. It would be no later than February 20th which would've been my 34th week. I was taking a prenatal vitamin, iron (since we didn't want a relapse of Troy's birth) and antibiotics. I had a team of doctors that would start visiting me every morning.
My room had large closets and cabinets. It had a couch, recliner and double bed. Yup, a double bed. AWESOME! It was much comfier than that laboring bed. My poor tailbone was crushed from laying for 4 days in that laboring bed. My bathroom had a HUGE jetted tub. I knew Troy was going to love it.
The team of doctors stopped in that even to meet me. They said I am aloud to get up for a total of 30 minutes per day. That included going to bathroom and shower. I could get up and refill my water pitcher. They said I would have a 20 to 45 minute fetal stress test every day. They also told me that I would be having a big ultrasound done the very next day since the baby's kidneys were enlarged and I had been constantly leaking fluid for 5 days.
Later in the afternoon, my brother Craig, sister in law Jen and niece Isabelle stopped to see me. Then I was really on my own. Jen thought that she would bring Troy down on Thursday to see me. I held on to hope that she would.
The first belly picture I had taken during this pregnancy. 1 picture is better than none I guess. This was it. Not much belly there.
I was dreading this day. I knew that after lunch, Kris and Troy would be heading home. And I would be all alone. Sure enough. After lunch, Kris and Troy headed back to Wisconsin. It was the worst day yet. I laid in my bed and cried.
Later on, I was transferred to a post-partum room. Even though I was still pregnant, I was put on this floor, just to monitored since everything had calmed down. This is where I would remain until my baby was born. It would be no later than February 20th which would've been my 34th week. I was taking a prenatal vitamin, iron (since we didn't want a relapse of Troy's birth) and antibiotics. I had a team of doctors that would start visiting me every morning.
My room had large closets and cabinets. It had a couch, recliner and double bed. Yup, a double bed. AWESOME! It was much comfier than that laboring bed. My poor tailbone was crushed from laying for 4 days in that laboring bed. My bathroom had a HUGE jetted tub. I knew Troy was going to love it.
The team of doctors stopped in that even to meet me. They said I am aloud to get up for a total of 30 minutes per day. That included going to bathroom and shower. I could get up and refill my water pitcher. They said I would have a 20 to 45 minute fetal stress test every day. They also told me that I would be having a big ultrasound done the very next day since the baby's kidneys were enlarged and I had been constantly leaking fluid for 5 days.
Later in the afternoon, my brother Craig, sister in law Jen and niece Isabelle stopped to see me. Then I was really on my own. Jen thought that she would bring Troy down on Thursday to see me. I held on to hope that she would.
The first belly picture I had taken during this pregnancy. 1 picture is better than none I guess. This was it. Not much belly there.
Monday, January 18, 2010
The 14 days before Rylee, Day 4
Sunday, January 18, 2009
At 2 am, Kris called my dad to come and get Troy. It looked like our little girl would be coming. The doctors checked me, still closed, breech baby still high. Dad and Deb came over and picked up Troy. Troy kissed me goodbye. I started to cry. I was so freakin' nervous. I labored the rest of the wee hours of the morning. The doctor, the curly haired one, was in and out quite a bit. No change. At 7 am, the new nurse, after the shift change, decided that maybe I needed some fluids. So she started a bag of fluid. TADA! Within 20 minutes, my labor stopped completely. At 10 am, they granted me a meal! Now, it was Sunday at 10 am and I hadn't ate since Friday at 8 am, which was just a toaster stroodle. I was hungry. I enjoyed a plate of french toast. It was good! The rest of the day continued like the day before.
