So things have changed quite a bit over the last two days. It's been full of new experiences for sure. I think I wrote here on Thursday morning that I had a check-up on Wednesday and things were going pretty well. A couple hours later I got a call from my doctor that the specialist in the Cities was concerned about the size of Baby C, and that I should come in and start the tests that I was going to start the next week anyway. They also thought I should have a steroid shot to speed up the lung development of the babies, should they need to come out before we'd expected.
I will try to give you the facts without being very graphic. Just a couple minutes after I started my ultrasound I asked if I could use the bathroom, and suddenly had a significant amount of bleeding. The doctor had us continue the ultrasound, and then go upstairs for a non-stress test (which I was to do anyway) - this checks the babies heartbeats and movements for 30 minutes, and monitors contractions. Unluckily, I was having pretty frequent contractions, and given the bleeding they checked me into a room and contacted the doctor on call. He consulted with the doctor in the Cities, and pretty soon I was being strapped to a gurney and heading for the roof.
First time on a gurney. First time on the roof of Rice Hospital. First ride in a helicopter. It wasn't much of a ride - six inches from the ceiling, buckled down with just my face sticking out (before I left Jesse told me I kind of looked like a hot dog - thanks honey!). Luckily it was a short ride, only 30 minutes or so, to North Memorial in Robbinsdale. I was supposed to go to Fairview, but both labor and delivery and the NICU were full, and North Mem. takes the overflow as it is serviced by the same team of doctors.
So I got here Thursday night about 8:30 - this was perhaps the most interesting part. Instead of pushing me down the hall on foot, they hooked up the gurney to a golf cart and pulled me through the medical center. First time on a gurney being pulled by a golf cart. They gave me some medicine to stop the contractions and hooked me up to a bunch of stuff. After a while they decided this was not an urgent situation and nothing drastic needed to be done, but wouldn't let me out of bed. First time using a bedpan - not fun, FYI. I called Jesse to tell him he didn't need to rush down here that night, that the next morning would be fine; that way he could get some things together and sleep in his own bed that night. Turns out he didn't sleep much. Awww.
The next morning they decided since I had no more bleeding and the contractions had stopped that I could get out of bed and use the bathroom myself. Hooray! Later in the morning I had a very detailed ultrasound, so they could see for themselves here everything that was going on. Everything still looked good, but the doctor's news for me was not what I wanted to hear. I am not leaving here until the babies are born. Whatever happened to me was not preterm labor they determined, but should I have more significant bleeding they plan to take the babies right away. Because of this they need me close by. I asked if they would let me hang out in the hospital in Willmar, but they said I'd have to come back here were anything to go wrong, so I have to just stay put.
This news gave me my first triplet-pregnancy-related cry. That's fine, I probably needed it, except then this woman who worked in the ultrasound department (I'm not even sure what her purpose was) blurts out "Are you crying?" Yeah, dummy, I am. She then tried to comfort me by saying I was in good hands and had nothing to worry about. I believe her, I just wanted to go home.
I left our house on Thursday afternoon with what I was wearing, my coat, and my purse. I didn't even have my cell phone because it had died and I put it on the charger, thinking I would have it again when I got home, except I didn't go home. I left the hospital with even less, wearing a crappy gown, though I did manage to get my purse on the gurney. Jesse came yesterday after lunch and brought me some clothes, the laptop, my phone. . . but at that time we had no idea how long I'd be here. Did not expect it to be weeks.
Today we were supposed to have Axel's Tom and Jerry birthday party - he loves Tom and Jerry, and has seen each cartoon many times, so that is what he chose for his theme. We ordered Tom and Jerry balloons, plates, napkins, even a cake. I guess this is the first thing that will be disrupted by my sudden change of address. Tomorrow our families are coming to the hospital so we can have some cake together, and Axel's going to spend some time with Grandma Mary, which he was going to do anyway this week, so that's nice.
This is certainly going to be a restful time for me, and I'm trying to keep that in mind - best for the babies. It's still a huge bummer to have to be quarantined to a room two hours from Jesse and Axel, my house, my stuff.
The good news is that I now feel as good as I did Thursday morning before any of this started, and the babies are all doing well. They'll continue to watch the growth of Baby C, and his/her growth could determine how long the babies stay inside. If it really starts to lag they'll probably have to take them all out. Everyone seems to be impressed with the size of the babies, and is confident they'll all do well once out, but it is my job now to keep them in as long as possible. The nurses here are very nice and good to us. The hospital food is actually quite good, and there is free WiFi, allowing me to keep up my blogging, emailing, and Netflix. Woohoo!
This has become quite rambling and long, and I apologize for that. It's hard to organize my thoughts. We were not expecting this change of pace and are probably going to need a little time to figure out how to do this. This turned out a little sadder than I meant it to. Sorry! A couple people have asked for my address and I have no idea what it is, but I will find out. I will probably be on the computer regularly - not much to do in bed right now! - so will update as often as I can, and will check my email often. Feel free to get in touch with me, and with Jesse. He may need company, too, though he'd probably never say that.
That's all for now I guess. Here comes the snack lady. Thanks for reading, and for your concern.
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