Single Digits and First Trip to L & D

It's hard to believe but all of a sudden, we are into the single digit countdown and there are only 9 days left until my due date! I had a scare this weekend that made me think that I might not make it this far, but everything turned out okay. Last week I wasn't sleeping particularly well in general but was getting just enough sleep to function and stay healthy. My mom had come down with what seemed to be a cold. She didn't have a fever so we figured it couldn't be a flu virus. Then on Thursday night I had a really bad night where I got maybe 4 hours of sleep and was exhausted all day long. That night (Friday), I awoke around 1 am shivering and shaking with chills, body aches, and the general feeling that I had a fever. I slept restlessly for a few more hours, feeling alternately hot and cold, throwing the blankets on and off, sweating and then shivering. By 4am, I'd had enough and was worried that my temperature was getting too high, so I forced myself to get out of bed to locate a thermometer and some Tylenol.

Sure enough, I had a fever of 101.4, so I popped two Tylenol and slept a few more restless, sweaty hours. When I awoke on Saturday morning, I was a feeling a bit better but my hair was disgusting and matted with sweat so I decided to take a shower (even though normally I try to avoid washing my hair when I'm actively sick since I feel like having a wet head and getting water in my ears and sinuses often exacerbate my illness) and in retrospect I'm so glad I did.

I started to feel worse as the morning went on, and when my mom returned from her doctor's appointment armed with Ceftin for a possible sinus infection and learned about my fever, she called her pediatrician friend who said to call Labor & Delivery and that I might have to be induced early if it turned out I had the swine flu. We called L & D and they told us to head on over, so we did, although at first the front staff who are responsible for screening all visitors for possible flu symptoms didn't want to let us in the building when we said we were sick. When we told them L & D was expecting us, they called to confirm it and finally led us up there (with masks of course). I was admitted to an isolation room, but my mom was not allowed to stay with me. This was around noon.

A nurse hooked me up to the usual monitors for the non-stress test, one to measure baby's heart rate (slightly elevated), and the other to measure my contractions and baby's movements. I also had an IV line placed to administer fluids and a pulse oximeter to measure my heart rate (high) and blood oxygen level (98% on room air). Anyway, this post is starting to get too long already, so I'll try to just focus on the highlights (or lowlights) of the next 24 hours, which is how long I ended up staying there.

Originally they had said I would be discharged later on Saturday, but then it turned out they wanted me to stay the night for observation. A nurse did a nasal swab to test for H1N1, which ended up having to be repeated later by a doctor (unpleasant but I've had worse things stuffed up my nose). The monitor showed I was having some contractions, although I couldn't feel them at all, so at one point an MFM did an internal exam (the first of my pregnancy) to determine if there was any progress. I'm not dilated at all but my cervix has effaced down to about 0.5 cm from 3.5 cm at my 20 week ultrasound, so that's good.

Everyone kept saying that Ziggy looked great--he had nice heart rate fluctuations and was moving well. They did comment that his heart rate was a little high but explained that my higher heart rate from being sick was affecting his. Overnight both of our heart rates did come down. They started me on Tamiflu but failed to mention that nausea is one of the side effects. I also had some heartburn, for which I was given Maalox, but I don't know if that was from the Tamiflu or from lying down for most of the day. It didn't help that I was never brought a proper meal (I hadn't eaten much before heading to the hospital because I hadn't had much of an appetite in the morning). One nurse (I had six total during my 24 hour stay) told me she had ordered me a dinner. When I told her I was a vegetarian, she rushed off to change the order. She then came back and brought me a vegetarian sandwich (American cheese with vegetables) from the staff kitchen to tide me over until my dinner arrived. That was the last I saw of her. When the next nurse took over, she told me there was no dinner service but that my family could bring me food. This was news to me as I'd been told I couldn't have any visitors. So I called AC, who had flown in that afternoon for a brief 24 hour visit and had been hanging out with friends up until then, to ask if he could bring some toiletries over and also pick up a smoothie for me (I'd been craving one all day). So I finally got to see him (he had to don a mask and gown like the nurses and doctors whenever they entered the room) at around 9 pm, which is when visiting hours are officially over, so he couldn't stay long.

After a rough night, during which I didn't get much sleep due to a number of factors (feeling either too cold or too hot, having my vitals taken, being hooked up to all those monitors, which would beep when they got unhooked or my IV fluid bag ran low, having to lie on my left side for so long that my hip ached horribly, having to unhook myself from all the monitors and take my IV pole with me every time I needed to use the restroom, and in general just not feeling comfortable in the hospital bed). I think I maybe got 4-5 hours of restless, interrupted sleep. In the morning they actually brought me breakfast, although it was pretty bad and not what I would have ordered (a muffin and hash browns as my main course?! The oatmeal, banana, fruit cup and milk were fine, but what about some protein?!). The nurse had me fill out lunch and dinner menus for Sunday just in case I had to stay longer. I was taken to radiology for two chest x-rays (they shielded my abdomen), which the pulmonologist on call reviewed. Apparently they looked ok, and since I hadn't had a fever since I entered the hospital, the baby was doing well, and in general, they didn't seem to think I had the swine flu, they decided to discharge me around 1 pm. They did say that I should schedule an appointment with the pulmonary department or call L & D again if I took a turn for the worse.

I ended up getting to eat the lunch I'd ordered (pasta with squash, peas, and mushrooms) because AC insisted that they let me take it to go when they wouldn't let me eat it in my room (they had to prepare it for the next patient) or out in the hall because I had to wear my mask at all times in the hospital. So they put everything on a paper plate and I ended up eating it while sitting on a bench outside the hospital! By the way, the results from the nasal swab didn't get back before I was discharged, but they told me they would only call if it was positive, and since I haven't heard back yet, I'm assuming no news is good news. I was still prescribed Tamiflu for an additional 5 days just in case. Yesterday morning I took it after eating a relatively small breakfast of cereal, and it made me nauseous the entire morning. When I finally ate a mid-morning snack, I ended up throwing it up, so my streak of not vomiting during this pregnancy has finally been broken. My new plan is to eat a substantial meal before taking the pill.

All in all, I'm glad I had this preliminary trip to L & D. It gives me a better idea of what to expect when I go in for real (disorganization and lack of communication on the part of the staff, although most of them were pretty nice and seemed to be doing the best they could) and made me realize how important it is to be proactive, ask questions, and make requests, and to have someone there who can advocate on my behalf (when AC was there even briefly, it made things so much easier!). Mainly I'm just relieved that I don't have the swine flu, that Ziggy's doing well, and that I didn't have to be induced (I think I would have been too weak and tired to push and probably would have ended up with a c-section) and still have a chance to recover and regain strength before my delivery.

Anyway, I need to go and get ready for my day of appointments (car seat installation, non-stress test, and doctor's appointment), but I'll be back on Thursday with more updates from this week.