So here we are at 33 ½ weeks, and I get to leave the
hospital on two conditions. I have to
take Procardia twice a day (a low dosage blood pressure medicine that is
thought to relax the uterus), and bed rest…the dreaded bed rest, but, it turns
out, that bed rest for a week really isn’t so bad, so long as it only lasts a
week. The doctors told me the big thing
was to get to 35 weeks, so bed rest it was until 34 weeks and 5 days…
I started out the bed rest doing just that. Recovering for the hospital stay was actually
a little more difficult than I expected.
Being in the hospital bed doing absolutely nothing for 3 days, strangely
enough, really makes you tired. We have
an adjustable bed (no we aren’t 60), so that was where I stayed for the next
week. It wasn’t super strict bed rest,
as I could shower, sit up, etc…I was really just supposed to stay off my feet
as much as possible. I was at a client’s
office the day I ended up going to the hospital, and she was such huge help in
making it through my bed rest without going crazy. She scanned in all the documents I would
need, so I was able to do exactly what I would have done that week from the
comfort of my adjustable bed J I kept myself
busy with my actual work, and it helped me save some vacation time. She is a great lady to work with!
At my 34 week appointment, I was still one centimeter, so
things didn’t seem to be progressing that quickly. I finished out my bed rest and watching a lot
of TLC and HGTV…again, and I was allowed to go back to work the next Monday…two
days before I was 35 weeks. I was still
to take it easy, but most of my restrictions were lifted. At my 35 week appointment, however, I was
told I was two centimeters. The doctor
checking me told me this was actually a good thing because I wouldn’t have to
go from zero to ten on the delivery day.
It was exciting to start thinking about my little guy coming!
This is also when I had to start counting contractions. And, when you have tons of contractions, you
do a lot of counting. I had little
pieces of paper in my office, in my car, in my living room, next to bed. They were everywhere! I felt like all I did was count contractions! The little man was moving and grooving, and
so was my uterus. However, they were
never regular for more than a couple of hours at a time. When I would get nervous about it and call,
my nurse would be shocked when I told her how many I was having, then I would
explain that I had been having lots for a while, so then we would assess the
situation a little differently.
Apparently, I had a ridiculous amount of contractions for a ridiculous
amount of time. Also, when you walk
around dilating for a few weeks lots of things make an appearance on your
tissue if you catch my meaning. My plug
came out slowly over the course of a week or so, and there were plenty of
other…umm…snotty things to deal with. Of
course, I made multiple calls to my nurse over this time, and was reassured
that this was all normal. Toby, my phone
nurse, is a saint J
On Friday, September 9th, I thought my water
broke in the bathroom of Cinco’s. We
were eating dinner with Brian, Jeni, Lindsey, her husband, Smith, and Mary Beth
(who was also very pregnant and jealous of my possible delivery J),
so we went up to Northside Forsyth (because it was so close) to get checked
out, and turns out, it wasn’t my water breaking, so either I have horrible aim,
or pregnancy made me incontinent too among all the other things. Sure it could have been some other fluid too,
but we will never know. Hospital visit
number 2 was under my belt. And, we even
made it back to the restaurant before everyone left!
During the next two weeks, I had several nights when I
thought it was time. I was having tons
of contractions that were much more painful, but I would relax, lie down, do
some deep breathing, and eventually they would subside. I would try and go to sleep knowing that if
it were true labor, it would wake me up, and, sure enough, I would wake up the
next morning still very pregnant. It was
a constant guessing game, and I was a huge mix of emotion. Nervous, excited, confused, elated, pretty
much everything but sad J I also had
all my showers during this time, and was unbelievably blessed by all our
friends and family. We got so many
wonderful gifts. The generosity of
everyone was astounding. We hardly had
anything left to buy…which is a very good problem to have!
I went to my 36th and 37th week
appointments, and I was growing great and Mac’s heartbeat was sounding
fantastic…and at my 37th week, I was three centimeters. I was dilating at a rate of about a
centimeter every two weeks. At this
appointment, my doctor remarked that she probably wouldn’t see me for my 38th
week appointment, but I had always thought from the beginning that I would make
it to 38 weeks, and it seems that Mac had the same idea. I don’t know why, but from about August on,
people would ask, and I would say that I thought I would go to at least 38
weeks. No real reason, just a gut
feeling. Another client of mine (who is
a wonderful lady) was praying for me to make it to 38 weeks. I had told her about my first hospital visit,
and at her own selection she decided to pray for 38 weeks. I had not told her that I thought I would
make it that far…it was just a coincidence, or, as I like to think, God at
work. So, we surprised the doctor and
showed up for our 38th week appointment, and three days later Mac
decided it was time to make his debut…
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