Everyday in the hospital had pretty much the same routine. Doctors and interns came early in the morning to check on me and then an hour or two later I would eat breakfast. I would try to do some reading and then in a few short hours I would be served lunch. After lunch I would get to leave my room for my daily stress test.
Each day I was given a stress test to make sure the baby was alright. This included an ultrasound where the technicians would measure how much fluid was surrounding the baby, making sure there was plenty for the baby to thrive.
After my daily round trip in a wheel chair came dinner and then company! For about the first week my hubby and kids came up everyday to see me. And it was the highlight of my day! I was very lonely in that hospital room and I would cry and worry because I couldn't be home with my boys, especially my 3 year old who was having a hard time dealing with the situation.
We spent our evenings watching a movie together or giving the boys rides in the wheel chair, but mostly we were constantly reminding them what they could and couldn't touch. Nonetheless, I was so grateful for their visits.
Day 7 in the hospital brought another concern as I work up that morning bleeding. It turned out to be no big deal because the bleeding slowed down and it was common for bleeding to occur due to the lack of fluid in the womb. However, just to be on the safe side I was wheeled over to Labour and Delivery again where I spent most of that day.
I dreaded having to spend another 3 weeks in the hospital but I knew it was best for our baby so I tried to be positive.
Day 11 brought a new start to my day as I woke up around 4 am to a reoccurring pain. After waking up fully and realizing this might be labour pains I started timing them. They were about 5 minutes apart but they weren't really painful. I waited about 90 minutes and then called in my nurse who of course hooked me up to a monitor.
As I watched the monitor I noticed that every time I had a contraction the baby's heart rate slowed way down. The nurse checked with the doctor and I was immediately taken to Labour and Delivery. After 1 1/2 hours of close monitoring, the doctor came in to tell me that he didn't like the way the contractions were affecting the baby so he made a decision that the baby would be delivered today.
I wasn't completely shocked because I knew the contractions were the start of early labour, but when the doctor said that it became very real to me and emotionally I started to fall apart. It was the last day of March 2006, I picked up the phone and called my hubby to tell him that TODAY we were having a baby.
