More Labor & Delivery Drama

First of all, we'd like to wish a very happy birthday to Auntie Rochelle for Thursday!

After going in on Tuesday to get my painful stomach issues checked out, I figured that would be the end of it until I either hit labor or my scheduled c-section. Ha!

Yesterday I realized I was spotting (so sorry to the grandfathers reading this, I know that's far too much information) and phoned the hospital. They said something along the lines of, 'get thee to the emergency room and right away'. And perhaps, 'don't have a baby today'. I'm not sure, I lost track after the 'go to emergency' part. I texted Mom I was going in.

Ryan had the car all soapy in the driveway and its contents strewn about from here to Alaska. I told him I had to go back to the hospital and that I was in a bit of a hurry. He rinsed the car off and came in the house to watch Cailin who had just woken from her nap. I took a slightly soapy car and drove myself in. I realize that wouldn't work for everyone. I wouldn't have drove myself if I was in pain or panicky. As it was though, Cailin had to be fed dinner and there would be plenty of time for them to join me at the hospital if I needed them later. Oh, all right. Cailin touches everything and she doesn't need the germs right now. She doesn't need to be in the hospital licking walls or something.

Once there, it was a snap to check in at emergency and I was able to get upstairs in record time. Plus there was ample parking to boot. The nurse on call was very kind and strapped me into the monitors again. It was a relief to hear Jellybean's unstressed and healthy heartbeat. I was having no contractions whatsoever.

After a while, the doctor on call came in and started going through his checklists. He was extremely funny and very pleasant to talk to. He put me at my ease. My blood pressure was still high though - 149/68. I've never seen my own number so high before. Jellybean's numbers were perfect. He was having a snooze in fact.

The doc ran the usual checks and it could not be determined where the blood had come from (sorry for the over-share again, folks) so he wheeled the ultrasound machine over. It was huge and ancient. He told me they used this machine back in the day when the city still had dinosaurs as residents. It was at that time that my stomach started its painful clenching again, and I made sure to tell him.

This ultrasound was wonderful. He didn't rush at all, and took time to look at every inch of my baby boy. And yes, it was more than confirmed that Jellybean is a boy. The doc showed me his little hands, clenched into fists and held over his face as he slept, his fluttering heart and his little toes. Jellybean has tons of hair - it looks like sparkles in a halo around his head on the screen.

Then Jellybean crossed his feet at the ankles and pushed into my stomach hard. And the clenching began again. So now I know why that's been so painful - he's pushing both his feet into the underside of my stomach and it is more than likely bruised from all the abuse. Huh.

The doc finished up, went to study his findings and came back for a chat. Baby is perfectly happy and healthy, everything is exactly where it should be and there are no problems to be seen. Jellybean's numbers and graph were perfect. Since I'm only 37 weeks along, he thought it best that I go home and rest. There was no urgency to remove the baby from the oven until he's baked just a little more, he said. I agreed. Then the doc tried to charge me ten dollars for using the bathroom. Just this once though, he let me go for free because I was leaving.

On my way out the door, the nurse stopped me for one more check of my blood pressure. It was sky high, but she didn't tell me the exact number. She went back to find the doctor again, but he had already left for his rounds. She told me to come back the next afternoon to get it checked again. She thought maybe after a rest it would be a lower number.

Today I made my way back to emergency, registered and went up to labor and delivery again. This is the third time this week. I'm surprised no one offered me frequent visitor discounts or something. At any rate, upon explaining the situation to the nurse on call, she immediately ordered a non stress test with the blood pressure check. Over the next 30 minutes I had several blood pressure checks (all normal or even low) and got to listen to the sweet sound of my baby boy's heart. He made a perfect graph again, and no sign of any contractions but plenty of baby movements.

Then I had to pee in a cup for protein/sugar checks (gah, I know, I know). All clear. I should be good to go until my next doctor's appointment on Thursday. From there, it's a straight shot to the following Wednesday when Jellybean will make his appearance.

11 more sleeps until his arrival. Holy thundering tarnation and a hand grenade. Or something. I'm gonna burst from the excitement. Or maybe that's just my bladder.