A Trip to Labor and Delivery

No worries. Baby girl and I are fine, and she’s still floating in utero. Just got a little wake up call on Monday that I really am in the home stretch.

Was sitting in a meeting at work Monday morning and realized my ring was tight. Didn’t really think much of it. Just yanked it off with a bit of difficulty and switched it to my pinkie. A couple of hours later I’m on the table at the physical therapist, waiting for him to work on my feet, when I realize that my fingers are actually quite a bit swollen and feel stiff. I asked the PT if he had a blood pressure cuff. He did, and checked my bp. 140/82. Throughout my pregnancy, my bp has been steady at about 110/70. Still didn’t really give it too much thought. I had plans after work to go up to the OB’s office for “meet the drs” night. An opportunity to meet the other drs in the practice, so I won’t have a complete stranger delivering baby girl if my OB isn’t on call when the time comes. So, when I got back to my office I called the OB’s secretary, explained that my bp was a bit high and asked if my OB could see me for a few minutes before the “meet the drs” event. The secretary said she would have a nurse call me back.

A nurse called me back pretty quickly. I explained the situation, and she said I should come in to labor and delivery and get checked out. My boss was in a meeting, so I popped my head in to let him know I was heading to the hospital. Hmmm, suddenly I was a bit light headed. Honestly, I think I just got nervous because the nurse said to come in.

When I arrive at the hospital a security guard asks where I’m going. I tell him, and he asks if I’m there to visit someone. I give him a funny look and point to my 8 month belly. “Oh, I didn’t see it.” I know I’m carrying kind of small, but come on! Get up to L&D, which is VERY busy. The receptionist said that Monday’s are the busiest days. Waited nearly an hour for a room. Peed in a cup, had the bp cuff and the belly monitor strapped on. Soon I’m listening to the reassuring thump thump of my daughter’s heartbeat. I’m told there’s some protein (+1) in my urine and that my bp is close to normal. Hang out for over an hour an a half on the monitor. (Thank goodness for wifi in the hospital. I read blogs on my iTouch. No cell phone reception, but wifi.) Intern takes my info. She’s confused and curious after looking at my chart about why I was on lovenox until week 8. Well, sweetie, you obviously haven’t done your hematology rotation yet or studied much reproductive endocrinology. It was a “let’s try adding this and see if it makes a difference” kind of thing.

Then the resident comes in and does a quick abdominal u/s. Everything looks good. I’m told everything is basically fine and that I’m having some mild contractions, which, BTW, I’m not feeling. I’m told this is to be expected at 35 weeks. Resident then says he wants to check my cervix. I tell him NO! I was given strict instructions from my OB when discussing the placenta issues at 28 weeks that if I came in for anything, I was absolutely not to let anyone do an internal exam. The u/s wand was fine, but nothing else up the vag. “Oh,” said the resident. “You’re right. Thanks.” Sure, kid, but you should have known that from my chart. He told me the attending would be by and then I could go home. He said the attending might want to order some bloodwork and/or a 24 hour urine collection. I got dressed and waited. And waited. Meanwhile, without the monitor thumping away loudly, I can now hear women moaning in labor. YIKES!

Finally, the attending arrives. So at least I got to meet one other dr in my OB’s practice. He’s very personable. Grimaces at the sound of the woman in the next room moaning and says, “You shouldn’t have to hear that yet.” I joke, “Yeah, if I have to listen to that, I want the epidural NOW!” He gets bonus points when he says it breaks his heart to hear the moaning and excuses himself briefly to check on her. When he returns I tell him I have a NST and u/s scheduled for next Monday, and ask if he wants to run any other tests or if I should get in to see my OB before then. He says no, Monday is soon enough, that I’m healthy and should just go home and relax. He suggested I get a home blood pressure monitor and keep an eye on my bp.

I go home and order in a meatball hero. Probably not the best choice considering the bp spike, but I was HUNGRY!

So there you have it. My little labor and delivery adventure. I took the day off work Tuesday and am taking off tomorrow. Next week I will try to just push through, as my boss leaves for a 2 week vacation as of next Thursday. I will have more info on the placenta after Monday’s u/s, but it could be any time now! I MUST FINISH DECLUTTERING MY APARTMENT! I have arranged for someone (a struggling young actress who need the money) to come over for 3 hours on Sunday to help. Since I really can’t pick things up off the floor anymore. Well, I can, but then I need to rest for 10 minutes. I’ve been putting this off because I hate the idea of just supervising someone dealing with my mess, and thought I could do it myself, but I have to admit that I just can’t anymore.

Oh yeah, in other news, Mushy is sick again. Waiting to hear back from the vet about the $500 worth of tests that were run on Tuesday. Fortunately, he didn’t have to stay at the vet’s. The vet gave him some sub-cutaneous fluids and a cortisone shot, and he seems better. But it’s upsetting knowing that when he was SOOOOO sick six months ago we never figured out what was wrong.

Also wondering when my surprise work shower will be. Yeah, I know, but that’s how they do it in my office. It’s a surprise, but they do it for everyone who gets married or has a baby. And they take up a collection. I’m hoping it will make a dent in the damn vet bill.