Today was my one week anniversary of being in the hospital on bedrest! You know how they say that things are 7 times longer in dog years? Well... :-)
In case you are wondering "What the heck do you do all day when you're stuck in the hospital?", here's a sample rundown of a Day in the Life...
Midnight or later: nurse comes in to take my vital signs & put compression wraps on my legs (for better bloodflow and to discourage blood clots), which inflate and squeeze my legs every 5 seconds ...all night long
5:00 am: tech wakes me up to draw blood
6:00 am: nurse comes in to take vitals again
6:15am: the construction crew outside my window begins working for the day (against orders to wait until 7:30am)...cranes drilling and putting in re-bar, backhoes breaking up pavement and dropping it into dump trucks...you get the idea.
6:30am: fall back asleep (aren't you supposed to get lots of rest when you're in the hospital? more like lots of sleep deprivation!)
7:30am: nurse wakes me up so I can go down to ultrasound for tests
9:00 am: finally get back to my room, ask to reheat the lovely hospital food that's been sitting out for the past hour
10:00-11:00 am: hooked up to the monitors to check James' heartbeat patterns
11:15 am: shower and get dressed
12:00 am: lunch
12:30-2:00 pm: free time...read, check email and blogs, watch TV
2:00 pm: Keith and Maddie arrive for their first visit of the day & I get to use my "wheelchair time" to take her up to the playroom up on the Pediatrics floor, which is her new favorite hangout
3:30 pm: Keith and Maddie head home; I *attempt* to take a nap
4:00 pm: nurse comes in to take vitals
5:00 pm: dinner (can I just tell you how much I can't wait to be home and cooking for myself again?!)
5:30-6:30 pm: knit baby hat while watching Food Network or HGTV
6:30 or 7:00 pm: Keith and Maddie arrive for their evening visit...another visit to the playroom, then snuggling and reading bedtime books with Maddie
8:30 pm: Keith and Maddie head home for bedtime
9:00 pm-10:30 pm: I get hooked up to the monitors again to check James' heartrate patterns...he's being a little stinker and keeps wiggling off the monitors, so it takes an extra 30 minutes to get the tracking we need on him
10:30 pm - 11:30 pm: eat a snack, more time on the computer or knitting or reading, take meds, get ready for bed
Midnight: start the routine all over again! :-)
There, now wasn't that super exciting?! I know you're all so jealous. (It's funny...on days I was really busy and feeling "so pregnant" and achey and tired, I'd joke with Keith that it would be nice to be in the hospital just so that I could have the freedom to relax and put my feet up and read for awhile. Well, I was pretty much over that after the first few hours I'd been admitted last week!!)
In terms of health/baby updates, I have finally developed pre-eclampsia, just like my doctors suspected I would. At this point my blood pressure is a bit on the high side, but it's staying pretty steady and isn't too bad, but since it does impact James' growth and the protein in my urine has been rising, they are calling it "severe"...even though I feel fine. James is still a teeny guy, but he's been doing great on all of his tests and has remained really active.
Here's the BIG NEWS: Today my doctors told me that if things stay stable, the latest they would make me wait to deliver is when I hit 34 weeks. Apparently at that gestational age, the risks of me getting sicker or my placenta deteriorating too much outweigh the benefits of keeping James in utero any longer...so best to go ahead and deliver. That means James' birthday will probably be next Monday, August 31st!! For me, it's a relief to have an end in sight and know that we'll be moving on to the next phase of things! It will be nerve-wracking to see how he does in the NICU, but I know he's a fighter. I've nicknamed him "Little Stinker" since I've been in the hospital because he always knows when the doctors or nurses are trying to mess with him...any time they use the Doppler wand or the probes on my stomach, he kicks directly underneath it and wiggles away! He's a clever little guy. :-)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
5 comments:
You are in my thoughts and prayers, Lisa. I totally understand the hospital bed rest thing, since I was in there 4 weeks with the girls. It's definitely brutal. Physically as well as emotionally. If you ever need anyone to talk to who's been through *some* of this stuff, I'm here. Congratualions on making it to almost 34 weeks! That is a huge accomplishment! The girls were born at 32 weeks and they did just fine with no major complications. Every day is a victory! Keep up the good work! Just remember that Jesus says; "my grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" there's no other time when we feel as weak and helpless as when we're pregnant and in the hospital with no control over ourselves...and this is when Jesus' power is made perfect. Hang in there, you're doing awesome!
Sorry...that was really long!
Hey Lisa:
Thanks for all the updates. We have been praying for you and James. Sorry to hear that life at the Hospital is not a day at the beach. You can do it mamma.
34wks! God is awsome!
Praying, Praying, Praying Lisa :) Loveyou!
I'm soooo jealous! ;) Wow, sounds just like I would imagine, and very similar to my days post-Jonathan (aside from monitoring him). At least you can get a few moments of rest. ;) love you! xoxo
I'm so sorry you had to be on "bed rest" at the hospital so long, since there is no "rest" at the hospital. it's quite annoying, but your perseverance and faith have paid off. Praise God for His miracles! :) Blessings to you and James and your family!
love, Kari
Post a Comment