Unplanned Hospital Tour

We have a hospital tour scheduled for Oct. 22. Unfortunately, we managed to get an early preview Wednesday night and Thursday.

I really had to go to the bathroom as I was arriving home from work Wednesday. By the time I got upstairs and into the apartment I really had to go to the bathroom. I dropped my stuff on the kitchen table and hustled to the bathroom.

What happened next caused one of the worst feelings of helplessness and fear I have ever felt.

I don’t know if I stumbled, my legs gave out or a combination of both – but in a split second I felt myself propelled forward and powerless to stop the momentum. I tried to break my fall with my knee and elbow, but I still managed to land on my stomach. Hard.

It partially knocked the wind out of me and it took me a minute to process what had just happened. I paused to catch my breath, then crawled into Mike’s bathroom, steadied myself on the counter and then used the bathroom. No idea how I didn’t completely wet my pants (and in hindsight, that would have just been the better choice!)

I immediately called the doctor’s office and told them what happened, then called Mike, who was pulling into the parking lot. I am so thankful he was pulling in, and also thankful he didn’t see me fall – I’m sure it would have been as terrifying for him as it was for me.

The doctor called me back within 10 minutes and told me I absolutely had to remain calm so I wouldn’t stress the baby further (I was upset and scared, but not freaking out). She said to “calmly and carefully” head to the hospital to get checked out, and also said the baby floats in fluid and is most likely just fine. That was reassuring, but I was still very scared that I had hurt the baby and/or would go into preterm labor.

So off we went. Mike did ok until we got close to the hospital. He dropped me off at the L&D entrance, and then went to park the car and catch his breath. (My husband has an extreme phobia of hospitals…just knowing he has to enter one is enough to make him almost keel over.)

After getting checked in, we were taken back to my room. As we were getting settled, there was one nurse getting me hooked up to monitors and two nurses aiding my husband so he wouldn’t pass out. That did provide a bit of humor to the situation! The nurse got the monitors hooked up, and the sound of the baby’s steady heartbeat was better than a symphony orchestra. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I heard him. I wasn’t out of the woods yet, but that was a critical first step.

They checked all my vitals, which were good, but noticed that I was having some mild contractions. As a result, they decided to keep me overnight for observation. They hooked me up to an IV bag of fluids, which helped with the contractions and ensured I peed almost hourly for the next 12 hours.

After Mike started feeling better from nearly passing out, he did remarkably well. I was so proud of him for hanging in there and working so hard to be able to stay with me. He stayed until 10, and then headed home to get some sleep. Right before he left they brought me dinner. The “let me see what I can find” response to my request for food had me a little concerned, but the nurse brought in a steaming plate of dinner that was quite tasty! Sliced beef with mac ‘n cheese on the side.

I stayed up until about 11:30, thinking if I let myself get really tired I might sleep better. I got myself settled (thank goodness I threw a contact case in my bag!) and then realized I had no clue how to dim the lights. I figured a nurse would be in any minute, but I rested with the lights on until about midnight. (Also the time the hospital Zambonis polish the floors, just fyi…) Once they were off, I fell asleep pretty quickly.

I would have slept fine, but being hooked up to two monitors and having a pretty useless left side between an IV port in my hand and a very banged-up knee made getting comfortable a bit tricky. Bathroom trips took a good 15 minutes due to all the maneuvering, and it was 5 feet from my bed.

I woke up at 1:00 for a nurse check, and then woke up again about 2:30 to use the bathroom. I dozed on and off until the nurse came in at 3:00. She took all my vitals and gave me an extra pillow. That helped so much with my comfort level! I woke up again at 4:45 for another vitals check, and the nurse brought me some Tylenol with codeine for my knee pain. (I could barely walk to the bathroom at 3:00; in hindsight, the nurses saw how much trouble I was having and I’m surprised no one checked out my knee.) That knocked me out until 6:30, when the nurse came in to say the ultrasound would happen between 7:00 and 9:00. At that point, I just gave up and laid drowsily in bed until they came and got me at 7:15.

While I didn’t get much sleep, I was pretty comfortable and actually quite happy to listen to the baby’s steady heartbeat. It was so reassuring. Plus, he was awake and moving all night long. Another reason I didn’t sleep much, but I was relishing his lack of sleep given the circumstances. It made me wonder if that is common for him and I just don’t know it because I’m usually asleep.

He did not like the fetal monitor, and any time the nurse tried to adjust it he tried to hide from her. Even she was laughing about it! When she found the heartbeat and readjusted it, he spent a good 5-10 minutes trying to kick it out of the way.

Baby boy also got the hiccups in the middle of the night, which I couldn’t really feel but could definitely hear on the monitor!

They came and got me for my ultrasound, which involved a decently long ride in a wheelchair. I rather enjoyed being pushed around because I could take in a bit more of the hospital. Although, it was a little strange partly because I was groggy from the codeine and partly because I felt like I was going out into “public” straight after getting out of bed.

My ultrasound technician was a very sweet middle-aged lady who did an excellent job pointing out what she was looking at and why. Baby boy passed the ultrasound with flying colors! She said everything looked great. I loved having another opportunity to see him on the ultrasound and it was neat to see how much he had grown and changed since the 20 week ultrasound. In addition to the baby looking fine, she said that the placenta, cord and all my fluid levels looked great and showed no signs of trauma.

She also said that he is 3 pounds, 13 ounces and has a big head :)

The technician left and I waited on the doctor to come in. I passed the time saying several prayers of thanks for the good health of the baby and me. Oh, the relief that washed over me when I realized we had passed the final test and everything really was fine.

The doctor came in (one I had not met) and took a look. She said, “Wow, he looks fantastic!” Another big reassurance and I may have had a bit of a proud mommy moment when she exclaimed again that he appears to be in excellent health and growing well.

After that, I went back to the room and called Mike to come to the hospital, as it appeared I would be discharged soon.

Umm, yeah. That was at 8:30 a.m. We didn’t leave until 3:30 p.m.

Mike left around noon to work from home (we’re only 10 min. away) and I told him I’d call him when I was ready to go. (I told him to go because he had a ton of work deadlines he was trying to meet for this weekend’s game.) I enjoyed a good lunch (turkey, green beans, cornbread dressing and strawberry shortcake) and then discovered the hospital had WiFi. Monitored my work email and read a magazine to pass the time.

The doctor came in about 3:00 and I was happy that it was the doctor I had for my last appointment who I liked so much. He gave me the all-clear, answered a couple of questions and then I was free to go home.

I was a little nervous leaving the safety of the hospital, but excited to get home, take a shower and get settled. It was a little hard coming home and seeing the spot where I took such a nasty fall. I tried not to let it replay in my head while I was in the hospital, but I couldn’t help it when I got home. I gave myself a mental pep talk that it could have happened to anyone and it was an accident – and accidents happen. I’ve done my best to push it from my mind since then.

Saturday morning update: I’m doing pretty well. A bit shaken up by the whole experience, naturally, but otherwise ok. My belly isn’t sore and I haven’t had any other symptoms like bleeding or leaking fluid. My knee is improving. Yesterday it was very sore and swollen, and I wasn’t able to walk well on it. It seems to be doing better this morning, so hoping I’m able to get around a little better. My mom brought me some fancy waterproof bandages that should help the scrape heal without scarring. My elbow is also bruised and scraped, but nothing like my knee. Above all, I am very, very thankful that baby boy is ok!!