Once Justin arrived from parking the car, we started the long process of being admitted. I had no idea how long this process can take, it was further lengthened by the fact that we were dealing with a young person who I think was recently hired. It freaked her out a bit when I would leak tears sporadically, she would always stop what she was doing and ask me if I was okay. I just wanted to get the admission over with and get out of the lobby where I felt like I was on display. We were informed by the uber cheerful girl that we would have to wait a bit until they found a bed for me. This news almost pushed me over the edge and I started crying again. During our wait in the lobby Justin and I were able to sort of talk, we were both in shock. He told me that he had talked to my parents and had called his mom. My parents were canceling their vacation plans and staying in town. I felt so guilty that I was disrupting everyone's plans. After what seemed like hours we were informed that a bed was ready for me and that I would be going to the Antepartum unit (my friend Erin, calls it pregnant lady jail). I was wheeled down some hallways and up an elevator and once again had no idea how I ended up where I did.
We were welcomed to the unit by the charge nurse Rose, she would become a wonderful teacher for me. Upon arrival I recited my name and birth date and was given an ID bracelet. Rose handed me a gown and asked me to change. There was something about shedding my clothes and changing into the gown that made this nightmare all the more real. I was no longer a healthy independent pregnant woman, I was now a healthy pregnant woman who was so close to losing her baby that being in the hospital was my only option.
Once I was changed into the gown I came back to the bed that the nurses had draped in elastic belts, green pads, and pillows. I was gently instructed to lay on either side but not on my back. Once I was laying down the straps were wrapped around my abdomen and sensors attached. I was having my first of many monitoring sessions. The nurses were looking at Bean's heart rate and my uterus for contractions. Then began the endless questions about my health history and pregnancy. Justin sat quietly at the head of my bed while this was going on. After awhile the nurses took the paper readout from the machine and told me that they would be back shortly.
Then the residents and med students came in to ask me the same questions that I had already answered twice before. They also brought with them the added bonus of a bedpan and a small Rubbermaid tote. I had no idea the fun that would ensue when they informed me that I would be having a pelvic exam. The tote contained supplies and the bedpan was turned over and put under my hips. I had to balance on that for several minutes while a nurse held a flashlight so the resident could check me for dilation and took swabs to see if I had an infection. It was such a surreal moment. After they left Rose returned with another nurse and they brought with them an IV pump, bags of fluids, packages of needles, test tubes, a basin with cold water, and towels. She explained that the monitor showed that I was contracting every 3-4 minutes I had no idea I felt nothing. She explained that the doctor wanted to start me on magnesium sulfate (mag) to try and stop the contractions. He also wanted blood work from me to see if I had an infection because that can sometimes cause contractions. They started an IV in one arm and took blood from the other. I asked about the risk of mag on the baby and was reassured that it was safe and they had found that moms who received mag had babies with fewer brain bleeds. Rose told me that they had a whole board of mag babies whose mothers they had cared for. They explained the protocol for starting mag, I would be given a bolus first and then started on a maintenance drip. The bolus was started and my vitals were taken every few minutes. Mag can cause some women to have very nasty reactions. I started to feel warm and flushed and was told this was normal. I responded well to the mag and my contractions stopped. Once I was on the maintenance drip I was also given an antibiotic through my IV, wow did that burn going in and caused me to smell something acidic.
After all this action was over my mom walked into the room, Justin had called her at some point and told her what room I was in, I was so out of it that I had not noticed. Once she was there Justin wrote out a shopping list of things I would need to get through the night, mainly a toothbrush and a contact case I don't remember if I asked for anything else. While my mom sat with me Justin ran out to get what I needed and to get some dinner for himself and my mom. I was too scared to eat, but was given a fruit and cheese plate by the nurses. Through out this day I continued to be weepy and would feel this sense of terror claw its way up from the pit of my stomach, and each time I would hang on by my fingernails to not give in fully to the terror. Once I arrived on Antepartum I began to hear a voice in my head that told me that things would be alright. That voice was extremely faint at first and I sensed it more than heard it, as my shear terror was overwhelming it. I know that it was God whispering to me and my baby that we were being watched over and that we would both be safe in the end. Shortly after the nurses and doctors left the room I silently and desperately began to pray.
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