Thursday, April 23, 2009

30 weeks!

For some reason 30 weeks seems like a milestone. Maybe it's just because having a baby born sometime in the 30 week range seems better than the 20 week range. I have officially survived over a week of hospital bedrest and I'm still pregnant, which is great news. I happy we made it another week, and even happier that it's been 3 weeks since our positive fFN, and tomorrow will mark 3 weeks of bedrest. I'm hoping the babies stay put for several more.

I however am in a great deal of pain. My back and hips are killing me and it hurts to move or roll over, it's strange how laying around for weeks can take such a toll on the body. Sleeping on my side hurts my hip and back, but sleeping on my back isn't really an option at this point. I'm exhausted and sleeping in a hospital is no easy task even without the back and hip pain, but I would much rather be in pain with the babies inside then for them to have an extended stay in the NICU.

Yesterday, the special care coordinator stopped by for a visit. She was able to give me information about the NICU, how much access Marcus and I would (24 hours), and some of the logistics of all of that. She says if Marcus is intersted they can arrange for someone to take him to the NICU to see how everything works (I don't get to, stuck in my lovely pink room). She also talked about lactation stuff and how all of that would work if the babies were in the NICU, and because she was being optimistic she did talk briefly about the well baby nursery where full term healthy babies go after birth. I don't that will be our situation but it would be so amazing if these babies could stay put for that long. I also asked her about the parking/paying issues and she mentioned talking to a social worker about seeing if there was some kind of long term pass, ( which my aunt also mentioned a few days ago) so we'll be looking into that. Overall it was a helpful visit, and it was nice that some of my questions about how things would work once the babies were born were answered.

I also am so grateful for Marcus. I know all of this is hard for him. He worries about me, he worries about the babies, and he still has to go to school and work and run back and forth from the hospital. In addition he also has the task of running some errands for me. Even though I'm stuck in the hospital there are still so many things I'm responsible for/need to get done. I'm attempting to finish this semester from the hospital (not really sure how successful this attempt will be) and I have two final papers to write. So yesterday Marcus went to the library for me and hunted down a few of the books I need for the paper. He didn't just go once but twice.

An even worse task pertains to my internship. My supervisor required me as part of my internship to read through the organizations archives so I would know the background and history. What these archives consist of are three binders full of newspaper clippings, nothing fancy, but for some reason my supervisor is really protective of them. Since being on bedrest he has called me twice inquiring when I think I might be able to get them back to him. The second time being yesterday. So in order to calm him down I bit, poor Marcus had to take these archives to a random church, interrupt a meeting, and find my supervisor who he has never met and give them back. Marcus is incredibly shy, so when he walked into the meeting, he said everyone stopped talking and stared at him. He was not pleased about the whole thing, but he did it for me. He deserves some sort of award. I am happy that he is finally listening to me and sleeping at home. I know he feels guilty leaving but it's best for him to get some rest, and some time away from this place.

I can't wait until all of this stuff in behind us so we can go back to having some sort of a normal routine and life.

In final bedrest news I was weighed yesterday. On the hospital bed which is kind of odd, but according to the bed I have lost two pounds since last weeks doctors appoint. I know the difference is probably due the fact that one is a scale that I stand on and one is the bed, but I'm still a little worried about my weight gain since there hasn't been a whole lot in the last month. I plan on asking the doctor when they come around if I should be concerned.

30 weeks. They look pretty much like last week, except no IV.


4 comments:

Jessica White said...

YAY! That was the first thing I thought of this morning "Sadie's 30 weeks!"

May said...

30 weeks is HUGE! Congratulations! I set myself little minigoals and got treats each time I reached them. I remember my 28 weeks slice of chocolate cake quite clearly.

Does your hospital have a physical therapist who you can request a visit from? I got some great tips on pillow and rolled towel placement while in bed that made a big difference. And we put an air mattress over the horrible hospital bed mattress. I think it took 5 pillows and 3 towels in varying sizes rolled into cylinders for me to be comfortable. The pillow between your knees is especially vital for avoiding hip pain.

Good luck!! I'm very impressed that you're finishing your semester.

battynurse said...

Here from LFCA. Thirty weeks is fantastic. I hope you have several more weeks to go and that it's not too painful.

Life in Eden said...

Here from LFCA. Hang in there with the bedrest. It's brutal.

I had my twins at 31w1day after pPROM and 17 days on bedrest. They spent 2 month in NICU (until their due date) but it was mostly uneventful. If you want to know a little about it you can check out my old blog (http://amy-waitingforwhat.blogspot.com/), check the June/July 2008 posts.

And I agree on the suggestions about the hospital bed spruce up -- they are terrible! Wishing you luck!