running towards the final hurdle

Remember when I compared my pregnancy to a race with five different hurdles set up in my path? Well, I am happy to say that I have cleared the first four hurdles successfully and am sprinting towards the final one!

Yesterday, Carl and I packed up and said goodbye the 'ol apartment, and got all checked into Abbott Northwestern where I will stay until the birth of the baby.  I have settled into my new digs and have been trying to get acclimated. My room is in a special unit that is made specifically for women in high-risk pregnancies. I think it is called the Maternal ICU unit.  When ever I think of the letters ICU, I think of a scary place where people are very sick and hooked up to many different devices that are helping them cling to life.  Fortunately, my unit isn't like this :) Sure, I have been poked and prodded on my first day, but I have been yet to be hooked to anything other than a baby monitor! :)

My first day was a busy one. We were admitted right around noon and shown to our room where I was greeted by my first nurse who did all the regular doctor appointment check-in things (weight, height, blood pressure and temp). We then had a steady stream of consults with the many different doctors and teams that will be involved in the delivery and surgery.

My first consult was with Urology. She informed me that their team will take over right after internal radiology does all the cathing procedures in the beginning of my surgery.  Then her team will places stints and cameras where they need to be in order to protect and then possibly repair my bladder (if needed). Then it was time for my lab draw where I was informed that I would have to get my blood tested every 72 hours. We then met with a nurse practitioner that works with my Perinatal Group. She did an awesome job explaining how the procedure might go. We had tons of questions for her and she answered everyone as well as she could because the procedure could go many different ways, depending upon certain factors (i.e. scheduled vs. emergency, bladder repair vs. non-bladder repair, etc).

Then we were visited by an Anesthesiology doctor. This was also a very interesting conversation because it can go many different ways.  Basically, if my body can hold out until my scheduled delivery date (July 19th), then I will be given either an epidural or spinal block after all of the cathing procedures, then the urology team steps in for about 20 minutes to do the first part of their job, then the baby is delivered and given to the Children's Hospital team.  Then Carl and the baby's team will leave with the baby, then they will put me under general anesthesia  and do the hysterectomy and any other repair that needs to be done. I also learned that my recovery will completely depend on how well the surgery goes which also has many variables to it.  Whew.

At this point the nurse came in and gave me my first steroid shot. This shot it to help mature the baby's lungs since he will be born at least 6 weeks early.  I will receive my last dose today around 3:00. These shots should help the baby tremendously.

Our favorite part of the day was our consult with Children's Hospital. The nurse practitioner who did our consult is good friend of ours! I have talked with her throughout my pregnancy, but it was so nice to be able to visit with a familiar face! AND, if I deliver at my scheduled time, she will be the one who takes care of our baby first! She will actually be in on our delivery and will be taking care of him in his first minutes of life and throughout his first day! How comforting is that?!

To round off the day, I was wheeled down for my MRI right around 7:30 pm, where they are hoping they can get a better view of my placenta and bladder.  My ultrasounds aren't quite giving them the clearest images of if my placenta has invaded my bladder. So, I hope to get the results from that today.

I am unhappy to say that I only got about 3 1/2 hours of (interrupted) sleep.  I just could not fall asleep (uncomfortable, brain wouldn't shut down, and first night in a new place). Poor Carl had to sleep on a "love seat" that pulled out into a "bed" . . . lets just say that it looks like the most uncomfortable thing in the world, especially for a man who is 6'2".  Carl thinks that they do this on purpose because the mom's are going through so many other things . . . :)

I am assuming day 2 will be much less busy.  The only consult we have left (I think) is with Internal Radiology. I have been dreading this one a little.  I have to listen to how they are going to cath and block my femoral arteries with tiny balloons without any pain medication or sedation . . . yikes.

The best news I can give you, is that everyone I have talked to has said that they are "extremely impressed" that I am still pregnant! They say not many women make it this far :) AND, the baby continues to look great. When ever they put me on the baby monitor, I always hear things like, "happy baby!", "perfect heart rhythms!, and "couldn't look any better!" which is like music to my ears :)