My Stay in Labor & Delivery

4/11/10

Once I was taken to labor and delivery, they again started hooking me up to monitors. That night they gave me the first dose of the steroid shots used to help develop their lungs. The high risk doctor, Dr. Sheppard, came in to do an ultrasound. Both babies looked good, and although my cervix was dilated, she said it was thick and not effaced. They put me on a magnesium drip through my IV as well as IV fluids. I had a catheter which was very uncomfortable. And, they had leg compressors on my legs to prevent blood clots. I also had 3 monitors on my stomach - a contraction monitor and one monitor for each baby. I felt like every inch of me was covered with some type of tube or monitor. I was on the magnesium for 48 hours. I spent one more night in labor and delivery so they could monitor any contractions.

On Saturday night, Jim surprised me with a hospital "date night". He picked up a Spicy Pickle sandwich for me (it's my favorite). He came in the room with an Easter lily and a bottle of sparkling grape juice in a hospital canister filled with ice. It was so sweet! We had a date night right on the hospital tray over the bed. We celebrated that we had made it to 24 weeks. We thought we would be having many more "date nights" in celebration of passing weeks. The babies or my cervix had different ideas.