My First Trip to L&D...

Something was just not right and I needed to put my mind at ease. While Dr. C and Dr. D were both correct in the end, I am suffering from major growing pains, the mind of a micropreemie mom took over. Last night after taking my second dose of Ibuprofen and after Hubby spoke with Dr. Davis at 11:00 (I had fallen asleep), I woke up to pretty concerning symptoms of tightening and back pain. My mind wandered to labor, and, God forbid I waited, envisioned my membranes rupturing as a result. The panic and fear of losing this little boy was too much to take. So at midnight or shortly thereafter, we placed a few calls. My brother, Precious Miracle's God-father, drove over to sleep in our guest room while Hubby and I left for the hospital.

I called Dr. C's answering service, requesting they let him know I was on my way in and that there was no need to return the call. It was late and I didn't want to disturb him anymore than I already did.

We took the same route that I took the day that I found out my membranes were bulging. I commented to Hubby as we entered the turnpike that "last time" I drove myself in his car and that it was a Friday. This time, we were in my car, my "mommy car", a car we didn't own until after my nut came home from the NICU. And I was relieved that while it was only a few hours into the new day, it was Saturday, not Friday. Superstitious???

It took us about 35 minutes to get to the hospital. We walked in through the ER and they called up to L&D to let them know I had arrived. I got a funny look when the triage nurse asked if I thought I was in labor and how many weeks along I was. I immediately followed it with my, "my daughter was born at 24". That seemed to justify my early presentation.

We snaked our way through the hospital. Since Precious Miracle graduated from the NICU, the hospital has undertaken a major renovation project to the "Mother Baby Unit". Hubby and I were trying to orient ourselves with how we remembered things. We passed the step-down nursery (special care), where Precious Miracle had once taken up residence. It adjoins the well-baby nursery. It was determined that the bank of L&D rooms across the hall from where I was taken, was where our girl fought to survive. Literally, the same space in this world where her little body was jiggling from the pressure of the high-frequency ventilator (oscillator) desperately required to keep her alive, not to mention all the other wires and tubes attached to and going into her 1lb 6oz self. Now these rooms are a place where new life is brought into the world. Imagine that, a place where we cried so many tears, a place where so many other families cried the same tears and now tears of a different kind are being shed in the same space for babies of another kind, babies who can take their first breath all on their own and maintain it.

It is kind of nice that the hospital has changed. It is not the same place and I think that is a blessing for me. This is a new experience, a different pregnancy. Things are going to be different all the way around.

Back to the visit, they took a history, monitored the baby's heartbeat (lovely sound!) and hooked me up to the contraction monitor. I was so relived (as was Hubby) that there was no activity! It was such a comfort to see nothing on the monitor as I continued to feel the same tightening sensations that brought me to the hospital in the first place. My mind was put at great ease and that is a fabulous thing!

The resident consulted with Dr. C over the phone and it was determined, after they confirmed I did not have a UTI, that I could go home. We were at the hospital a total of 2 hours. It was a three hour night, ah early morning out, between the hospital visit and the 30 minute drive each way.

So the bottom line is: I'm stretching! No, being a subsequent pregnancy doesn't eliminate this part of the process. And, she kept emphasising the fact that I am "petite" seemed to mean that I would feel more growing pains than perhaps someone not so petite.

After all the back and forth, I can honestly say that I can rest easy, knowing the pain is just that, pain. It is not contractions, oh, which reminds me, they wanted to check my cervix, but I put my foot down about no internal exams. They were going to do a transvaginal ultrasound but felt since there was no uterine activity, the chances of my cervix going through any change would be unlikely. I have to say I was relieved to have avoided another scan. I will be evaluated by Dr. Davis on Monday and don't mind waiting the weekend now that I know what is going on or more importantly, what is NOT going on!