Another LONG night...but okay this a.m.

Well, I fought the darn headache all day yesterday with no progress of winning it over. Doctor thought I might have caught a virus or something. But then my bloodpressure spiked and they were concerned I was getting preclampsia. So they started running lots of tests, labs, etc. I was looking pretty good on those, but some won't come back til Friday or Saturday. Anyway, when they hooked me up to the monitor last night, I had 11+ contractions...and ended up back over in Labor and Delivery about 10:30pm last night for monitoring and to calm things down again. I think they are trying to let me try out all the Labor and Delivery rooms before the "real thing" so I can pick which I feel best in?? So far I've tried 75, 77, 78, and 71. Anyway, my bloodpressure was high while there. Then I started to run a temperature. But my contractions slowed. So I was sent back around 1am. It feels like musical rooms. I seem to always come back to my room that is starting to feel like "home". It's easier being here with the nurses I know and that know me so well.
My headache has calmed some with help of more meds. (Dang, I hate being on so many meds, but they assure me it does not affect the baby.) But needless to say I have not slept much, so I'm sure I'll be taking my fair share of naps today. Hard to sleep with transports, monitoring, labs, meds, and not to mention a heck of a headache.
A cool update from Wednesday ... at work (CBOCES) my colleagues all threw a baby shower for the 4 psychs that are expecting or had a baby. And I got to participate and see everyone through Skype, a free video conferencing that Kristin recommended we download. What a cool thing. I totally felt like I was on Oprah or something. My nurses thought it was cool too and gave me props to look professional like a scrub hat, mask, and stethoscope to wear so it looked like I had taken a new job as Dr. Shawna. :) It was good to see everyone though.
FYI - for those of you that try to call. My cell does not get reception in my room. And if I don't feel well or have things going on, I have started to take the room phone off the hook. So if you have concerns, you can call the nurses and ask if I'm stable or not. They should tell you. If I'm on Women's Care Unit, I'm stable overall. When I am sent to Labor and Delivery...it has usually been for extra monitoring. But one of these days we'll actually be delivering. But don't get too excited if you hear I've been sent to Labor and Delivery.
Day 39 in the hospital. 32 weeks, 3 days gestation. And doing well ... considering. For those of you that want to guess on McKayle's arrival date, feel free to e-mail me your dates (shawnagilbert@yahoo.com) and we'll get you on the calendar. Don't know what your prize is if you win, but it's fun trying to guess.

Headache today

Today I'm fighting a bad headache again. Not sure what is causing it. Might be a medication they switched to a generic one last night. So I asked for no visitors today and told Brett to stay home. I'm better off trying to sleep it off on days like these. Baby doing fine though. Will update more when feeling better.
Shawna

32 weeks...safe zone

Well, we made it to the "safe zone" which is awesome! Brett and I are really starting to get excited about this baby girl coming now instead of living in fear day to day.
Tuesday was a good day. It was 65 degrees out and Brett and one of my favorite nurses took me out for a wheelchair ride in the sun. It felt so good to get out and feel the sun. I'm starting to feel like a vampire. So that was spirit lifting for me.
Nothing real exciting medically going on yesterday. Just another day to mark off our calendars. I did have fun laughing often with my favorite nurses back on staff though. We played a few practical jokes on one of them last night. I laughed pretty hard which is always a good feeling. When they get me going, they often tell me "Don't start having contractions. Stop." But it is contagious. Makes me feel alive though to laugh that hard after laying here day after day. If McKayle comes along because of my laughing, then I guess she better have a good sense of humor. :) The final practical joke was at my 4am meds when I squirted my nurse with water from a 12cc syringe in the dark. Needless to say, I was up from 4am on because of laughing making me wide awake. Joke was on me a bit this morning, I guess. :)
Last night a couple friends from work came to visit also to bring baby gifts from coworkers. They are throwing a baby shower for the 4 psychs that are pregnant in our office this afternoon. And I get to join them on Skype...just like Oprah's viewers do. So that will be entertaining. I might have to put on my best outfit, do my hair and wear a fancy hat for this party. :) (Remember, it's the small things in life that keep me going...laughing at myself these days.)
Oh, I have also been honored to receive a secret recipe for "anti-constipation fruit paste" that has been passed down from a nun to one of my doctors. It is "foolproof" she says. So if any of you are in need of some "poop paste" as they call it...or your parents...or your grandparents...I will be happy to share my secret recipe that has been bestowed upon me. You just have to ask.
Well, have a happy, hilarious, fun, exciting Wednesday. I'll update later on my happenings.
Shawna

had better weekends...

well, i haven;t updated for a few days because i haven;t felt good. thw family birthday dinner was fun and good to see everyone, but after only 20 minutes sitting up in the wheelchair i needed to come back and lay down. my head was spinning. m blloodpressure dropped to 80/60. so needless to say, my wheelchair rides are very limited. then i slept much of saturday. too much partying for me no stamina at all.
Sunday was not a good day either an i ended back over in labor and delivery due to contractions that were not subsiding with meds. they finally calmed late and i was back to my room by midnight after close monitoring and exam. so today i'm just pooped out...but stable again. this little one sure keeps me hopping.
today when monitoring the baby we tested Brett's calmness over her. 3 imes she calmed unde his touch and acted up when he removed his hand...like daddy, where did you go? it was funny. he even calmed her from huge hiccups. he just grinned like a proud daddy.
tomorrow we are 32 weeks. doctor says any additional days/weeks is just icing on the cake. so they are very reassured she has made it to th safe zone.
update more tomorrow...

