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Sunday, November 15, 2009

Bedrest is Busy!!

In case you're wondering how I spend my days, you're in good company, I am too. I'm spilling it today and keeping a schedule:

6:45 Enter nurse practitioner. She comes in every morning to listen to me breathe, listen to my heart, push on my belly, check my feet for swelling, and ankles for pain. All is well, as usual, except for her cold hands!


6:50 Might as well go to restroom since I'm awake. Don't forget to wash your hands!


7:10 Look at email on Blackberry--delete overnight spam. IM with Russ for a few minutes--that was a pleasant surprise. I need my Snuggie--it feels cooler in here than usual. Is it cold outside?


7:30 I'm wondering about coffee. I don't drink it every morning in here and can't make it myself, so...I'm waiting on a nurse to come in OR I may have to call and ask very nicely for someone to start a pot of decaf. Bless their hearts. Bless MY heart that I can't make my own dang coffee.


7:50 Call to find out who my nurse is--Stephy! Call her and ask her to make coffee!!


7:55 IM Tina a little to0! Check email, blogs (completed a quiz on Bakerella's site), and Facebook. Anxiously awaiting coffee!!


8:05 Wonder what is going on above me. It always sounds like moving furniture. ALL DAY...until about 11:00 at night. WHY???


Wonder how Russ and Riley are doing this morning...is Riley being cooperative and sweet? I sure hope it's a good morning at home!


Hoping I'll have time to squeeze in some of the book I'm reading while I drink my coffee (hint, hint), AND have time to take a shower before Ellen at 9:00. (Boy, life is different in this bed...) There goes the furniture again...


8:15 Bathroom again...hands too. My hands are so dry! I try to keep lotion on them, but I go to the bathroom so often, it just washes off. Argh!


8:20 Get everything ready for shower. Coffee--anyone, anyone?


8:30 Stephy comes in with fresh water and ice (aaaah, thank you, but where's that coffee?). Temperature=97.5 and blood pressure is 114/56 and heart rate is 80. Good to go! Visit with Stephy a little--she's going backpacking in Argentina in the spring--what a wonderful experience (and out of her box, she's a little nervous)!


8:40 Stephy brings me a big ol' cup of decaf with the whole bottle of pumpkin spice creamer so I can hook myself up. Thank you! Aaaah.


8:45 Read from the funny book Kaley brought me "One For the Money" by Janet Evanovich, while sipping on my hot coffee in silence. Love the coffee, love the book! Thanks Stephy and Kaley!


8:50 Great interruption--a phone call from my sweet husband on his way to work. Not a great morning with Riley, but they made it through. Back to my book and coffee...


9:00 Finished chapter 5, turned on Ellen, but still working on coffee. I"ll wait until after she dances to get in the shower. I love her AND her D.J.! Ellen and I like to dance to the same kind of music. I wish I could be dancing right along with her, but for now, I have to sit, watch, enjoy the music, and giggle! Oh NO, her back is still bothering her...she danced last week!


9:10 Awww jeez...she's dancing to The Pussycat Dolls today. Yuck on them, not Ellen and her dancing!


Call Stephy and ask for clean sheets and towels. I like to have them change my sheets while I take a shower. I sure wish that happened at home too!


9:40 Out of shower, excited about the clean sheets! All dressed up and nowhere to go.


Called "Room Service" and ordered French Toast, strawberries, and cottage cheese. P. Diddy is on Ellen...which means I may have missed Robert Pattinson while in the shower. I did not know that Ciroc vodka was P. Diddy's vodka (is that his name today?). His vodka is made from grapes and other vodkas are made from potatoes.


While in the shower had the thought that there is NO need for exfoliation while in the hospital because between the towels and washcloths, you're exfoliated and in dire need of a heavy moisturizer (sure wish I could reach my feet and back a little easier). I'm about to put my night time moisturizer on my face it's so dry in here!


10:00 While waiting for breakfast, delete a few more messages from my overwhelming inbox. Down to 179 unread messages and 2, 230 messages in my inbox. This is a problem, I know. Lots of them are recent photos and videos of Riley that I haven't been able to save on computer at home, but it's still a problem...


10:15 Breakfast is here!


10:20 Stephy called to see if I was ready to be put on monitor. I'm not--still eating.


10:30 Potty break, brush teeth, moisturize

10:45 Monitor baby's heartbeat and monitor contractions. This is such a peaceful time for me each day. On occasion, I still have to press on the heartbeat monitor so I can hear the heartbeat better. Sometimes I have to momve the pressure because baby is squirming around so much. I feel lots of baby movement at this time because I'm really focused on it. Also, I think baby's not crazy about me pushing on his/her space. I usually turn the volume down on the t.v. and pay attention to baby's little heartbeat. We're listening for accelleratoins and decellerations. D-cels aren't bad, but they are a little worrisome. Because I have low fluid, when the baby moves around he/she may compress the umbilical cord, which slows the heartrate. We want the heartrate to pick back up to speed quickly. As baby gets older, we hear fewer of them, but it's not as frightening as it was when I arrived.


I also take this quiet time to pray sometimes, or to think about baby growing big, strong, and healthy.


