This is what I posted on my Facebook page recently...
How exactly does one share news like this? A good news/bad news, bittersweet announcement...
We are past the halfway point in a pregnancy unlike any of my others. We have said a very early goodbye to two little ones before, but by the time I've felt kicks and jabs in the past, we were well on our way to welcoming another baby into our family.
Now, we are expecting a little girl with a genetic condition called Trisomy 18, an extra chromosome that causes a wide range of developmental difficulties. Mortality rates for these babies are high. We do not know if our baby will survive birth and if so, how long she might be on earth with us.
We know God has a plan and a purpose for our little girl, whom we have named Verity Irene. (Verity = truth; Irene = peace.) We pray He will be glorified in our lives no matter what. We would be grateful for your prayers during this season of uncertainty.
For more details or to follow our journey, please visit Verity's blog.
Showing posts with label Pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pregnancy. Show all posts
October 15, 2016
December 28, 2015
The Story of Rhema, Part 2: Some Specific Answers to Prayers
As I mentioned in the previous post, Rhema's due date of July 20 actually turned out to be pretty good timing after all. Instead of being in the middle of an overseas move, we were already more or less settled into our new home by the time July rolled around. I had even been able to get an additional ultrasound to ensure the placenta had moved (it was quite low initially) and see a new OBGYN a few times before the expected delivery date.
All in all the pregnancy had gone about as well as can be expected, considering I was a 40-year-old! I had experienced quite a bit of nausea in the first 14 weeks or so, but nothing too terrible, and while the varicose veins that appeared all over my right foot and ankle were (and still are, sigh) rather unsightly, the discomfort was minimal when I wore a compression sock.
As we got things in order in our new home, we finally began to feel somewhat "ready" for the arrival of a new wee one. (Do you ever feel completely ready?!)
You'd think we'd have this down "pat" by now, but I freely confess that I always battle anxiety and fear in the days leading up to the birth. God is always faithful, and His mercies flow unceasingly. Here are a few of the precious little ways He showed Himself in the arrival of our sweet girl...perhaps some of them seem insignificant to others, but they are to me an outpouring of my Lord's RHEMA words straight into my heart--numerous specific ways Jesus ministered to my heart and drew me even closer to Himself through His tender care and attention to details that mattered to me.
1. After having an overseas baby, I desired for our parents to have the opportunity to be part of this new little one's arrival. Both grandmas were able to spend time with Rhema and me in the hospital.
2. Since Charis had attended the births of Zaden and Seanin, I desired for her to be present for the birth of her baby sister as well. I will forever hold dear the memory of her bouncing with excitement on the left side of me, bringing me water when I needed a drink and cheering me on. "Oh, Mama! I can see her head! She's almost here!"
3. As always, I felt completely uncomfortable and awkward in those final days. I did NOT want to go past my due date; the previous 4 babies had been anywhere from 4 days to 2 weeks earlier than their due date. Rhema arrived on July 15, five days before due.
4. Related to the above note, the OBGYN had discussed inducing me if Rhema was at all late because of my "advanced age." I am SOOO thankful that was not even an option. God be praised, I have never had an induction!
5. At my 36-week check-up, the swab showed that I was Group Strep-B positive, which meant the "preferred protocol" involved giving me IV antibiotics to "decrease" the chance of infection in the baby. This had happened with Seanin also, but I declined the antibiotics. I planned to do the same thing this time around, despite the AF doctor's stern warnings (she was nice about it but rather stubborn!). Well...even if I had WANTED the antibiotics, the labor and delivery was way too fast for me to have gotten them anyway! Four or more hours of labor while antibiotics drip into my system?! No, thank you!
6. Ted and I often talked about how our babies seemed to choose the dark of night to either arrive or else begin the labor process, resulting in a very tired papa falling asleep by the bed during mom's laboring. We joked, couldn't we just once wake up after a decent night of sleep, have our quiet time and breakfast, and then decide, "Hey, maybe we should head to the hospital" and have a baby in the afternoon! Guess what?! We had a decent night of sleep, had our morning quiet time and breakfast, headed to the hospital just after noon, and Rhema was born before 2:00pm!
7. While I desired a drug-free delivery, I was nervous...Seanin had been 9 pounds and was not at all a quick delivery. It was nighttime before we arrived at the hospital with him, and I had already been contracting for a number of hours, so I was exhausted. Having an epidural with him felt like a necessity to me. But Rhema came quickly, so the decision of whether or not to get an epidural was out of my hands!
8. After having nursing issues with the previous two babies, and learning that lip ties had played a significant role, I wanted to have Rhema checked immediately after birth. Though we couldn't tell initially, after about 24 hours of nursing her and having pain, the lactation consultant agreed with me that Rhema's frenulum was thick enough that it was causing a poor latch. The doctor was able to do a quick little clip about 40 hours after birth, and there was immediate relief. Though we had some nursing issues later on, they were not related to the lip tie, and I really didn't have any nursing pain after this.
