Oct. 1, 2009 - 24 hours in labor and delivery....no baby yet!
I have been having high blood pressure the last few weeks and my OB has been monitoring it and put me on bed rest until deliver. I have also noticed some Braxton hicks contractions.... On Saturday my blood pressure got pretty high. It was a little better on Sunday and on Monday it was quite high so I called my OB... he told me to come in ...and sure enough if was high. He RX'ed some blood pressure meds and sent me home to rest... Tuesday, my blood pressure was ok...not too high. On Wednesday it was high, even after taking the meds....which by the way made me feel like I was going to die! My chest felt like it was going to explode! My head hurt! I just felt sooooo bad when I took it!
I cried most of the morning and finally decided to call my OB and tell him I couldn't take the meds anymore!!! He said I needed to go to the hospital so they could hook me up to some monitors and check out the baby and keep an eye on my blood pressure.... so I called Aaron, he got home and helped me get read, loaded the kids up and off we went to the hospital....
Once I got to the hospital I had to walk about a mile (ok....maybe it wasn't a mile, but it sure felt like it!) to get to the labor and deliver ward which is up on the 4th floor.... riding the elevator made me feel like I could pass out so when I got off the elevator the nurse saw me and got a wheel chair for me to sit in....
I got admitted and they hooked up the monitors (one to check baby's heart and the other to watch for contractions).... after being there for about an hour I realized I was having contractions!! And they were coming at regular intervals! I have never had anything regular with any of my babies without pitocin.... so this was new to me!
So they decided to check me and I had gone from 2cm dilated to 4cm!
They called my OB.... he said that if I continued to dilate they would keep me until I delivered.... if in the next 24 hours I wasn't dilating anymore they would send me home IF my blood pressure was maintained! They were also collecting all urine for 24 hours....so every time I went in the little hat I had to pour it in a big orange jug, GROSS!... they would check that for protein and to see if my kidney function was normal...
I had contractions ALL night, got NO sleep!!! Every time I DID get to sleep the monitors would slip, I'd have to go to the bathroom, or the nurse would come in to check my vitals.... what a LONG night!!! The contractions really were bothersome.... I'm not sure how often they came.... about three inches apart on the little paper (so whatever that would mean) and they were at different strengths.... 20-60 (again, not sure what those numbers mean.... but I do remember that 100 is painful and 150 always had me crying for pain meds!!)... The nurse told me I could have something but I told her that I'd rather not and save the meds for pain, not discomfort....at 9:00PM I was dilated to 5cm... The nurse told me that I would do better with some sleep... she wanted me to take some meds that would help with the discomfort and allow me to sleep and I agreed to it. She checked me and there was no progress... my blood pressure was still being managed well with the meds....I fell asleep and was in and out all morning....Around 2:00 my OB came in and told me that I could go home at 3:40... after my 24 hours was up and go home and REST! I also needed to keep an eye on my blood pressure and if it got high to call them, or if my water broke, or if my contractions came at 3-5 minutes apart and the intensity was consistent.... I am to go to his office on Monday and they will check my blood pressure and all the other fun stuff and if I am ok then we will talk about a date to induce me.... he doesn't want me to wait for too long with my blood pressure but would like the baby to stay put for as long as possible... also, he is afraid that if I do go into full labor it will be quick and he doesn't want me to do that at home alone with my children.... it'll take Aaron about 2 hours to get to me and then another 15-20 minutes to get me to the hospital.... since I am already 5cm he is hesitant about letting me to wait until I am in active labor....like I had wanted to do....
... I have to admit... I would rather go into labor on my own and just wait it out, but our family lives about 8-9 hours away and yesterday I was so worried about my older kids and about Aaron needing to keep an eye on them and wanting him with me at the same time... I do think it would be better to have a date set.
I have been having contractions on and off since coming home.... some are pretty intense, if I move they get to going....if I sit still they only come every now and again... so I'm trying to sit still....what REALLY gets them going is when the baby moves!!! OH BOY! and those are the most painful.. they start at the top of my tummy like a wave that goes to my tail bone and feels like my pelvic bone is in a vice grip!!! Boy it's been a long time since I've felt these and I forgot what they felt like! anyway, we'll see what happens...
I cried most of the morning and finally decided to call my OB and tell him I couldn't take the meds anymore!!! He said I needed to go to the hospital so they could hook me up to some monitors and check out the baby and keep an eye on my blood pressure.... so I called Aaron, he got home and helped me get read, loaded the kids up and off we went to the hospital....
Once I got to the hospital I had to walk about a mile (ok....maybe it wasn't a mile, but it sure felt like it!) to get to the labor and deliver ward which is up on the 4th floor.... riding the elevator made me feel like I could pass out so when I got off the elevator the nurse saw me and got a wheel chair for me to sit in....
I got admitted and they hooked up the monitors (one to check baby's heart and the other to watch for contractions).... after being there for about an hour I realized I was having contractions!! And they were coming at regular intervals! I have never had anything regular with any of my babies without pitocin.... so this was new to me!
So they decided to check me and I had gone from 2cm dilated to 4cm!
They called my OB.... he said that if I continued to dilate they would keep me until I delivered.... if in the next 24 hours I wasn't dilating anymore they would send me home IF my blood pressure was maintained! They were also collecting all urine for 24 hours....so every time I went in the little hat I had to pour it in a big orange jug, GROSS!... they would check that for protein and to see if my kidney function was normal...
I had contractions ALL night, got NO sleep!!! Every time I DID get to sleep the monitors would slip, I'd have to go to the bathroom, or the nurse would come in to check my vitals.... what a LONG night!!! The contractions really were bothersome.... I'm not sure how often they came.... about three inches apart on the little paper (so whatever that would mean) and they were at different strengths.... 20-60 (again, not sure what those numbers mean.... but I do remember that 100 is painful and 150 always had me crying for pain meds!!)... The nurse told me I could have something but I told her that I'd rather not and save the meds for pain, not discomfort....at 9:00PM I was dilated to 5cm... The nurse told me that I would do better with some sleep... she wanted me to take some meds that would help with the discomfort and allow me to sleep and I agreed to it. She checked me and there was no progress... my blood pressure was still being managed well with the meds....I fell asleep and was in and out all morning....Around 2:00 my OB came in and told me that I could go home at 3:40... after my 24 hours was up and go home and REST! I also needed to keep an eye on my blood pressure and if it got high to call them, or if my water broke, or if my contractions came at 3-5 minutes apart and the intensity was consistent.... I am to go to his office on Monday and they will check my blood pressure and all the other fun stuff and if I am ok then we will talk about a date to induce me.... he doesn't want me to wait for too long with my blood pressure but would like the baby to stay put for as long as possible... also, he is afraid that if I do go into full labor it will be quick and he doesn't want me to do that at home alone with my children.... it'll take Aaron about 2 hours to get to me and then another 15-20 minutes to get me to the hospital.... since I am already 5cm he is hesitant about letting me to wait until I am in active labor....like I had wanted to do....
... I have to admit... I would rather go into labor on my own and just wait it out, but our family lives about 8-9 hours away and yesterday I was so worried about my older kids and about Aaron needing to keep an eye on them and wanting him with me at the same time... I do think it would be better to have a date set.
I have been having contractions on and off since coming home.... some are pretty intense, if I move they get to going....if I sit still they only come every now and again... so I'm trying to sit still....what REALLY gets them going is when the baby moves!!! OH BOY! and those are the most painful.. they start at the top of my tummy like a wave that goes to my tail bone and feels like my pelvic bone is in a vice grip!!! Boy it's been a long time since I've felt these and I forgot what they felt like! anyway, we'll see what happens...
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