Often, the nurses show me the strip (the heartbeat tracked on paper) and tell me how good it's looking, or explain what we're seeing. Several of them have mentioned how you can look at the strip and see how baby's matured in the 40 days I've been here!!


11:15 Potty break! Plug in my leg compression thingy's. I'm supposed to wear these to prevent from getting blood clots because I'm just sitting here. They're not my favorite thing, but I do wear them. Sometimes.


Russ calls to chat about his insurance updates through work on his way to Burnet.


11:30 Call Mom because Russ would like to request some of her homemade chicken noodle soup. Can't talk long because the urge to pee hits me like a ton of bricks. Back to the bathroom...unplug legs from compression thing first. Jeez!


Plug legs back in.


Giada's on Food Network! Cooking with kids--baked macaroni and cheese cupcakes (with veggies)!


11:40 Called Karol to catch up and try to solve the mystery of the missing pajamas. Talked about baby stuff and all the things that still need to be done. Jeez!

Housekeeping came to clean room--not Virginia though, she does the best job!

Lots of talking on the phone right now to occupy my time--Russ, Karol, Mom, trying to schedule doctor appointments, sign up new baby for pediatrician, etc. Wheeee! Thankful for the time to do this I guess--normally I'm teaching Math right now...

Ina Garten is making a yummy looking soup, but I've had mute on for a while.

1:10 Where does the time go? Potty break! Pediatrician's office is out to lunch...and they're 10 minutes late.

1:15 Man, I wish I worked at a pediatrician's office answering phone's so I could have an extra 15 minutes for lunch every day. Still no answer.

1:30 Stephy in for vitals--blood pressure and temp. all clear. She brings more water and ice, bless her heart.

1:40 Butt hurts. Time to go sit in the rocker, by the open window and read another chapter of my book I guess. Better take a potty break while I'm up!

2:10 Mom calls to tell me about the goodies she bought Riley at Lakeshore. Good times!

2:20 Karol calls to tell me she bought some preemie diapers and a little preemie outfit.

2:25 Surprise visitor comes in to visit. Her friend (and someone I know) is visiting her niece down the hall in ante-partum. Small world!

2:40 HUNGRY! Call Stephy and ask her to warm up my Dan Dan Noodles that Russ brought me (Thanks, Babe!) Stomach's growling!

Called Russ to tell him about visitor and patient down the hall.

2:45 Dan Dan Noodles!! Gotta love being pregnant (with an ever-growing belly)--so hungry and 5 bites later you're stuffes. Don't worry. I'll take a break and then eat some more.

Visitor returned with her friend to say hello and that we were in they're prayers. How sweet it is!

Volume up on t.v. while I wait for Oprah. Cooking shows or HGTV between Ellen and Oprah usually. If they're lucky, I'll hear them.

3:30 Want to eat more, but absolutely can't.

Looking at baby stuff online! Maintenance comes in to hook up a DVD player for me. Says he's going to see what they can do to get a mini fridge in here. Just like home-ha!

4:00 Stephy's here to put baby and I back on monitors. Oprah!

4:35 Off of monitors, "Baby looks great today!" nurse says. Yay Baby!

5:03 Russ is here, surprise!! He's going to finish reading the paper and I'm going to pay some bills online.

5:20 Blood pressure 105/53 and temperature is 98.5. All good! Back to paying bills.

5:30 Potty break and wheelchair ride outside with Russ to feel this cold front.

6:00 Potty break. Back in bed!

6:10 Blog hopping. Admiring Tina's photos at http://www.shotofwhimsyblog.com/! Stephy came to say "Bye!" Who will my night nurse be? Will we get lucky and have Joanne?

6:45 DanDan Noodles take #2!

7:00 How I Met Your Mother

7:10 Joanne came for blood pressure and temperature. All good! Got to hear about her birthday weekend and we talked about having babies in Africa. (She's here working a few months while her husband is in medical school in Ghana. Her last day at the hospital is Nov. 30 and she will be missed!)

7:40 Mom calls to give a report on the evening. All is well at home, thankfully. He ate well, played outside, Mom made him some hot chocolate for after his shower, and she's breaking out a new puzzle.

7:50 Potty break. Go through pile of mail.

8:30 Big Bang Theory! Joanne stayed to watch.

8:40 Potty break

9:00 Taylor Laughtner on Jay Leno!

9:15 Riley called while reading books in bed.

M: What books are you reading?

R:Maisy at the Fair, Shapes and Colors

M:What pj's are you wearing?

R:White with monkeys and lions and giraffes.

M:Goodnight, I love you so much!

R: I love you so much!

9:20 Visit with neighbors!

10:00 Back to bed, potty break. Russ heads home. I miss him already.

10:15 Back on monitors--heartbeat good, no contractions. Take prenatal vitamin. Visit Joanne.

11:00 Call Russ and tell him goodnight. Take Ambien. Do I watch Jimmy Fallon or read?

Potty break!

Goodnight...

2 comments:

Stephanie said...

Wow! You make it sound so busy! You're such a good Mommy!!

tina said...

Do you think it's normal for me to be bawling my eyeballs out right now? I love you. I love the baby in your belly. I love your mommy and Russ's mommy. Oh and I love Russ and Riley too. I think your family support group has to be about the most amazing group I have ever met. You are one lucky lady.