At 2 am, Kris called my dad to come and get Troy. It looked like our little girl would be coming. The doctors checked me, still closed, breech baby still high. Dad and Deb came over and picked up Troy. Troy kissed me goodbye. I started to cry. I was so freakin' nervous. I labored the rest of the wee hours of the morning. The doctor, the curly haired one, was in and out quite a bit. No change. At 7 am, the new nurse, after the shift change, decided that maybe I needed some fluids. So she started a bag of fluid. TADA! Within 20 minutes, my labor stopped completely. At 10 am, they granted me a meal! Now, it was Sunday at 10 am and I hadn't ate since Friday at 8 am, which was just a toaster stroodle. I was hungry. I enjoyed a plate of french toast. It was good! The rest of the day continued like the day before.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The 14 days before Rylee, Day 3
It is now Saturday, December 17, 2009. I contracted all night. Troy and Kris didn't sleep well. I tried to sleep on one of those break apart labor and delivery beds. If you have ever sat on one for more than 10 minutes you'll know that they are uncomfortable. I could only get up to go to the bathroom. And even that wasn't an easy feat. I had to have Kris help me unplug the IV pole and take the leg things off me. They put these white tight leggings on me and had a thing that wrapped around my calves that blew air in and out to ensure blood flow since I was bed ridden.
Throughout the day we had many visitors. I am foggy on who visited on what day. They all seemed to blend together. I think that my mom and Rich were there for much of the day, my dad and Deb arrived and Kris's mom, dad and sister-in-law came down too. I labored all day! My dad and Deb got a room at the same hotel that my mom and Rich stayed at the night before. Mom and Rich went home as well as Kris's parents. I was starved the entire day. I was still having contractions. They picked up in intensity towards the end of the day. I was so hungry and tired and worn out, I just wanted to go home.
Throughout the day we had many visitors. I am foggy on who visited on what day. They all seemed to blend together. I think that my mom and Rich were there for much of the day, my dad and Deb arrived and Kris's mom, dad and sister-in-law came down too. I labored all day! My dad and Deb got a room at the same hotel that my mom and Rich stayed at the night before. Mom and Rich went home as well as Kris's parents. I was starved the entire day. I was still having contractions. They picked up in intensity towards the end of the day. I was so hungry and tired and worn out, I just wanted to go home.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
The 14 days before Rylee, Day 2
The time is now 8:15 am. I got up early, made Smothered Steak in the crockpot for my mom and Rich who were coming down that afternoon to watch Troy. We were all dressed and in the car on the way to my appointment.
The time is now 8:30 am. We are just getting off the exit onto Highway 151 going into Dubuque. I told Kris, "I'll be really embarrassed it they tell me that I have been wetting my pants all night, but I REALLY hope that is what they are going to tell me." He squeezed my hand and we entered Iowa. Little did I know that I wouldn't be back in Wisconsin for 18 days.
The time is now 8:45 am. I was called right back with out any wait. I had to drink the diabetes stuff...yuck! I had to undress from the waist down. Dr. M came right in and explained to me that she was going to do a sterile exam in case my water did indeed rupture. She opened the speculum just a tad and confirmed my worst nightmare. She wanted me to go to ultrasound to have the fluid level check.
The time is now 8:55 am. I am on the ultrasound table, Troy was squirming around, the ultrasound tech, who had done everysingle one of my ultrasounds ever, was sober in the face, measuring and scanning, typing and pointing. The baby's kidneys are enlarged. The baby has very low fluid. Go back into the exam room and Dr. M will be right in.
The time is now 9:15 am. Dr. M came back in. She told me the baby is breech and that I have to go start to Mercy hospital for steriods, talked to a NICU doctor, and figure out a plan from there.
The time is now 9:30 am, I am on my way to Mercy. I was calling my parents, my boss, my sister. I was mentally making a list of things for Kris to grab and do once he headed home.
The time is now 9:35 am, I walked up to OB. Opps, suppose to go through the ER, check in and be wheeled up to maternity. Oh well. They got me to my room. I got changed into a gown. Kris stepped out to call his parents. The nurse was growly that Kris left Troy in the room with me. That ticked me off that she was so growly.
The time is now 9:45 am. I have 2 nurses. One nice, One groochy. Dr. B, my regular OB is on call at the hospital, comes into my room. He explains to me that I am not far along enough to have my baby in Dubuque. I will be receiving steroids, IV fluids and antibiotics and be taken by ambulance or medflight to Iowa City. He held my hand as I got the steroids. Holy cow, it hurt. I got my IV. They drew my blood for the diabetes test. The phone was ringing off the hook and people of all kinds were in and out of my room. One of the nurses gave me a scrap of paper to make a list on for Kris. I had the shakes something terrible because of nerves.