Day 32 in hospital...taking it day by day...

Well, after a physically and emotionally exhausting start of the week, things have calmed down. Brett and I are feeling more reassured that this baby girl is going to be okay and make it, but need to spend needed time in the NICU when she does arrive. She has been doing very well the last couple days on the nonstress tests and passing criteria of a 32 week gestation baby. So she is still developing and growing nicely.
The doctors have been ordering daily blood draws monitoring a possible infection, glucose levels, sodium levels, white blood cell counts, etc. These counts have been high and off the last few days, so they were worried I might be developing an infection...which worst case scenario would lead to needing to deliver the baby to treat me. But this morning my counts were back down. Doctor on call today said that it was probably due to the steroid shots I took the last couple days to give her another boost to develop her lungs. I guess the steroids can throw everything out of wack for a few days. So it seems that we might be out of that worry zone again...and taking it day by day.
Brett, Eric, Jen, my nephews, Deanna, Jim, Grandma and Grandpa are all coming up this evening to have a belated birthday celebration. So I'm looking forward to seeing all of them for a while and having some of Deanna's delicious ribs.
That's about it here. We are here "indefinitely" though until she decides to arrive. Brett and I feel comfortable with that decision considering the stress and safety concerns we had if I went home.
Taking it day by day...thanks for the continued prayers!

Ultrasound results and update...

Brett and I went to our ultrasound with the perinatalogist yesterday afternoon. Good news is that my fluids are good; baby weighs 3 lbs, 11 oz. and measured 31 weeks, 5 days at only 31 weeks, 0 days. So she is growing and developing very well. Other news (which is good news for safety issues), my funneling is very wide again like when I was admitted to the hospital (not good), and the doctor recommended that I stay in the hospital "indefinitely" until this baby arrives. He did not seem to think that she would make it to 36 weeks. He guessed that she might come within the next few weeks based on the ultrasound. So the NICU nurses came and visited with Brett and I about what to expect, etc. Then they took us on a tour of the NICU. To be honest, it was a lot to take in for one day after not feeling well all weekend. But Brett and talked through it and with friends and nurses and things were put into perspective. This baby is in so much better shape now than she was when we arrived her over a month ago. She will need to spend weeks in the NICU before coming home. But the babies are safe and well taken care of there. And she is well worth it all as Brett put it. :)
Tonight the doctor was called b/c of lots of pressure and I was ordered to take a trip to the jacuzi tub. I was very excited as that is what I have wanted since I got pregnant. So that was nice and relaxing until the jets came on unexpectedly and completely scared the baby and I. We recovered and are doing fine though.
And today a couple of my favorite nurses were on and we ordered pizza and had birthday cake to celebrate my birthday since I was feeling better. They sure keep my spirits up.
Thanks to all my friends and family for thinking of me on my birthday. It was great to get all the e-mails, cards, gifts, and the white "baby" rose and balloons. :)
I'll update more when we have more to tell. For now, we are taking it day by day and week by week. We hope this baby continues to be strong and stubborn and does not want to join us for a few more weeks at least. She will let us know when she is ready, I guess.

birthday and recovery

i haven;t posted for a couple days b/c i have not felt well. Docs not sure if it was a GI virus or what. they did lots of bloodwork and most looked good. just came back indicating i was fighting something. so they are doing daily bloodwork to monitor things. i had a couple friends viisit today, but we decided to postpone family dinner for a couple days as i'm just startingi to eat solid foods again...and i want to be able toeat cake. :)
my nurses have helped me celebrate by starting at my 4am med tinme singing happy birthday; then another decorated my room and brought cake, another called to sing onher day off. so i have been sung happy birhday lots today by family and friends calling.
baby still doing well. she did not officially meet criteria on the nonstress tests today, but I have not been eating much so i'm sure she is conserving her energy. she is fine and doctors are not concerned about her.
brett and i are excited about getting to see her again in the ultrasound tomorrow with the perinatologist. i have a feeling we will start planning for me to posibly go home on bedrest sometime next week. brettis concerned about me being so far from the hospital, so i may stay at my in-laws or a wek or so to be only 10 minutes away. each week the baby gets to develop, the more reassured we get. and 32 eeks, our next big milestone, is only a week away!!
i'll update tomorrow after the ultrasound to let you know her estimated weight, etc.