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Part Two We decided that John should go home and try to keep some sort of normal night routine with the younger children. He also had to go to work the next day and I wanted him to get a good night’s sleep in his own bed. My sister came in to keep me company and we chatted until the end of visiting hours. It helped to talk to someone about anything and everything. John phoned to say he had the children in bed and he would come and stay the night with me. The nurse gave us a mattress for him to use on the floor, and he could go to work from the hospital and come back in after work. My parents were at home helping the older ones with the littlies. It is funny how it all worked out; they were staying with our family for the first week of their two-week stay so they wouldn’t be with us too close to my due date. The best laid plans… God had other ideas. Day two: My day consisted of the midwives performing the necessary checks every couple of hours. Blood pressure, temperature, monitoring baby. I needed a CTG each day, but if the reading was poor then another one was ordered for the afternoon. The reading was usually not what the medical staff wanted to see, so it usually went on for an hour and then a repeat one in the afternoon. Except when the doctors were kind enough to intervene and say we didn’t need one. I am not sure if it was the shape of my abdomen, but the heartbeat would disappear if I didn’t hold the attachment for the machine in a particular way. The other part that read the contractions never seemed to work either, and on top of that, I had another button to press each time I felt the baby move. While all of this was going on the phone would invariably ring and I wasn’t sure which button to attend to first. I found that after listening to the staff enough I took on board their concerns. Whether their concerns were real or imagined, I cannot say. I guess they don’t see normal pregnancy often, so each new woman is a complication waiting to happen. This sounds a bit negative I know. It took me a couple of days to get used to the routine, to get used to what was expected of me. It was hard to take in all of the information, process it and then make an informed decision. Add to that the problem of everyone with a different opinion, and I was ready to pack my bags and go home. I needed an ultrasound that afternoon. No one told me why, just “you are having an ultrasound at 2pm.” At this stage of pregnancy, you feel sure that you don’t need to drink all that water that accompanies an early pregnancy ultrasound. Not the place I was going. I had to drink a substantial amount of water and hold. That would have been okay if they hadn’t forgotten to send the wards man to come and get me. At 2.30pm, the ultrasound people phoned to find out why I was late. I suggested I just jog on down there, but they thought it best to go in a wheel chair. I wasn’t allowed to leave the ward at any time, except for this test. The wards man came and we had a lovely chat on the way down to the imagery rooms. His work sounded very interesting, and at times, very sad. Because I was late, they said I would have to wait for another time slot. Didn’t they know it wasn’t safe for a heavily pregnant woman to be in public with a full bladder? I thought of different escape routes to the toilet if the situation grew desperate. The only toilet I could see was in a room with no door and it was the size of a child’s toilet with no seat on it. Fortunately, my name was called and I was whisked in to the room. On the way down, the wards man drove slowly, even stopping over joins in the floor as if they were speed bumps. I loved his driving. But this sonographer was in a hurry. She drove like we were in the Indy 500. The doors we passed were a blur to me. At least she was good at what she did. I have never had such a quick ultrasound. I am grateful for that. It is hard lying on your back that late into a pregnancy. According to her calculations, the baby was 6lbs exactly with a head circumference of 31cm. I loved that woman. This baby was going to be small. Healthy and small. A new wards man came to take me back to the ward. When my midwife came in later in the day, she interpreted the whys of the ultrasound. It is standard procedure to see how mature the baby is and whether all organs and systems are functioning well. They also need to know the amniotic fluid level. Good is a range of 10 – 15, obviously, before your waters have broken. After the membranes rupture, anything above six is acceptable. They don’t say good, just acceptable. Mine was 6.1. I continued to lose fluid over the day, but now it was a pinkish tinge. I wondered if this meant the cervix was changing. John came in after work and stayed until he needed to go home and put the boys to bed. Andrea (my sister) came for a visit bearing lots of goodies to keep me occupied during my stay. When I had time, I read books, knitted and listened to lullaby CDs. The staff always commented on the beautiful music, and I found it a lovely way to stay focused on the importance of being there. The T.V rental lady came in to see if I wanted to hire the T.V. I preferred to spend the time reading, so I declined. When I said “No thanks,” she just stood there looking at me. I guess she was surprised; most people want to watch it. I felt like it would take away the special time of just being with my baby. One of the presents Andrea gave me was a gorgeous little book from Hallmark called, So Little, So Loved— the happiness that babies bring.
It was full of photos of newborn babies with accompanying verses.
The second her tiny hand grasps your finger, you’re wrapped around hers and you never see the world in quite the same way again.
Life is a miracle If you don’t believe it, hold a baby for just five minutes.
One day, I’ll hold you for the very first time… |
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