The time is now 10:10 am. Kris and Troy kissed me goodbye with list in hand. Next time I would see them is hours later in Iowa City. At this point we weren't sure what the heck was going to go on.
The time is now 10:20 am. The ambulance men arrived. The temperature is -29° amd that's the actual temperature. They loaded me on a stretcher and a nurse named Mary road with me to Iowa City. The ride was bumpy. I was strapped to the stretcher the entire hour and half ride. Nurse Mary tells me that my diabetes results came in right before we left. I am diagnosed with gestational diabetes on a stretcher in a cold ambulance during -29° weather and scared to death. A lot was thrown at me in the last hour and half and I was really still not sure what the heck would happen in the next few hours.
The time is now 11:45 am. About 15 minutes out of Iowa City hospital. I have no idea where Iowa City is on a map. Contractions start. They are every 3 minutes apart. They aren't painful though.
The time is now 12:00 pm. I am wisked through the University of Iowa Hospital. I have no idea what I am seeing. People are turning and looking at me. The ambulance guys are practically running through the halls, Mary the nurse is running behind us and I am still contracting. We arrive at L&D where there is another lady in the hall on a stretcher. The guys push me into a huge delivery room. A nurse comes in. I don't remember her name but I didn't like her much. She made me us a bedpan instead of using the bathroom. That was an experience I only had to endure that one time.
The time is now 12:30 pm. A resident doctor comes into my room. He brings an ultrasound machine with him. He can't even figure out how to turn it on. I was nervous. He askes me what is going on. "well my water broke." "when did it break" "yesterday at 3:15 pm" "how far along are you?" "28 weeks today" "the baby is breech?" "yup, that's what they tell me". Now I relatively irritable from the events in the past 4 hours and the contractions and the shot of steroids, so this guy made me want to scream at him. I didn't but it took all my might not too. There were lots of umm and space between talking to me. The nurse had just told him everything I had to repeat. All the while he is trying to turn on this darn ultrasound machine. He finally gave up and grabbed another doctor. This doctor was in a hurry for sure. The L&D was filling up fast. This new curly haired doctor gave me a sterile exam, turned on the ultrasound machine for the student doctor and left. The student did the ultrasound. YUP, baby is still breech.
The time is now 1 pm. I am hungry. My mom and Rich arrive. Kris and Troy are on their way down. My contractions are sporadic now. Sometimes 15 minutes apart sometimes 2 minutes apart but they don't really hurt, just annoying.
The time is 2:30 pm. There is a knock at my door and in walk my husband and child. The sight of them makes me want to cry. I thought that if I was going to have a baby, I would be doing it alone. Now my best friend and companion arrived. AMEN!
From here we sat and sat and sat. I was not granted any food for fear that I would need an emergency c-section to deliver my 12 week early breech baby. This is where things get a little fuzzy. I really don't know how we made the time pass or what the heck was going on. All I know is that I was hungry. My mom and Rich got a room at a local hotel. Kris and Troy slept next to me on a twin sized fold down couch.
The time is now 8:30 am. We are just getting off the exit onto Highway 151 going into Dubuque. I told Kris, "I'll be really embarrassed it they tell me that I have been wetting my pants all night, but I REALLY hope that is what they are going to tell me." He squeezed my hand and we entered Iowa. Little did I know that I wouldn't be back in Wisconsin for 18 days.
The time is now 8:45 am. I was called right back with out any wait. I had to drink the diabetes stuff...yuck! I had to undress from the waist down. Dr. M came right in and explained to me that she was going to do a sterile exam in case my water did indeed rupture. She opened the speculum just a tad and confirmed my worst nightmare. She wanted me to go to ultrasound to have the fluid level check.
The time is now 8:55 am. I am on the ultrasound table, Troy was squirming around, the ultrasound tech, who had done everysingle one of my ultrasounds ever, was sober in the face, measuring and scanning, typing and pointing. The baby's kidneys are enlarged. The baby has very low fluid. Go back into the exam room and Dr. M will be right in.
