That week we really just hung out. Andrew went out and got some groceries and he would eat breakfast and lunch in my room everyday. They had a pull out chair/bed for him that he says was fine comfort wise. There was also a larger mini-fridge in our room which was an AWESOME blessing!! We had some friends stop by. Jay & Nicole brought us games and food. Great snack food! Jenn & Mark brought tons of treats, movies, hair ties (salvation!), etc... Amazing distraction!! Teri & Pati, well they went into our house, cleaned out all the perishable food, did the laundry, basically made sure it wouldn't rot away. They also brought me goodies and clean laundry. I know others stopped by, Holms, Jaimie and Johanna, Delanie and Kiddos. Everyone brought food or something. Trust me, we were well taken care of! Every evening Andrew would go down to the cafeteria and get some dinner and come back and eat with me. He tried to describe the cafeteria to me, it sounded good and like he had plenty of choices. Me, food wise, I was pretty impressed. I had a menu delivered every evening to fill out for the next day. It listed choices for each meal, and they were pretty amazingly good. But if perchance I didn't like any of the options, they included a menu to keep (glossy finish and everything) that had every possible option to choose from. So if I had a craving, just write it in at the bottom and get a delivered meal. I have no idea if that cost me extra, all I know is it kept me sane and made it possible to actually enjoy eating at the hospital. And it tasted GOOD!! That was a big thing in my life at the time. That and getting to take a shower and wear scrubs. Like I said, we were bored, I was easily amused.
And yes, Andrew got to stay with me the whole time. Like I said, the goal was December 19th, 34 weeks pregnant. But here's the thing. That wasn't a promise. Each day we had to take at it's own merits. We didn't know when we were going to have a baby. So Andrew's boss graciously gave him the time off. Without pay of course. But hey, beggers can't be choosers. I was just so grateful he was there. Some people have questioned me about why he didn't come back and work and make money. And all I can say is while we were trusting the Lord, every day was scary. Every day was an unknown. If I had been rushed into surgery and he was an hour and a half away? Nightmare. We knew baby would be taken to the NICU almost immediately if not immediately, so we wanted Andrew to be able to go with him since I obviously wouldn't be able to. So he stayed, and we were blessed and I wouldn't change a thing. We were bored and bounded together.
I had an ultrasound every other day almost and they measured many things, Baby's fluid levels (which were pretty low, due to my water breaking, but they stayed in a "safe zone", he just didn't have much fluid to swim in), whether he was practicing breathing (swallowing fluid), whether he had big movements, etc... I also only had a small taste of the size of the hospital. Andrew would try to describe it to me, but really, all I saw were my room, out my window, and the small portion of hallway as they wheeled my bed to ultrasound, I was on the 3rd floor, ultrasound on the first, or in the basement, I can't remember. The ultrasound techs got lots better after the first dragon lady. And the volunteers who did things like wheel me down there and back? And the volunteer snack cart that went around every evening? Amazing! I learned to love volunteers.
Other thing I learned to love? My nurses. Here's the thing about hospital nurses. They're busy people. They have lots of responsibility. Here's a clue about being a anti-partum patient (on bed rest, waiting to have a baby). You get the best nurses!! They're usually BSN RN's, have lots of training, and also have a little more time than normal. They're basically baby-sitting you, they may have 3 Mommas, but really, they have 6 patients, because of the baby count, so they have less outside bodies to take care of, so they may even have time to chat, or paint toenails. No joke, I had some great nurses. Backrubs too. Which helped a lot when you're in bed all day!
One bad thing about bed rest? Compression socks. I'm not kidding. Yes, you want to eat your legs off. Other bad thing? What I can only describe as oxygen boots. They're pads that strap to your lower legs (you wear them at night while you're "sleeping", or during the day at times) and you turn on the machine and they inflate then deflate. It's supposed to help the blood flow in your legs so that it doesn't just pool in your legs but circulates. Bad part, noisy and you're legs are hooked to tubes. So getting up in the night? Try to remember to untangle yourself. Rolling over? Try to untangle yourself. The first 3 days I thought I was going to go crazy. Then you get used to them. Sort of....
Friday Andrew decided he should run home and see the dog (again, God's family was taking care of the Dexter too!) and get some stuff and check in at work. He also brought back some Christmas decorations to liven up our room. Including his fiber optic Christmas Tree. That I hate. But it made me laugh, and it was a good distraction. My favorite nurse called it the "Spectro Tree" It became well known on the floor. He also brought other lights and garland and our stockings. It was a long boring day without him. But we made it, and then it was the weekend and Andrew's parents were coming for a visit. Some distraction finally.
Every day I marked off another day in my notebook. The days dragged, I watched TV and learned the values of "mindless television". I was too crazy hanging out in bed to do something of lasting value. I didn't have the concetration to write or read much or anything. My mind was racing and exhausted all at once.
And so, we waited.
I got lots of cards and letters!! And the "Spectro Tree"...
The lights and garland over my bed and on the wall.
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