9. Related to her nursing problems...again, God's timing was so incredibly perfect. Rhema arrived in the middle of the summer, so we had quite a bit of time before we "needed" to begin our school schedule. This was a blessing, as I had to help Rhema learn to suck properly to get the nutrition she needed to gain weight. The whole process took about 6-7 weeks, and if Rhema had been born at a different time I may have been trying to juggle the full-time job of feeding the baby PLUS trying to keep kids engaged in school...which would not have lasted very long, I'm sure.
10. Rhema's middle name...we went for quite awhile without knowing what to call our sweet girl. I'm not sure exactly when I thought about pairing "Rhema" with "Riyel," but once I did think about it and mentioned it to Ted, it just seemed to fit. Shortly before Rhema was born, I messaged my friend Christine Duncan to ask her about using her singer name Riyel. Her response to me, as well as her joy in responding, confirmed that we should use Riyel as Rhema's middle name. Her words to me were: "Beverly, how incredible! It is actually a misspelling (which for me, when I realized what I had done, was beautifully symbolic to me) the actual word is aRiyel or Ariyel - yes, like Ariel from Little Mermaid. It is Hebrew for "Lioness of God" which is a title for Jerusalem in Scripture."
All in all the pregnancy had gone about as well as can be expected, considering I was a 40-year-old! I had experienced quite a bit of nausea in the first 14 weeks or so, but nothing too terrible, and while the varicose veins that appeared all over my right foot and ankle were (and still are, sigh) rather unsightly, the discomfort was minimal when I wore a compression sock.
As we got things in order in our new home, we finally began to feel somewhat "ready" for the arrival of a new wee one. (Do you ever feel completely ready?!)
You'd think we'd have this down "pat" by now, but I freely confess that I always battle anxiety and fear in the days leading up to the birth. God is always faithful, and His mercies flow unceasingly. Here are a few of the precious little ways He showed Himself in the arrival of our sweet girl...perhaps some of them seem insignificant to others, but they are to me an outpouring of my Lord's RHEMA words straight into my heart--numerous specific ways Jesus ministered to my heart and drew me even closer to Himself through His tender care and attention to details that mattered to me.
1. After having an overseas baby, I desired for our parents to have the opportunity to be part of this new little one's arrival. Both grandmas were able to spend time with Rhema and me in the hospital.
2. Since Charis had attended the births of Zaden and Seanin, I desired for her to be present for the birth of her baby sister as well. I will forever hold dear the memory of her bouncing with excitement on the left side of me, bringing me water when I needed a drink and cheering me on. "Oh, Mama! I can see her head! She's almost here!"
3. As always, I felt completely uncomfortable and awkward in those final days. I did NOT want to go past my due date; the previous 4 babies had been anywhere from 4 days to 2 weeks earlier than their due date. Rhema arrived on July 15, five days before due.
4. Related to the above note, the OBGYN had discussed inducing me if Rhema was at all late because of my "advanced age." I am SOOO thankful that was not even an option. God be praised, I have never had an induction!
5. At my 36-week check-up, the swab showed that I was Group Strep-B positive, which meant the "preferred protocol" involved giving me IV antibiotics to "decrease" the chance of infection in the baby. This had happened with Seanin also, but I declined the antibiotics. I planned to do the same thing this time around, despite the AF doctor's stern warnings (she was nice about it but rather stubborn!). Well...even if I had WANTED the antibiotics, the labor and delivery was way too fast for me to have gotten them anyway! Four or more hours of labor while antibiotics drip into my system?! No, thank you!
6. Ted and I often talked about how our babies seemed to choose the dark of night to either arrive or else begin the labor process, resulting in a very tired papa falling asleep by the bed during mom's laboring. We joked, couldn't we just once wake up after a decent night of sleep, have our quiet time and breakfast, and then decide, "Hey, maybe we should head to the hospital" and have a baby in the afternoon! Guess what?! We had a decent night of sleep, had our morning quiet time and breakfast, headed to the hospital just after noon, and Rhema was born before 2:00pm!
7. While I desired a drug-free delivery, I was nervous...Seanin had been 9 pounds and was not at all a quick delivery. It was nighttime before we arrived at the hospital with him, and I had already been contracting for a number of hours, so I was exhausted. Having an epidural with him felt like a necessity to me. But Rhema came quickly, so the decision of whether or not to get an epidural was out of my hands!
8. After having nursing issues with the previous two babies, and learning that lip ties had played a significant role, I wanted to have Rhema checked immediately after birth. Though we couldn't tell initially, after about 24 hours of nursing her and having pain, the lactation consultant agreed with me that Rhema's frenulum was thick enough that it was causing a poor latch. The doctor was able to do a quick little clip about 40 hours after birth, and there was immediate relief. Though we had some nursing issues later on, they were not related to the lip tie, and I really didn't have any nursing pain after this.
9. Related to her nursing problems...again, God's timing was so incredibly perfect. Rhema arrived in the middle of the summer, so we had quite a bit of time before we "needed" to begin our school schedule. This was a blessing, as I had to help Rhema learn to suck properly to get the nutrition she needed to gain weight. The whole process took about 6-7 weeks, and if Rhema had been born at a different time I may have been trying to juggle the full-time job of feeding the baby PLUS trying to keep kids engaged in school...which would not have lasted very long, I'm sure.
