Bedpans and Whatnot

Ok, so obviously I am not very good at keeping you all updated on me and Chases ever exciting lives as college students/newlyweds/parents (of a dog). I always have good intentions of writing a new post and then I guess I find better things to do!

But let's face it, these days I don't have a lot of options when it comes to keeping myself entertained or wasting time on doing things that don't matter like cooking or cleaning : )

For reals, whose water breaks at 28 weeks? Who knew that could even happen? Well, me, and now me. 

So there I was, sure I was serving at Applebee's on a Friday night, making the big bucks working my pregnant belly to my advantage. Seriously, you want to make good money serving? Go buy one of those inflatable pregnant bellies that Amy Pohler wears on Baby Mama. I'm making it sound like I hustle people. I don't. I promise. But I can tell a noticeable difference in my tips now that I am pregnant.

Anyways, it was midnight and I was adjusting my tips on the computer so I could go home when I felt a gush of liquid. Yikes I thought. Immediately I was nervous that I was bleeding so I ran to the bathroom to check and was in the all clear. But by the time I got home this said liquid had my pants soaked almost to my knees. I was praying in the car on the way home that Cole was ok because I knew whatever was happening with my body wasn't suppose to happen.

When I got to the hospital in the morning they got me to a room pretty quickly and the nurse (who I now know as Kendra, one of my favs) did a pH test on the fluid I was leaking. If the paper turned blue, it was amniotic fluid...Guess who's paper turned blue. Me. I really had no idea what this meant. I thought your water broke when you were going into labor? And this stuff has to be pretty important otherwise everyone wouldn't be looking so grim. So they called Dr. Allred, who was on call that weekend, and he came in about 15 mins later (it felt like forever). I expected him to double check the nurses work to make sure what was going. The expression he wore on his face was not one that said "Hi, Danielle, happy to see you!" so at that point I knew whatever he said next I wasn't going to want to hear. "Danielle, I'm so sorry, but the rest of your pregnancy is going to very boring. You will be spending the next 6 weeks here at the hospital on bed rest." 

I was pretty shocked to say the least. There is no was that this is real, is what I was thinking. I was silent for the next few mins while Dr. Allred checked to make sure that I wasn't dilating and did an ultrasound to make sure the baby was doing ok. I wasn't in labor and baby was doing great so those were two really good signs. I have since learned that 90% of women who are admitted to the hospital for bed rest with Preterm Premature Rupture Of Membrane (PPROM) deliver within the first 48 hours. 

After my exam I was set up in my own room, had blood drawn, given my first ever shot in the bum (Geez...), hooked up to an IV with fluids to keep me hydrated, antibiotics and something called Magnesium Sulfate, and finally had a fetal heart rate monitor and a contraction belt strapped around my belly.

(Insert your best teenage angst attitude here)

OK. For real?! What is this crap?? I have been perfectly healthy all my life! and Now I have to spend the next month and a half in this stinking place!

The shot in the bum was a steroid shot (of which I had to get another one in the other cheek the following day...) that was given to me to help speed up the development of the babies lungs. The antibiotics helped to keep away infection but to also prevent me from going into labor. And the magnesium sulfate helped the baby develop faster and helped prevent me from going to labor as well. Magnesium Sulfate was terrible. It gave me hot flashes and gave me what the nurses call 'Slap Face'. It dried out the skin on my cheeks and made them really red and they burned if you touched them. They told me had I not been on antibiotics with this stuff, my whole body would have been broken out in a rash. In other words, it's pretty legit. Too legit to quit. 

The next two days were not fun at all. There were all kinds of new noises that I was suppose to sleep through at night (yeah, that didn't happen). My nurses were instructed to come and check on me every hour to get my temperature and blood pressure. And actually the first week in general was pretty miserable. I had blood drawn and an ultrasound every day. The ultrasounds were, and still are, pretty fun. I get to see my sweet little babe all the time!! 

Speaking of Cole: He is a happy little stink! He's wiggly all the time. Prefers my left side. Gets lots of hiccups. Has even decided that he will show off for dad when I tell Chase "Get over here! You gotta feel this!". Most of the time when I do that he goes into hiding. His movements aren't quiet as spastic as they use to be. I think I could have compare them to someone setting off a bunch of firecrackers in my belly. He use to be crazy! But as of late, he is running out of room, which I think is due to his large noggin! Ultrasound pictures make this kids head look huge. 

The Thursday after I got to the hospital has by far been the hardest one here. They drew blood that morning and my white blood cell count was elevated to a 19. (14-15 is normal). This worried Dr. Evans (I have two Dr.s Allred and Evans and they trade weeks at the hospital and the women's clinic) so he ordered two ultrasounds for me that day and for my blood to be drawn 2 more times. My white blood cell count was going to down, but unfortunately so did my fluid levels. They went from a 7 in the morning to a 4.3 at 5pm. 

The average pregnant woman whose water has not broken carries around 12-14cm of amniotic fluid.

With 4cm being the lowest the Dr. Evans wanted me to have, everyone was really concerned especially Dr. Evans. Such low levels lead to me not being able to get out of bed at all. No shower, no bathroom, no nothing. Great so now I'm a 22 year old living in the hospital using a bed pan. I spent most of the night really upset. I was worried that Cole wouldn't be ok. I was worried my body wouldn't follow through on the only way that I could take care of my baby right now. Amongst knowing that I was confined to my bed for who knows how long.

So the next few days were hard and I struggled with being restless. As the days went on everything became a lot easier. You have to learn to have a sense of humor about these things otherwise you'll just end up crying all the time. Don't get me wrong, I cry, oh, I cry. (I'm pregnant, what do you expect?!) But the good days I have far outnumber my bad days where I cry, oh, I cry. Haha. 

Danielle and Cole