I want to start this post by saying a huge thank you to everyone who called or stopped by or even prayed for my little family over the last few days. Michael, Olivia and I feel so blessed to have all of these wonderful people in our lives. Thank you!
And for those of you who don't know the long dramatic story or only know bits and pieces, I will fill in all the gaps here...
Wednesday after my doctor appointment, I felt absolutely fine-very pregnant, but fine. I went to church that night, came home, went to bed and about 4am is when everything went downhill. I woke up in so much pain. My back hurt, my abdomen hurt, my hips and thighs hurt. I was chilling and aching. I kept saying that it didn't feel like labor, just like I had somehow managed to get sick. Thursday morning I called the doctor's office (who is out of town by the way) and the nurse practitioner asked me to come back in to recheck my cervix. No changes. They put me on the monitor, baby looks good, did some blood work and gave me a shot of phenergrin (sp?). Thursday night I did much better, Friday and Friday night, gradual improvements. I thought I was on the way back to health! Oh, and Thursday after school my mom came to get Olivia because I did NOT want her getting sick. On Saturday morning, I had intentions of cleaning house, running errands, pretty much working this baby out of me one way or another! My mom was bringing Olivia home that afternoon, things were back to normal...
I guess my body had other plans. Because during the first quarter of the most ridiculous UT game I have ever tried to watch, I started chilling and feeling REALLY bad. I casually asked Michael to bring me the thermometer. You can imagine my reaction when the number I was looking at said 104.8!!! I sat it down and said its broken. Great. Five minutes later, I take it again...104.3, 104.6. I take Michael's temp, 97.4!!! I am pretty much freaking out at this point. I call the on call doctor and of course she says head to the ER. When I get there, they take one look at me and pretty much start freaking out themselves. They called Labor & Delivery to see if they wanted me to come straight there, but of course they didn't want this fever anywhere near their wing, so I sat in the ER until about 8pm. Urine tests and blood work, blah, blah, blah. As a side note, my veins are dreamy. Nurses love them. You should see my arms now from all the bruises it took to get all the blood they needed from me. As if feeling bad weren't enough. The only thing that any of these tests showed was a super high white count. The ER doctor said as high as it was, as high as the fever was and as pregnant as I was, they were going to keep me until my blood cultures came back in 24 hours and go ahead and start an antibiotic through my IV.
That night was horrible, the fever would start to creep up everytime the Tylenol wore off, but finally, Sunday night it broke for good. Every shift change of nurses that came through would look at my chart and say, you'll get to go home in the morning. Or, as soon as the doctor comes through, she'll discharge you. Nope, nope, nope, never happened. Word spreads that my doctor is out of town, her father passed away and no one knows when she'll be back. The on call doctor wants to take the baby, but you can tell hates to make a decision like that without my doctor. So, every 24 hours, we would hear, we're going to watch you today and tonight and figure out what to do with you in the morning. Up and down, up and down. I am not an overly emotional person, but this was really taking its toll.
Yesteday morning, Michael left the hospital at around 7:45 to come home, relieve my mom and get Olivia ready for preschool. At about 7:50, in walks my very own, wonderful, Dr. Rebecca Walker. She's back! She does an ultrasound, decides she thinks the baby is kind of sluggish, checks the cervix (no change) and tells the nurse to order Cervidil (sp?) to "ripen" (I really hate that word) my cervix because she's taking the baby. Finally! An answer! I am thrilled, just to know something definite. I start imagining my baby sharing a birthday with my oldest sister (today) and preparing myself. About 30 minutes later, my nurse comes in and says Dr. Walker called and after talking to the head neo-natal doctor at the hospital, he told Dr. Walker that under no circumstances were they taking my baby more than 2 weeks early. What?! But here's the kicker, they're going to watch me for another 24 hours, I'm being held hostage in this hospital. Dr. Walker comes back at around 4pm, does another ultrasound, looks me in the eyes and tells me what I knew all along, but felt like a knife through my heart....If she had been here when I came in with the fever, I would have a baby right now. I walked down the hall to get some ice, heard a doctor announce Its a Boy!!, walked back in my room and crumpled in the bed sobbing my eyes out for the next hour! I was a basket case.
But I have picked myself up and moved on and am determined to hold on to this baby until October, which is what I really wanted all along. So, this morning Dr. Walker showed back up bright and early and did another ultrasound, said the baby seemed a lot more active today, the best they can figure out is that I had a really bad flu and to see her on Friday morning. She told me again that she thinks the baby should be delivered by now, but that she was told in no uncertain terms that was not an option.
So, now I am home! And that is a huge improvement, so I am happy. And I do realize that every day she spends inside the healtheir she will be, so I am putting my own feelings aside. Its just been kind of hard with the roller coaster that we have been on for the past 4 days!
Ana Blair and Daddy
Ana Blair with Mommy, don't know why I look like I have a mullet
Napping with Mommy the next morning
Big Sister meeting Baby Girl for the first time
I love Olivia's stance in this picture, she has been like this pretty much since she met the baby
Sweet Baby
Olivia and Ana Blair
Daddy and Ana Blair napping
Getting ready to go home in the dress Cookie made for her
Finally, at home!
Sleeping peacefully in her bed