10. Rhema's middle name...we went for quite awhile without knowing what to call our sweet girl. I'm not sure exactly when I thought about pairing "Rhema" with "Riyel," but once I did think about it and mentioned it to Ted, it just seemed to fit. Shortly before Rhema was born, I messaged my friend Christine Duncan to ask her about using her singer name Riyel. Her response to me, as well as her joy in responding, confirmed that we should use Riyel as Rhema's middle name. Her words to me were: "Beverly, how incredible! It is actually a misspelling (which for me, when I realized what I had done, was beautifully symbolic to me) the actual word is aRiyel or Ariyel - yes, like Ariel from Little Mermaid. It is Hebrew for "Lioness of God" which is a title for Jerusalem in Scripture."
The Story of Rhema, Part 1: The Back Story
It was the fall of 2011. Zaden was a needy infant (if you don't know our backstory with Zaden's weight loss and feeding issues, you can check my blog archives from Sept and Oct 2011), and I was an exhausted mother of 6 trying to keep things together at the front end of a year-long deployment. It was not a season of life that allowed for ease in picking up and leaving the house for a Bible study, so I eagerly and gratefully accepted the opportunity to do an independent study of Priscilla Shirer's Jonah: Navigating a Life Interrupted study at home, watching the DVD sessions on my laptop and doing the daily studies in my own workbook. The topic seemed especially pertinent to my life at the time!
During one of the video sessions, Priscilla talked about the Greek word rhema, meaning a specific word from the Lord. I had learned about this word a few years prior, during a ladies' Bible study of Beth Moore's, John, the Beloved Disciple, and I actually remembered being struck by the subject matter to the point of making notes in my own Bible as I listened to the instruction.
Anyway, there I was...sitting in my kitchen, nursing baby Zaden, taking notes and listening to Priscilla talk about how Jonah had received a rhema word from the Lord, a specific message from God. And suddenly I knew God was putting a rhema word in my own heart. I "heard" the message, clear as day: There will be a girl, and her name will be Rhema. It was so clear I actually stopped the video and sat with my heart pounding for awhile. What?! I was so overwhelmed just trying to keep up with the day-to-day needs of the 6 children we had...I couldn't even imagine having another baby then or ever.
I journaled about the experience in my private prayer journal, recording my thoughts and reactions, and I prayed much over it, but I didn't tell anyone until Ted was home a few months later for his two-week R&R time. We prayed together about God's plans for our family but held this close to our hearts.
Life moved on. We made it through the rest of our year-long separation, welcoming Ted home in May of 2012. We eagerly embraced our new adventure: moving overseas to Naples, Italy, for our next assignment. Amidst the flurry of life in a different country, we learned another child would join our family. I assumed this was our little girl Rhema, about whom I felt God had told me more than a year previously.
But...ha, ha! The ultrasound revealed we were having a BOY! And I knew God had given us Rhema as a girl's name! So, as we welcomed to the family our chunky little boy, Seanin Gabriel, I filed away the thoughts, questions, and perplexity I was feeling at the time. After reading and teaching Richard Stearns' book The Hole in Our Gospel, I wondered if perhaps God would lead us to adopt a little girl someday, and perhaps HER name would be Rhema.
But as you probably already know, God knit Rhema together in my own womb in His own perfect timing. A week after I had completed the Athens Marathon in 2014, I took a pregnancy test and wasn't terribly surprised to see that it was positive. The due date of July 20 seemed rather puzzling to me--we were scheduled to move in August 2015, and moving overseas with a newborn did not sound appealing. With that thought putting a bit of a damper on things, Ted and I kept the news to ourselves for awhile, waiting to surprise the kids and Grandma J with an announcement on Christmas morning.
As always, God's timing proves to be ever so perfect...what we didn't know when we saw those two pink lines was that God had already chosen for Ted to be assigned to a squadron command job that would begin at the end of May, causing us to have to make the overseas move nearly 3 months ahead of schedule! And not only that, but the Lord gave us an assignment in Nebraska, smack in the middle of the country with our families located about the same distance away from us in either direction!
Honestly, we know by now that we can trust our good and gracious Father God. Sometimes we may wonder while we wait, but we KNOW His ways are perfect!
A couple of months after we started sharing the news, an ultrasound confirmed what I suspected to be true: this baby was a GIRL! And I felt peace that she was indeed our little Rhema whom God had planned all along to be a part of our family, just as He knows each and every one of us from ages past, before the foundations of the earth were laid. What an amazing God we have!
During one of the video sessions, Priscilla talked about the Greek word rhema, meaning a specific word from the Lord. I had learned about this word a few years prior, during a ladies' Bible study of Beth Moore's, John, the Beloved Disciple, and I actually remembered being struck by the subject matter to the point of making notes in my own Bible as I listened to the instruction.
