Hospital Bedrest - Day 2!

I received a visit from the on-call peri in the morning on Friday who said based on what was in my chart she felt the right thing to do was be aggressive with how early we were in the pregnancy and start me on a low dose of procardia as soon as they got me relocated to my more "long term suite" the next floor up. So they came and packed me up and wheeled me up a floor and introduced me to my new home away from home! The rooms here really are nice and I immediately liked the new section they put me in. Definitely geared for exactly what they had admitted me for (potential long term care), and the nurses were very different compared to the Labor and Delivery floor. There was a snack cart that came by right after I got into bed and they told me to "take, take, take!" I had felt like I had to beg for something to eat the night before I had gotten so hungry but I took cheese cubes, an apple, honey nut cheerios and milk and a bag of pretzels and they asked me if I was sure that was enough. I figured I'd have to see how the day went, but it sounded like plenty especially since I still have the yummy granola bars from Jenn and Chad too! I ended up not really having much of an appetite until the evening anyway, so just now at 2:30 in the morning I'm eating my apple and cheese cubes!

Breakfast was a ham and cheese croissant with hashbrowns, apple juice and some oatmeal. Filling but that one didn't taste so great. I didn't get hungry 'til after lunch though, so it did its job! :) That morning someone from the food service stopped by and gave me a menu and had me pick my meals through Saturday which was nice to have a choice!

I got my first dose of procardia at 10am after they checked my blood pressure, apparently this med can cause low pressure and I tend to run on the low side of normal anyway but I was fine to take my first dose. I felt really flushed within a half hour of taking it, and a little sleepy (but had slept REALLY poorly the night before anyway, so not sure how related that was to the meds) but other than that can't complain about any real side effects which I was thankful for. Jenn said to make sure to stay well hydrated, it can help level out blood pressure too and obviously I'm supposed to be focusing on good hydration anyway, but its an extra reminder to drink, drink, drink!

Lunch came I think a little before 1pm and I enjoyed a turkey sandwich on wheat, some chicken and rice soup with crackers, milk and there was some sort of pear cobbler type dessert. The fruit part tasted good but whatever the breading stuff was kind of seemed like a hunk of doughy rubbery something so I left that! :D The dietician came by and gave me some general diet info and said to make sure to get plenty of protein and to feel free to ask them to add boiled eggs, etc. to my orders. I also got a visit from Happy Tails! They bring dogs around to visit patients just to cheer them up and it was awesome. They were both rescue dogs and I had a great time talking with the ladies and gentleman who were escorting them, and getting to snuggle both the dogs for awhile. There was a brittany and a cute little chi. They spread a sheet next to me on the bed and let them get up next to me to snuggle. They both settled down and laid down next to me while we talked and I got to pet them. Kent and his great grandmother showed up right at the end of their visit and Kent had a good time petting the puppies too and filling them in on our 5 rescues at home. The dogs were sniffing his pants and shoes like crazy! :)

Kent and Honey brought me my laptop, books and some clothes for my stay here which I was very happy about! So nice to be able to actually type out posts and responses and read in full size! :) I was also very excited about getting out of the hospital gown and into some comfy pajama pants after they decided if I could shower later! It was good to see them both and I am very grateful that Honey has been able to jump in and make sure Kent is being cared for and making the drive back and forth from her house to ours to make sure the dogs are getting checked on, fed, and that the indoor dogs are able to stay inside for the most part and get let out for potty breaks.

So things took a turn of events, in a good way I think after the peri did their u/s yesterday afternoon! We'll see what actually happens today, I'm not counting on anything at this point but when the peri's office did their own ultrasound they said everything looked just great! Babies are both measuring well, good fluid, about 2 lbs 7 oz each and he said my cervix was measuring 3.2-3.8??! He said it looked "beautiful"!! Jenn and Chad got to call and talk to him directly after the appointment and when we texted she said she got the impression he didn't believe that reading they'd gotten at the OB's office on Thursday and he didn't put any stock in the FFN result. The thing I noticed that was the major difference between the two when doing the measurements is the OB's office ONLY measured the portion that was still fully closed of my cervix, and the peri's office included the part that was a little bit funneled at the top. The funneling didn't look as open at yesterday's scan as it had on Thursday but maybe it was the difference in machines... that part I wasn't sure what to think about, but I trust the peri's office knows what they're looking for!

They monitored me again for about an hour last night and sounds like no contractions again showed up and the girls heartrates were good. So, based on all that the peri said expect them to maybe let me go home today at some point!! If I do go home I'll stay on bedrest there through next Friday, then go back to the peri's for another u/s and they'll decide then whether or not to send me back to work. I am just ecstatic at the idea of being home with my kiddo and puppies and honestly more than that ecstatic that maybe everything really is ok with the pregnancy and we're not at such risk so early afterall!!

I was SUPER excited that I got the ok to shower last night!! Sometime around dinner a nurse came to take out my capped IV. That sucked. She took a LONG time and kept wiggling on the IV part - it was taped down REALLY good and she couldn't seem to get a good grip on the tape. I was having to hold my breath and wanted to just grab the tape and pull!! FINALLY though she got it out - freedom! :) They gave me my 2nd dose of procardia at about 6:00pm then said rest awhile to see how I felt and then I could shower! I sort of dozed and watched TV for a good hour before I went and enjoyed a wonderful shower. They make it really easy to sit and shower so I was able to stay off my feet and just enjoy the spray of the warm water while I washed my hair, soaped up and washed my face. It felt WONDERFUL. Showers can make you feel human again if it's been awhile. Plus after enjoying all that fabulous warm water I got to come out and put on my OWN favorite clothes. I put on the fuzzy pajama pants Kenneth got me while he was home and a maternity tank top and it felt really great! :)
The nurse came in about an hour ago to give me my next dose of procardia but my BP was too low - the bottom number came up 49 the first time then 42 the next two times, so she propped my bed up a little and brought me some more ice and water and said we'd try again probably soon and see if my BP goes up to an acceptable number. I actually slept solid from about 9:30pm when they came to remove the monitoring straps until just before 2:00am which was awesome! I feel pretty good right now, though it would be nice to get another 4 or 5 hours after she comes to check my BP again and give me my next dose.

I am hopeful and curious to see what the doctor will say in the am when they come by to see me but think maybe I'll be getting out of here a LOT sooner than originally anticipated. Fingers crossed! :)