So last night was another sleepless night of pressure/pain. I was given three different types of pills before going to bed. Vistaril as a muscle relaxer, Procardia to stop contractions and Amien to sleep. You'd think I would be knocked out cold. But about an hour after I went to sleep I awoke with a jolt that sent me reeling into a world of pain. I was totally out of it and groggy so I was trying to go back to sleep, but my head was spinning with the amount of pressure and pain I was feeling. I knew something wasn't right. I couldn't lay still, I felt like the babies were going to drop out of me at any moment. All I could do was get up and pace but I was desperate for sleep. The nurse came in and I told her I was in a lot of pain and she got me what she said was the strongest pain pills they had. I waited an hour in hopes of the pills kicking in, but it never happened. I was trying to keep from waking my husband, but I was uncontrollably whimpering and moaning the entire time I was pacing the floor. He finally got up as he was concerned with how much pain I was in and he made me call the nurse again. She said the doctor was in surgery and would be up as soon as she was out, but when an hour passed I just couldn't take it anymore. Just as I was about to call again, she came in to check on me and I was still standing up holding my belly, trying to find some way to relieve the pressure. She said the doctor would be coming up to check my cervix and as she was getting me ready to be checked a gush of fluide poured down my legs. She took off quickly to get a different doctor just to have someone there quickly. It was a Labor and Delivery doctor who came in to check me. At this point I was completely out of it. Between the pain and lack of sleep and all the commotion, everything was spinning in a state of delerium. My husband was by my side the whole time, scared I am sure, but stoic as ever and doing all he could to keep me calm. They took my pajama bottoms off and stuck some sort of block to lift my pelvis and I could see my legs shaking uncontrollably. I couldn't keep them still. The doctor put her fingers in and said she could feel hair. River's hair. How crazy is that?? I could tell that excited my husband. One step closer to meeting his babies. The doctor then stated it appeared my water had broken, but my cervix was still the same.... 3cm- 90% effaced- pelvic station 0. I was writhing in pain with each contraction, that were now 2 minutes apart. The doctor, who had left briefly, came back in and said the fluid tested positive as being amniotic. She looked at me and said, "we're taking you down to delivery, looks like you're having Halloween babies!" I couldn't believe it. So early. I told my hubs to call my parents since they were taking me down to L & D. I knew they'd jump in the car and zoom over here and felt bad that it was once again so early in the morning.
Once again they were sticking me with IVs. They gave me fentanyl for pain, which crazy enough I just looked up how to spell it and found out it is 100 times more potent than morphine. Whaaaat? I'm shocked because while it took the edge off a bit, it didn't do all that much to stop the pain. Damn, labor is STRONG! They also hooked me back up to magnesium (or as the nurses call it, "mag"), which is used to protect the babies from cerebral palsy but also has a side effect of stopping contractions. The downside it instantly makes you feel like absolute shit. Like you have a massive sinus infection with a splitting headache.
I was wheeled down to the labor room and actually felt bad that I was wailing in pain. I didn't want to scare off any other pregnant women who hadn't gone through labor yet. I'm proud of myself though, I wasn't screaming like a banchee or anything, I tried keeping it in as much as I could and taking deep breaths to try and compose myself. The nurses said I was doing great. Of course, they probably tell everyone that. They parked me in the room and slapped monitors on my belly to keep watch of my contractions and the babies heart rates. They seemed to be doing just fine. Sure enough just as before my contractions started dying down little by little and by the time my parents arrived the pain was tolerable again. The contractions were getting less and less painful and further apart. Before long they stopped all together. My MFM came in and said again they were doing all they can to keep the babies in. We were all baffled because here we all thought that once your water broke, delivery was imminent. Apparently not. The amniotic fluid replenishes by me drinking water and the baby peeing it out. They would most likely remain low, but River was not in any danger. There was a stronger chance of me getting an infection now that my water had broke, so they had me on an IV of antibiotics and would keep checking my temperature.
We spent the ENTIRE day in that room. And the sucky thing was, the level of care in there compared to the antepartum floor I had been staying on was like night and day. Upstairs they checked on me constantly... blood pressure, temperature, bringing me meds, NSTs, and just general wellness checks all day and night. In a way I guess I was spoiled. I think in Labor & Delivery they run more like a conveyor belt, expecting that people won't be in those rooms long before delivering. Plus, it was Halloween so the nurses were all dressed up, there were festivities going on throughout the reception areas, so at times I felt like they'd forgotten about me. The worst part was they wouldn't let me get up. At all. For ANY reason. Which means I was having to go to the bathroom in a bed pan. My husband or mom would slide it under for me and then take it to dump it in the toilet and clean it out. Oh it gets better... the meds and labor gave me the runs. Multiple times. Not my finest moment, no siree bob. My poor, sweet husband was seeing things no man should ever witness their wife doing. But he was a trooper, he just kept saying he was in "life or death mode" and wasn't even giving it a second thought. He truly is wonderful. One of the nurses told me I would be in there a day or two and I thought I would go out of my mind. Here I had been complaining about having to be holed up in my room upstairs for what could be weeks and how I couldn't handle it, but I tell you what... it was like being on a 5-star vacation compared to the L & D room. Luckily around 9pm one of the doctors came in. (mind you we had been in that room since 5am). She said that my contractions had stopped all day and I hadn't dilated anymore so they could send me back upstairs. Same floor, different room.(They clear out your stuff the second you get wheeled downstairs). I was elated.