Anyway, there I was...sitting in my kitchen, nursing baby Zaden, taking notes and listening to Priscilla talk about how Jonah had received a rhema word from the Lord, a specific message from God. And suddenly I knew God was putting a rhema word in my own heart. I "heard" the message, clear as day: There will be a girl, and her name will be Rhema. It was so clear I actually stopped the video and sat with my heart pounding for awhile. What?! I was so overwhelmed just trying to keep up with the day-to-day needs of the 6 children we had...I couldn't even imagine having another baby then or ever.
I journaled about the experience in my private prayer journal, recording my thoughts and reactions, and I prayed much over it, but I didn't tell anyone until Ted was home a few months later for his two-week R&R time. We prayed together about God's plans for our family but held this close to our hearts.
Life moved on. We made it through the rest of our year-long separation, welcoming Ted home in May of 2012. We eagerly embraced our new adventure: moving overseas to Naples, Italy, for our next assignment. Amidst the flurry of life in a different country, we learned another child would join our family. I assumed this was our little girl Rhema, about whom I felt God had told me more than a year previously.
But...ha, ha! The ultrasound revealed we were having a BOY! And I knew God had given us Rhema as a girl's name! So, as we welcomed to the family our chunky little boy, Seanin Gabriel, I filed away the thoughts, questions, and perplexity I was feeling at the time. After reading and teaching Richard Stearns' book The Hole in Our Gospel, I wondered if perhaps God would lead us to adopt a little girl someday, and perhaps HER name would be Rhema.
But as you probably already know, God knit Rhema together in my own womb in His own perfect timing. A week after I had completed the Athens Marathon in 2014, I took a pregnancy test and wasn't terribly surprised to see that it was positive. The due date of July 20 seemed rather puzzling to me--we were scheduled to move in August 2015, and moving overseas with a newborn did not sound appealing. With that thought putting a bit of a damper on things, Ted and I kept the news to ourselves for awhile, waiting to surprise the kids and Grandma J with an announcement on Christmas morning.
As always, God's timing proves to be ever so perfect...what we didn't know when we saw those two pink lines was that God had already chosen for Ted to be assigned to a squadron command job that would begin at the end of May, causing us to have to make the overseas move nearly 3 months ahead of schedule! And not only that, but the Lord gave us an assignment in Nebraska, smack in the middle of the country with our families located about the same distance away from us in either direction!
Honestly, we know by now that we can trust our good and gracious Father God. Sometimes we may wonder while we wait, but we KNOW His ways are perfect!
A couple of months after we started sharing the news, an ultrasound confirmed what I suspected to be true: this baby was a GIRL! And I felt peace that she was indeed our little Rhema whom God had planned all along to be a part of our family, just as He knows each and every one of us from ages past, before the foundations of the earth were laid. What an amazing God we have!
May 17, 2015
Mediterranean Cruise: Day 11 (Messina, Sicily)
Adventure-wise, this was a fairly low-key day. But we had some fun at breakfast! After we had placed our orders, we handed out envelopes to the 6 older children, telling them this was their Christmas surprise but they had to figure it out for themselves. Inside each envelope was a slip of paper with a picture on it...
...a spider,
...an octopus,
...a squid,
...an 8-ball on a pool table,
...a magic 8 ball,
...and a hand of crazy eights.
Grandma J's eyes got really wide as she realized what message we were giving, but she didn't say anything out loud. Charis was shortly behind her, and a happy gasp escaped from her as she asked, "Are we having another baby?!" Slowly, one by one, the kids realized what the pictures had in common, and it was delightful to see their reactions and know that they were truly excited to hear that another sibling was on the way. I honestly had been wondering if anyone would figure it out earlier, because my clothes were honestly getting tighter and tighter even the week and a half we were on the cruise! But it seemed that Ted and I had kept the secret pretty well!
After breakfast we were ready to head out. This was another wandering-around day. We thought it would be nice to go inside a church on Christmas Day, so we set our sights on a large domed church at the top of a hill, navigating toward it as best as we could. We reached it and learned that it was a shrine, not a church! But it was a lovely building and situated in a location that gave us fantastic views.
We didn't have long in this port, and so we simply made our way back down to the main square, where we bought a couple of little souvenirs and ducked into the back of a Christmas mass that was finishing up in a beautiful cathedral.
It was a brief stop, but I guess at least we can say we set foot in Sicily during our stint in Italy!
...a spider,
...an octopus,
...a squid,
...an 8-ball on a pool table,
...a magic 8 ball,
...and a hand of crazy eights.
Grandma J's eyes got really wide as she realized what message we were giving, but she didn't say anything out loud. Charis was shortly behind her, and a happy gasp escaped from her as she asked, "Are we having another baby?!" Slowly, one by one, the kids realized what the pictures had in common, and it was delightful to see their reactions and know that they were truly excited to hear that another sibling was on the way. I honestly had been wondering if anyone would figure it out earlier, because my clothes were honestly getting tighter and tighter even the week and a half we were on the cruise! But it seemed that Ted and I had kept the secret pretty well!
After breakfast we were ready to head out. This was another wandering-around day. We thought it would be nice to go inside a church on Christmas Day, so we set our sights on a large domed church at the top of a hill, navigating toward it as best as we could. We reached it and learned that it was a shrine, not a church! But it was a lovely building and situated in a location that gave us fantastic views.