The time is now 9:15 am. Dr. M came back in. She told me the baby is breech and that I have to go start to Mercy hospital for steriods, talked to a NICU doctor, and figure out a plan from there.
The time is now 9:30 am, I am on my way to Mercy. I was calling my parents, my boss, my sister. I was mentally making a list of things for Kris to grab and do once he headed home.
The time is now 9:35 am, I walked up to OB. Opps, suppose to go through the ER, check in and be wheeled up to maternity. Oh well. They got me to my room. I got changed into a gown. Kris stepped out to call his parents. The nurse was growly that Kris left Troy in the room with me. That ticked me off that she was so growly.
The time is now 9:45 am. I have 2 nurses. One nice, One groochy. Dr. B, my regular OB is on call at the hospital, comes into my room. He explains to me that I am not far along enough to have my baby in Dubuque. I will be receiving steroids, IV fluids and antibiotics and be taken by ambulance or medflight to Iowa City. He held my hand as I got the steroids. Holy cow, it hurt. I got my IV. They drew my blood for the diabetes test. The phone was ringing off the hook and people of all kinds were in and out of my room. One of the nurses gave me a scrap of paper to make a list on for Kris. I had the shakes something terrible because of nerves.
The time is now 10:10 am. Kris and Troy kissed me goodbye with list in hand. Next time I would see them is hours later in Iowa City. At this point we weren't sure what the heck was going to go on.
The time is now 10:20 am. The ambulance men arrived. The temperature is -29° amd that's the actual temperature. They loaded me on a stretcher and a nurse named Mary road with me to Iowa City. The ride was bumpy. I was strapped to the stretcher the entire hour and half ride. Nurse Mary tells me that my diabetes results came in right before we left. I am diagnosed with gestational diabetes on a stretcher in a cold ambulance during -29° weather and scared to death. A lot was thrown at me in the last hour and half and I was really still not sure what the heck would happen in the next few hours.
The time is now 11:45 am. About 15 minutes out of Iowa City hospital. I have no idea where Iowa City is on a map. Contractions start. They are every 3 minutes apart. They aren't painful though.
The time is now 12:00 pm. I am wisked through the University of Iowa Hospital. I have no idea what I am seeing. People are turning and looking at me. The ambulance guys are practically running through the halls, Mary the nurse is running behind us and I am still contracting. We arrive at L&D where there is another lady in the hall on a stretcher. The guys push me into a huge delivery room. A nurse comes in. I don't remember her name but I didn't like her much. She made me us a bedpan instead of using the bathroom. That was an experience I only had to endure that one time.
The time is now 12:30 pm. A resident doctor comes into my room. He brings an ultrasound machine with him. He can't even figure out how to turn it on. I was nervous. He askes me what is going on. "well my water broke." "when did it break" "yesterday at 3:15 pm" "how far along are you?" "28 weeks today" "the baby is breech?" "yup, that's what they tell me". Now I relatively irritable from the events in the past 4 hours and the contractions and the shot of steroids, so this guy made me want to scream at him. I didn't but it took all my might not too. There were lots of umm and space between talking to me. The nurse had just told him everything I had to repeat. All the while he is trying to turn on this darn ultrasound machine. He finally gave up and grabbed another doctor. This doctor was in a hurry for sure. The L&D was filling up fast. This new curly haired doctor gave me a sterile exam, turned on the ultrasound machine for the student doctor and left. The student did the ultrasound. YUP, baby is still breech.
The time is now 1 pm. I am hungry. My mom and Rich arrive. Kris and Troy are on their way down. My contractions are sporadic now. Sometimes 15 minutes apart sometimes 2 minutes apart but they don't really hurt, just annoying.
The time is 2:30 pm. There is a knock at my door and in walk my husband and child. The sight of them makes me want to cry. I thought that if I was going to have a baby, I would be doing it alone. Now my best friend and companion arrived. AMEN!
From here we sat and sat and sat. I was not granted any food for fear that I would need an emergency c-section to deliver my 12 week early breech baby. This is where things get a little fuzzy. I really don't know how we made the time pass or what the heck was going on. All I know is that I was hungry. My mom and Rich got a room at a local hotel. Kris and Troy slept next to me on a twin sized fold down couch.
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