After two weeks - HOME AT LAST!! on Tuesday night (April 10) I went and saw the high risk doctor. He did an ultrasound and took the baby's measurements. The baby has grown some. She now weighs approximately 4lbs 12 oz. (as of Tuesday), which puts her in the 45 percentile for weight. Her limbs are still measuring short (they are in the 5th percentile) but the doctor explained to us that when we look at her she won't look disproportionate--it's just technically her limbs are short. Both of my doctors were comfortable with how much she's grown and decided it would be okay for me to carry out bed rest at home. So, I pretty much do the same thing as in the hospital, only now I get to sleep in a bigger bed, and Mike doesn't have to sleep on a "daddy bed" (or politically correct termed "birth partner" bed) that's the width of a cookie sheet. I also have to keep eating like I'm a NFL player. I drink 2-3 supplement shakes a day, 1 or 2 protein bars, 3 square meals, and continuous snacks all day. I pack in 2,500 to 3,000 calories a day. I think I can actually hear myself getting fatter throughout the day. The good news is that the two weeks in the hospital really did wonders for the baby's growth.
So, what now? Well, I'm on strict bed rest at home but I do go to the doctor's office twice a week for non-stress testing and ultrasounds. Every two weeks the baby will be measured with a high tech ultrasound machine for growth. But since I'm almost 35 weeks, that doesn't leave very many measurement examinations. As long as the baby is growing, they'll keep her in the oven. If in two weeks, her growth has plateaued....we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
But before I close the chapter on my two week stay in the hospital, allow me to reminisce.
Exciting things that happened:
After a week of staring out a window and never leaving the room, I got wheel chair privileges and Mike snuck me outside to breath fresh air.
I joined the "Bedrest Buddies" group. All the ladies in my wing got together to meet and greet and share stories. We motivated each other and it was fun. The most impressive lady I met was a girl who was having triplets...actually she had them on Tuesday (10th). Her stomach looked like a grown man was standing horizontally in her stomach.
On our many explorations of the hospital in the wheel chair, we got lost probably 95% of the time. One time we ended up in the kitchen galley with waiters staring at Mike, Lisa (who was visiting), and I--wondering what we were doing down there. I'm convinced you can get into any high security location as long as you're in a wheel chair. People are too afraid to ask you any questions. And yes, we took advantage of that. I probably could have rolled right into a surgery because no one would have had the gall to say "Hey wheel her out of here!"
I was so happy every time I received a flower delivery or visit from a friend. Thank you so much to everyone! Those were definitely exciting moments!
We watched a "What to Expect at Labor and Delivery" video. Mike and I didn't have the chance to take a Birthing Class, so we figured we might as well watch a video. Although, I had seen videos like this before--like in 9th grade--I knew it would be bad; but the graphic detail was hard to bear while sitting in a hospital bed, and the realization of the upcoming D-Day hit me pretty hard. Mike just made fun of the couples throughout the entire movie and the cheesy narration. Since the movie was obviously made a while ago, he wonders if any of these babies have grown up to take health classes and are scarred for life after watching their own birth--"Hey that looks like my mom...oh my gosh!!!! AAHHHH Stop the movie!" He insists I refer to him as the birth partner for the next several weeks. I almost kicked him out of my room.
Things I didn't know about hospitals:
Surprisingly, while hotels might have one housekeeper attend a room, I had about 20. One lady would empty the trashcan in my room. One lady would empty the trashcan in my bathroom. One person would check my fridge. one person would check my linen. Another person checked the needle disposal box. One person swept and mopped. Another person checked that the storage area to make sure I had replacement trash bags, etc. etc. These 20 or so interruptions never really let me fall into a deep sleep. I just opened one eye and smiled as they came in. But they were all extremely nice and had a warm smile. I never got upset.
Hospitals are typically as slow as a library.
Mike would often take walks around the hospital, snooping into rooms and searching for activity. He would always come back wondering where the action was. Sometimes he felt like the hospital was closed. He could go out for 20 min and never see a single person. It's probably like airport security where there's a hidden room somewhere with 50 doctors ready to swarm at the sound of an alarm. But this brings up my next point:
Don't get sick after hours or during holidays.
Don't bother coming to the hospital unless it's during business hours during the week, because you'll be waiting in a waiting area for countless hours. Although the 20 people to clean rooms are working during these off peak hours, there's only 1 person in a doctor's coat in the entire hospital. So, you could wait in horrible pain sitting in a chair in the waiting area or wait in a comfy couch in your house until Monday morning. On Easter Sunday the people in the waiting area in the morning were the same people waiting on Easter Sunday evening.
Keep a written track of your own vitals, measurements, and medicine.
My chart passed through more hands than a Harlem Globetrotter basketball. I kept getting asked so many questions about my weight and bathroom habits that I finally just started posting it on a white board. By the end I didn't care that everyone on the floor knew all the secret numbers a girl tries to keep private. I'm going to start taking hypnosis classes so that I can hypnotize Mike and wash his memory of all the things he now knows about me that both he and I wish he didn't.