We didn't have long in this port, and so we simply made our way back down to the main square, where we bought a couple of little souvenirs and ducked into the back of a Christmas mass that was finishing up in a beautiful cathedral.
It was a brief stop, but I guess at least we can say we set foot in Sicily during our stint in Italy!
August 10, 2013
38 Weeks and Counting
I suppose the "no news is good news" will have to be my excuse for not writing an update sooner. Septimus is still hanging out, and all is well with the pregnancy--aside from the typical close-to-delivery woes like an aching back, swollen legs and ankles, heartburn, and other sundry discomforts. But today I received a reminder to be thankful no matter what my circumstances...two friends are having difficulties with their pregnancies, a sobering reality check that makes me reaffirm God's sovereignty whether or not events coincide with our human expectations.
(If you have a moment, would you please lift up A in your prayers? She is delivering her baby at 34 weeks because of complications. A couple of years ago she gave birth at 36 weeks knowing her little one had just entered God's kingdom. I can't even imagine that heartbreak, but A and her husband K have a beautiful testimony of God's grace and are a strong, godly young couple whom I admire very much, even though I have spent next to no time at all with them in person. And my friend T is experiencing bleeding in her 10th week of pregnancy with her 13th child, so prayers for her would be appreciated as well.)
So with those prayer requests in mind, I'm simply thankful that our little guy is still kicking around inside of me, even though I grow weary of waiting and wondering when he will make his appearance. As happened with Zaden...and with Lucan...I have had several false alarms, with strong contractions coming anywhere from 5-10 minutes apart, getting stronger, preventing sleep, etc., going on for several hours at a time. Any doctor would tell me to get to the hospital, but since this has happened with my previous boys, I've been loathe to run to the delivery ward only to have to be monitored and whatnot and then sent home. It's exhausting mentally and emotionally, not to mention physically. And one day this past week I met with the uncertainty of thinking my water had possibly broken--it hadn't, but it took a trip to the ward to get tested to make sure.
My prayer has been that we would KNOW for sure beyond any doubt when my labor really HAS begun, that God would graciously allow it to happen at a time when we can make necessary arrangements for the children and get to the hospital in a timely manner. Since I had had several false alarms or "practice sessions" with Zaden, by the time labor really WAS progressing, the contractions really were not that bad, and I arrived at the hospital already dilated to almost 9. So I'm slightly concerned that I won't really know when to take things seriously!!
My next appointment is Tuesday, the day before we hit 39 weeks. I'm trying to mentally prepare for 41 weeks of pregnancy because it's too hard to get my hopes up thinking it's time when my body stops a few hours later and laughs at me for getting all worked up!
(If you have a moment, would you please lift up A in your prayers? She is delivering her baby at 34 weeks because of complications. A couple of years ago she gave birth at 36 weeks knowing her little one had just entered God's kingdom. I can't even imagine that heartbreak, but A and her husband K have a beautiful testimony of God's grace and are a strong, godly young couple whom I admire very much, even though I have spent next to no time at all with them in person. And my friend T is experiencing bleeding in her 10th week of pregnancy with her 13th child, so prayers for her would be appreciated as well.)
So with those prayer requests in mind, I'm simply thankful that our little guy is still kicking around inside of me, even though I grow weary of waiting and wondering when he will make his appearance. As happened with Zaden...and with Lucan...I have had several false alarms, with strong contractions coming anywhere from 5-10 minutes apart, getting stronger, preventing sleep, etc., going on for several hours at a time. Any doctor would tell me to get to the hospital, but since this has happened with my previous boys, I've been loathe to run to the delivery ward only to have to be monitored and whatnot and then sent home. It's exhausting mentally and emotionally, not to mention physically. And one day this past week I met with the uncertainty of thinking my water had possibly broken--it hadn't, but it took a trip to the ward to get tested to make sure.
My prayer has been that we would KNOW for sure beyond any doubt when my labor really HAS begun, that God would graciously allow it to happen at a time when we can make necessary arrangements for the children and get to the hospital in a timely manner. Since I had had several false alarms or "practice sessions" with Zaden, by the time labor really WAS progressing, the contractions really were not that bad, and I arrived at the hospital already dilated to almost 9. So I'm slightly concerned that I won't really know when to take things seriously!!
My next appointment is Tuesday, the day before we hit 39 weeks. I'm trying to mentally prepare for 41 weeks of pregnancy because it's too hard to get my hopes up thinking it's time when my body stops a few hours later and laughs at me for getting all worked up!
July 23, 2013
Pregnancy/Bed Rest Update
Tomorrow we hit 36 weeks in this pregnancy, which is a wonderful milestone to hit after the threat of pre-term labor! I saw my doctor yesterday, who asked me to maintain bed rest until Friday. He prefers that we at least get to 37 weeks before delivery, but things seem to be going fine for now. Dr. T will be in Germany through Saturday...of course, there are OB docs on call (he works in the family practice clinic), but if he is around, he'd like to be able to deliver Septimus, and I am perfectly fine with that. Even though I had to switch docs when I hit 32 weeks (because the one I started with is PCSing this month), I was impressed with my initial encounter with Dr. T. He is a father of three himself, and he seems to be in favor of a more natural approach to the whole birthing experience, preferring to allow the baby to be with the mother immediately instead of whisked away, etc. So I'd be happy to have him as our delivery doc!
