Monday, October 24, 2011
Premature Birth Plan Day 8
I had another ultrasound today. Baby looks great! I finally got someone to pin down baby age so today we are exactly 29 weeks. That means I've got five more weeks from today to go. Heaven help us :) Baby looked great. They didn't check size, that will be next Monday but they looked for fluid levels. Normal levels would be around 14 at this point. Last week I was at 4. Today I'm 5.7. So obviously far from normal but baby has more fluid now then he/she did just a week ago. I just keep drinking and eating ice chips by the bucketful keeping us both hydrated and peeing. I've been really warm today...not a fever, I know that for sure since they check me every two hours, but just warm. The plastic bed, plastic pillows, the pads, the squeezers, just leaves me feeling hot. I decided last night to sleep without underwear to try to stave off too much irritation and when I told Dr. J about it, embarrassed, he laughed and told me, "Sweetie almost all my patients are without underwear." Good times at the hospital :) I was a little frustrated today. I wish I could just know the outcome. Will I sit in the bed five weeks? Will the baby come tomorrow and have to be in the NICU for months? Will it come somewhere in between and only be there weeks? I feel like if I could just know I could plan my life accordingly, I could mentally prepare for the challenges ahead, I could emotionally prepare. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this. After all I am the girl who about halfway through a book will often skip to the end and then go back and finish. I am the girl who avoids most surprises. I am the girl who looks up movie endings before I go. Life isn't a movie though and so here I am, waiting it out. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. On a more whimsical note, all of the pieces of Captain E's Harry Potter costume have arrived. Online shopping, what an amazing world we live in!
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Your attitude is fabulous. I can't imagine how hard it must be - the anxiety of not knowing when the baby will come. My sister had all of her babies early - 25 weeks, 32 weeks, and 33 weeks. Obviously the 25 weekers spent more time in the NICU but her 32 and 33 weekers spent only a few weeks in the NICU. It was hard, of course, but they all have experienced wonderful outcomes and are perfectly normal little people now. What a blessing modern technology is in these types of circumstances. You're in my prayers!
ReplyDeleteHow exciting to hear that the baby looks great! :-) Baby is going to be so loved when they finally make an entrance. I hate waiting for things to happen too. Waiting is the worst, down with waiting. But you're right - that's how it is, we can't change it, so we might as well focus on Harry Potter costumes :-)
ReplyDeletethat must be frustrating to not know what life has in store for you in the next 5 weeks. it's a depressing thought to consider that your little girl will need to stay at the hospital but it's far more depressing to not be prepared for that if it does happen. I focused on the possibility that the twins wouldn't have to stay when they were born at nearly 34 weeks gestation everyone said that they were basicly almost considered at term...so when I went home on mothers day without out them and they ended up staying in the NICU for 3 weeks due to feeding, breathing, and temperature control issues I was depressed big time. (side note: they are super duper strong and healthy now so dont let that list off issues stress you out too much). So, my suggestion is prepare for your little girl to come early needing to stay. Feeling joy that you will be given a little extra time to heal from the delivery and get the house ready for the new addition to come home, (if you were ready this early cudo's to you!) and know that if this happens she is in the best place she can be to help her get strong. Then, when you end up being able to stay in the hospital until she is at term and strong and you get to take her home with you when you discharge you can just be pleasantly surprised.
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