The doctor told me even though my water broke I could still stay pregnant for several weeks. Unreal. She also said every ONE day the babies stay inside is equal to THREE days less in the NICU. That alone makes it worth it to keep them baking, as uncomfortable as it is. So I was wheeled back upstairs into a new room and I am now ready to deal with my sentence. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure the twins are healthy and safe. But I have a sinking feeling that this won't be the last time I go through this. Last time it took 72 hours after the pulled me off the meds for me to go back into labor and this time because my water broke they said they can't give me the pills they gave before to stop it, so who knows what the future will bring. I guess we'll see in another 72 hours!
I was wheeled down to the labor room and actually felt bad that I was wailing in pain. I didn't want to scare off any other pregnant women who hadn't gone through labor yet. I'm proud of myself though, I wasn't screaming like a banchee or anything, I tried keeping it in as much as I could and taking deep breaths to try and compose myself. The nurses said I was doing great. Of course, they probably tell everyone that. They parked me in the room and slapped monitors on my belly to keep watch of my contractions and the babies heart rates. They seemed to be doing just fine. Sure enough just as before my contractions started dying down little by little and by the time my parents arrived the pain was tolerable again. The contractions were getting less and less painful and further apart. Before long they stopped all together. My MFM came in and said again they were doing all they can to keep the babies in. We were all baffled because here we all thought that once your water broke, delivery was imminent. Apparently not. The amniotic fluid replenishes by me drinking water and the baby peeing it out. They would most likely remain low, but River was not in any danger. There was a stronger chance of me getting an infection now that my water had broke, so they had me on an IV of antibiotics and would keep checking my temperature.
We spent the ENTIRE day in that room. And the sucky thing was, the level of care in there compared to the antepartum floor I had been staying on was like night and day. Upstairs they checked on me constantly... blood pressure, temperature, bringing me meds, NSTs, and just general wellness checks all day and night. In a way I guess I was spoiled. I think in Labor & Delivery they run more like a conveyor belt, expecting that people won't be in those rooms long before delivering. Plus, it was Halloween so the nurses were all dressed up, there were festivities going on throughout the reception areas, so at times I felt like they'd forgotten about me. The worst part was they wouldn't let me get up. At all. For ANY reason. Which means I was having to go to the bathroom in a bed pan. My husband or mom would slide it under for me and then take it to dump it in the toilet and clean it out. Oh it gets better... the meds and labor gave me the runs. Multiple times. Not my finest moment, no siree bob. My poor, sweet husband was seeing things no man should ever witness their wife doing. But he was a trooper, he just kept saying he was in "life or death mode" and wasn't even giving it a second thought. He truly is wonderful. One of the nurses told me I would be in there a day or two and I thought I would go out of my mind. Here I had been complaining about having to be holed up in my room upstairs for what could be weeks and how I couldn't handle it, but I tell you what... it was like being on a 5-star vacation compared to the L & D room. Luckily around 9pm one of the doctors came in. (mind you we had been in that room since 5am). She said that my contractions had stopped all day and I hadn't dilated anymore so they could send me back upstairs. Same floor, different room.(They clear out your stuff the second you get wheeled downstairs). I was elated.
The doctor told me even though my water broke I could still stay pregnant for several weeks. Unreal. She also said every ONE day the babies stay inside is equal to THREE days less in the NICU. That alone makes it worth it to keep them baking, as uncomfortable as it is. So I was wheeled back upstairs into a new room and I am now ready to deal with my sentence. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure the twins are healthy and safe. But I have a sinking feeling that this won't be the last time I go through this. Last time it took 72 hours after the pulled me off the meds for me to go back into labor and this time because my water broke they said they can't give me the pills they gave before to stop it, so who knows what the future will bring. I guess we'll see in another 72 hours!
I wish u luck! Please, stay pregnant longer! I will be thinking about u. I am 24+1 weeks with twins and on bedrest since 18 weeks including 2 weeks on hospital bedrest. Stay strong and positive!
ReplyDeleteOlga