In the meantime, we're looking at 3 1/2 more days of bed rest! Ted had the presence of mind to remember that we are scheduled to see our chiropractor Friday evening and to ask if it was all right for me to keep that appointment. Dr. T said it would be fine, so Ted and I are continuing with the plans we made a month ago when we set up the appointment--we will see Dr. S and then have ourselves a little date night! Woohoo!
So, life in bed continues, LOL. I'm slowly making my way through Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts, which I began last fall but only had read one chapter before coming home for bed rest. I finished the book about Sabbath rest. I'm 19% of the way through the unabridged version of Les Miserables. I completed one digital scrapbook album, our American history road trip from the fall of 2010, and I am about halfway through our 2011 family album (also digital).
I've read books about diggers and tractors and cars and airplanes over and over and over to Zaden, who insists that most of these vehicles are, in fact, buses. I've read Dr. Seuss's ABC book to Lucan multiple times and carried on conversations with him and his Doof Dog (who now has next to no stuffing, making it a bit difficult to take Doof seriously, seeing as how his head is caving in). I finished reading Little House in the Big Woods to Kenna, and last night we began Little House on the Prairie. Arden and I are about to enter Mirkwood Forest in The Hobbit, and the older three just found out that Professor Slughorn is not, in fact, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher as they had assumed prior to last night's reading of the 6th Harry Potter book.
Friends have come to spend various parts of the day here with us, helping feed the kids lunch, oversee kid activities, and visit with me during quieter moments. We've enjoyed a variety of meals, from stuffed pasta shells to burritos to roasted chicken with homemade mac-n-cheese. We've been so blessed by the prayers, encouragement, and practical help coming from local friends and church family. While part of me is chafing to get up and MOVING again, another part of me is so grateful for the opportunity to see the Body of Christ at work and to just be still and enjoy the precious gifts God has already given me. I'm eager to meet the new little gift He has been growing inside of me...but I'm praying I can be content and wait for God's perfect timing!
In the meantime, we're looking at 3 1/2 more days of bed rest! Ted had the presence of mind to remember that we are scheduled to see our chiropractor Friday evening and to ask if it was all right for me to keep that appointment. Dr. T said it would be fine, so Ted and I are continuing with the plans we made a month ago when we set up the appointment--we will see Dr. S and then have ourselves a little date night! Woohoo!
So, life in bed continues, LOL. I'm slowly making my way through Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts, which I began last fall but only had read one chapter before coming home for bed rest. I finished the book about Sabbath rest. I'm 19% of the way through the unabridged version of Les Miserables. I completed one digital scrapbook album, our American history road trip from the fall of 2010, and I am about halfway through our 2011 family album (also digital).
I've read books about diggers and tractors and cars and airplanes over and over and over to Zaden, who insists that most of these vehicles are, in fact, buses. I've read Dr. Seuss's ABC book to Lucan multiple times and carried on conversations with him and his Doof Dog (who now has next to no stuffing, making it a bit difficult to take Doof seriously, seeing as how his head is caving in). I finished reading Little House in the Big Woods to Kenna, and last night we began Little House on the Prairie. Arden and I are about to enter Mirkwood Forest in The Hobbit, and the older three just found out that Professor Slughorn is not, in fact, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher as they had assumed prior to last night's reading of the 6th Harry Potter book.
Friends have come to spend various parts of the day here with us, helping feed the kids lunch, oversee kid activities, and visit with me during quieter moments. We've enjoyed a variety of meals, from stuffed pasta shells to burritos to roasted chicken with homemade mac-n-cheese. We've been so blessed by the prayers, encouragement, and practical help coming from local friends and church family. While part of me is chafing to get up and MOVING again, another part of me is so grateful for the opportunity to see the Body of Christ at work and to just be still and enjoy the precious gifts God has already given me. I'm eager to meet the new little gift He has been growing inside of me...but I'm praying I can be content and wait for God's perfect timing!
July 11, 2013
A Roller Coaster Day
After not having been checked or monitored since before dinner yesterday, I was rather surprised this morning to have the Italian doctor walk in and announce that I could go home! Since I hadn't had any changes during the time I had been without any anti-contraction medicine, they were willing to release me, and I for one wasn't going to question them! I called Ted immediately, knowing that he was planning to bring the kids in to visit shortly--I wanted to tell him not to rush, because I had a feeling it could still be awhile before the papers were actually signed.
And I was right.
The kids showed up with Ted about an hour later. I had everything packed and was sitting in regular clothes (hooray for no more hospital gown) when a nurse came in with the monitor. Of course! They hadn't checked Baby's heartbeat or my contractions, so of course they wanted to do that one more time.
