So I got a call this morning from Beth at about 10:00 saying that her Braxton Hicks contractions were lasting for extended periods of time (20 minutes straight) and she just really didn't feel good (which had occurred for a few days before as well). She called her doctor and the nurse advised that she go to Labor & Delivery right away, just to be safe. We got checked in and waited for a while in Triage for a room to open up so she could be monitored. While waiting, I went to the cafeteria and grabbed a Peanut Butter-Chocolate-Banana smoothie for lunch.
Once admitted to the room, she got hooked up to a fetal monitor and contraction sensor, and Nurse Joy said she would be keeping tabs on the data for the next 20 minutes from her desk.
Cut to: 1.5 hours later... no Nurse Joy
Apparently, keeping a woman with pre-labor contractions in a room at 45 degrees will slow things down. I was shivering within 3 minutes of entering the room while Beth was suffering in heat. By the end I had pulled a blanket out of the cupboard and wrapped up like an Xbox on Christmas. I couldn't feel my fingers and toes.
Evidently, eating a Peanut Butter-Chocolate-Banana smoothie for lunch - after only having a bowl of Special K for breakfast - isn't the most substantial thing. That frozen sugary goodness, in combination with the inappropriate cold of the room, made my stomach turn inside out and my head start pounding.
Possibly the most intense sound to listen to for 90 minutes on a amplified speaker is the sound of your unborn kid's heartbeat at around 150/bpm. I love the little guy, but after 30 minutes it was tough... 90 was just absurd. Pair that with the icy sugar headache I was already rockin', and I've had better hospital visits.
While Winnie Palmer Hospital was likely designed by the Department of Defense and NASA, unfortunately, they spared a lot of expense on chairs. I sat in a plastic torture chamber shifting, rotating, and slouching endlessly. I would have rather had a cinder block and baseball bat to work with. Exactly.
So to keep things interesting, we decided to play a game. Every time Keller's heartbeat went over 160/bpm I got to check my gmail on the fetal monitor computer. Nurse Joy obviously didn't need it. But every time his heartbeat dropped below 125, I had to take a triple gulp of my smoothie and hold my breath for 45 seconds. The kicker was that if he got up to 170/bpm, I was allowed to beat down Nurse Joy with my molded plastic seat of death for forgetting about us in the meat locker for an hour and a half. No luck.
Oh yeah, Beth and baby are fine. She's got another appointment on Friday and will follow up on everything.
5 comments:
Oh, poor Justin. At least you got to have a Peanut Butter-Chocolate-Banana smoothie man ... that stuff sounds heavenly. Glad the little one's in good shape though! Thanks for the continued laughs!!
Glad everything's ok! Aside from the freezing triage room, I can relate--we had THREE false alarms before getting admitted with Ashlyn. UGH! At least the second time around, with Maguire, my water broke, so there was no question ;) It's so hard to know the first time... Praying for you all!
Glad you are okay!
Laughing hysterically!!!! I don't remember much about childbirth, but I do recall those frigid temperatures!
mom (aka Gramma Jo)
First, I'm glad everything is fine! I went into early labor with JD but they got it stopped...so, I hear ya. But, I had to laugh (really hard) b/c we had the SAME experience! Ryan was sitting there freezing and I was so dang hot! Beth, aren't you so ready to not be pregnant and hot all the time?! At least you guys were smarter about it and didn't have an August baby!=) Justin, make sure you pack warm clothes for the day of the delivery!=)
Post a Comment