We got to bypass the emergency room and go straight to labor and delivery. I was told they're actually terrified of pregnant women in the emergency room. They asked Brent to wait outside while I changed into the paper-thin gown. While he waited, the nurse asked me about domestic abuse. I know this is standard but it caught me off guard. I almost blurted out, "Did you SEE him?" My sweet blond-haired, blue-eyed doll of a husband? Anyhoo, I gave her a negative response along with the questions about STD's and drug use. Ahhhh I love being a Mormon.
They hooked me up to a baby monitor and hearing my girl made me feel so much better. At one point the nurse stopped mid-sentence and said, "Someone's playing with their umbilical cord." That's one I haven't heard before. "She is?" The nurse told us she was squeezing it and then she scratched my belly to distract her and get her to stop. At that point our girl started kicking and the nurse smiled at us and said she was getting her back. 
Just for good measure they took a urine sample and found I was dehydrated. The doctor showed me the little print out and pointed at one line in particular. "See that? That's a measure of your ketones... there should be no pluses." Yeah... I had four of them. Soooo I had no choice but to get an IV.
I have a fear of needles. Not pain, NEEDLES. So when someone says something like, "This one doesn't hurt" I kind of want to tear my own arm off just so I have something to throw at them. I thought shots and blood draws were bad but an IV is infinitely worse because you have to have it in for much longer. She tried my left side but apparently when I'm dehydrated I have jumpy veins and she had to take it out and try my right side. Stupid vein. I did two liters of liquids but the second one wasn't going as quickly so they pumped it into me. Not fun. It hurt all the way down the vein into my elbow and made my whole arm cold. After all that, they found there was no change. Since I was doing so much better symptomatically they let me go home with a directive to drink half/half Gatorade and water and start solids when I felt I was ready.
Remember my sweet blond-haired, blue-eyed doll of a husband? Rather than watching the Rose Bowl he sat by the hospital bed (I use this term loosely, that thing was about as comfortable as a Pilate's table), he stroked my hair and massaged my back. He told me stories to make the time pass and ran to find a nurse whenever I needed something. When we got home he unloaded the car while I soaked in a hot tub to loosen up my back and he did laundry while I blissfully floated off to sleep in our bed.
So like I said, I didn't really think all about what being a wife and mother would entail. In some ways it's hard but in others it's so very, very wonderful.
3 comments:
Man, could you send Brent to my house? I would like someone to do my laundry while I take a bubble bath.
Spoiled! Spoiled! Spoiled!
I hate getting IV's, too. I especially hate them when they try to put them in my hand.
How could they tell the baby is playing with the cord? That is really cute. I feel bad for her, there probably isn't a lot of room in there and there isn't much else to play with.
girl, you gotta take care of yourself! i mean brent can only do so much for you. fair warning, when you go to hospital to actually have the baby, you'll have a fun IV all over again and they pump more liquids into you. i was surprised at how much fluid they give you. my MIL said with one baby, she ended up going home heavier than when she arrived at the hospital in labor. anyway, it's an iv in your hand and it freakin hurt. the nurse who was trying to put it in and two unsuccessful attempts before she said she'd let someone else have a stab at it. yes, pun intended. the anesthesiologist finally put it in and he was mahvelous at it. putting in the epidural went even more smoothly than he did the iv. i've never felt so inclined to kiss a man other than my hubby since i got married. well, with the exception of daniel craig.
Aren't hubbies the greatest? I'm glad you're doing better, and I share your IV sentiments. When I was in the hospital over Christmas, they put in a central line, which is an IV in a major artery by your neck--I am SO THANKFUL I was unconscious when they put it in, and that I couldn't see it at all when I was awake (except in the mirror, but I'd look away).
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