So I get put on the monitors. Gina, the liaison from the Support Site, and Cdr J, who is handling my case, arrived soon after that, along with one of the base chaplains and an Italian doctor. It was quite a circus--all 8 of our family members plus 4 extra adults AND my doctor from SS on the phone trying to talk to me on Cdr J's cell phone while the monitors beeped and swished loudly beside me.
Dr. T expressed concern that the Italians apparently have a different philosophy regarding my situation--for example, since I wasn't showing progress, they were perfectly happy to let me go home to rest. The American team wasn't so happy with me going home to rest, given my case history. So he wanted to ask me some questions and then consult with the OB who had been on call Saturday night plus the SS pediatric team.
Meanwhile...
The monitor was registering regular contractions. They weren't painful, but they were definitely showing up. I suspect it was the stress of waiting so long in the hospital after being told I could go home!! Everyone else in the room seemed utterly unconcerned, though, so I didn't think much about it, thinking only about getting the discharge paperwork so I could go home and get in my own comfy bed.
Finally everyone left the room, with the doctor having said that he would make copies of the paperwork and I was free to go. Gina said she would come back for my signature and it would, basically, be a done deal.
The little ones were getting very squirrelly. By this time it was well after 1pm--I was wishing that I had asked that they bring me lunch after all. I had given the kids every last bite of edible substance that I had on hand, and we were all quite hungry. We sent Ted and the younger 4 down to the parking lot, with Charis and Tobin to help me carry anything else that needed to go home, assuming that the three of us would meet him at the front door shortly.
I was still hooked up to the monitors. And still having contractions.
I rang the nurse button to communicate that I was ready to go home, had signed papers, and the doctor was all right with me leaving. She took one look at the printout, said "Five more minutes," and left.
More waiting. Longer than 5 minutes. Another ring on the nurse bell. Another strange look when I asked about going home--I could tell some of the Italian staff weren't buying the one doctor's notion that I was in any shape to walk out of there. There was some discussion about paperwork...which I had been under the impression was already finished.
Another phone call, this time Dr. T calling my cell phone directly. He and the OB had discussed my case, and this was their recommendation...
First, the OB doc had wanted me on bed rest AT THE SUPPORT SITE HOSPITAL. Dr. T (the family practice doc whom I've been seeing) disagreed, saying that non-sick people don't need to be at the hospital. However, his concern was my proximity to hospital care. Since we live in town, plus the fact that I've had this pre-term labor stuff going on, plus the fact that I'm carrying Baby #7, he would "feel better" if I were to basically hang out closer to the SS hospital.
How to do this, you ask?
"The Stork's Nest." Three rooms (basically bachelor's quarters) set aside for similar circumstances right across the street from the hospital. Unlike being IN the hospital, no one would be cooking for me (without me making arrangements to have meals brought to me), and, oh yes, we would pay $50 per day for the privilege of staying there.
Are you kidding me?! How is THAT supposed to help me rest??! This was beyond confusing to me anyway, because everyone kept saying to me that if I were to deliver in the next week or so, it should take place at the Italian hospital because of their NICU! So HOW did it make sense for me to move into an unfamiliar place if they would just have to transfer me back to the other side of town should I go into labor anyway?!
Grrrrr. Dr. T was very nice about it all, and I'm sure this is just a matter of them needing to cover all their bases, but since I was caught in the middle of the question of whether I was even going to be able to leave the Italian hospital to begin with, I simply wrote down his contact info and told him I'd call him back.
I called Ted and told him to bring the kids back so we could at least buy everyone some hospital panini and feed the starving masses. Back they trudged while I called Gina to try to figure out what was going on. She stopped by the room soon after to assure me that the paperwork was indeed finalized, and as soon as I got taken off the monitors I could leave.
Ted took the boys and Kenna to get panini and pizza slices while a nurse came in to check my cervix, which I actually agreed was a good idea at that point. (Still contracting!!) From what I could understand, nothing had changed, so I eagerly waited for someone to confirm that we could actually leave the hospital. No one returned. The kids were beyond stir crazy by this point (well, the younger two boys, actually...my older ones were taking all of this in stride!), so I finally told Ted that maybe he should just take all the kids home and wait to hear from me as to whether I was allowed to leave or not. So Ted left with the kids--but THANK GOD he decided to stick his head in the doctor's office on the way out to ask what the heck was going on--and the doctor, OH JOY!, waved his hand and said, "Go home!!"
WOOHOO!! The kids and Ted ran back to get me, and we ALL left the hospital TOGETHER! I called Dr. T to let him know that we were politely declining the option of getting a room at the Stork's Nest, and after more consultations, he called me back a couple of hours later to tell me basically what we had already decided:
If I go into labor in the next 8 days, I am to go straight to the Italian hospital. If we make it beyond that point, I can come to the Support Site hospital. In the meantime, I am on STRICT bed rest.
But I am on MY OWN BED!!!! How can this not be more restful for me?! OK, sure, I'll miss the amazing Italian lunches and dinners (but the thought of facing one more breakfast in that hospital makes me want to hurl jam), but aside from that...just being away from my family I think causes me more stress! At least here at home I can cuddle on my bed and read stories with them! And we have people willing to help out, so we'll line up some caregivers for next week when Ted goes back to work. We have a few days to get things in place, and honestly, Ted can take more time off work if he needs to, although I'd rather have him save that for when the baby comes.
Whew. This has been quite a journey, and Septimus hasn't even arrived yet! Please join us in praying that we can wait another 8 days or so before that happens! Thank you for all your prayers on our behalf this week!
And I was right.
The kids showed up with Ted about an hour later. I had everything packed and was sitting in regular clothes (hooray for no more hospital gown) when a nurse came in with the monitor. Of course! They hadn't checked Baby's heartbeat or my contractions, so of course they wanted to do that one more time.
So I get put on the monitors. Gina, the liaison from the Support Site, and Cdr J, who is handling my case, arrived soon after that, along with one of the base chaplains and an Italian doctor. It was quite a circus--all 8 of our family members plus 4 extra adults AND my doctor from SS on the phone trying to talk to me on Cdr J's cell phone while the monitors beeped and swished loudly beside me.
Dr. T expressed concern that the Italians apparently have a different philosophy regarding my situation--for example, since I wasn't showing progress, they were perfectly happy to let me go home to rest. The American team wasn't so happy with me going home to rest, given my case history. So he wanted to ask me some questions and then consult with the OB who had been on call Saturday night plus the SS pediatric team.
Meanwhile...
The monitor was registering regular contractions. They weren't painful, but they were definitely showing up. I suspect it was the stress of waiting so long in the hospital after being told I could go home!! Everyone else in the room seemed utterly unconcerned, though, so I didn't think much about it, thinking only about getting the discharge paperwork so I could go home and get in my own comfy bed.
Finally everyone left the room, with the doctor having said that he would make copies of the paperwork and I was free to go. Gina said she would come back for my signature and it would, basically, be a done deal.
The little ones were getting very squirrelly. By this time it was well after 1pm--I was wishing that I had asked that they bring me lunch after all. I had given the kids every last bite of edible substance that I had on hand, and we were all quite hungry. We sent Ted and the younger 4 down to the parking lot, with Charis and Tobin to help me carry anything else that needed to go home, assuming that the three of us would meet him at the front door shortly.
I was still hooked up to the monitors. And still having contractions.
I rang the nurse button to communicate that I was ready to go home, had signed papers, and the doctor was all right with me leaving. She took one look at the printout, said "Five more minutes," and left.
More waiting. Longer than 5 minutes. Another ring on the nurse bell. Another strange look when I asked about going home--I could tell some of the Italian staff weren't buying the one doctor's notion that I was in any shape to walk out of there. There was some discussion about paperwork...which I had been under the impression was already finished.
Another phone call, this time Dr. T calling my cell phone directly. He and the OB had discussed my case, and this was their recommendation...
First, the OB doc had wanted me on bed rest AT THE SUPPORT SITE HOSPITAL. Dr. T (the family practice doc whom I've been seeing) disagreed, saying that non-sick people don't need to be at the hospital. However, his concern was my proximity to hospital care. Since we live in town, plus the fact that I've had this pre-term labor stuff going on, plus the fact that I'm carrying Baby #7, he would "feel better" if I were to basically hang out closer to the SS hospital.
How to do this, you ask?
"The Stork's Nest." Three rooms (basically bachelor's quarters) set aside for similar circumstances right across the street from the hospital. Unlike being IN the hospital, no one would be cooking for me (without me making arrangements to have meals brought to me), and, oh yes, we would pay $50 per day for the privilege of staying there.
Are you kidding me?! How is THAT supposed to help me rest??! This was beyond confusing to me anyway, because everyone kept saying to me that if I were to deliver in the next week or so, it should take place at the Italian hospital because of their NICU! So HOW did it make sense for me to move into an unfamiliar place if they would just have to transfer me back to the other side of town should I go into labor anyway?!
Grrrrr. Dr. T was very nice about it all, and I'm sure this is just a matter of them needing to cover all their bases, but since I was caught in the middle of the question of whether I was even going to be able to leave the Italian hospital to begin with, I simply wrote down his contact info and told him I'd call him back.
I called Ted and told him to bring the kids back so we could at least buy everyone some hospital panini and feed the starving masses. Back they trudged while I called Gina to try to figure out what was going on. She stopped by the room soon after to assure me that the paperwork was indeed finalized, and as soon as I got taken off the monitors I could leave.
Ted took the boys and Kenna to get panini and pizza slices while a nurse came in to check my cervix, which I actually agreed was a good idea at that point. (Still contracting!!) From what I could understand, nothing had changed, so I eagerly waited for someone to confirm that we could actually leave the hospital. No one returned. The kids were beyond stir crazy by this point (well, the younger two boys, actually...my older ones were taking all of this in stride!), so I finally told Ted that maybe he should just take all the kids home and wait to hear from me as to whether I was allowed to leave or not. So Ted left with the kids--but THANK GOD he decided to stick his head in the doctor's office on the way out to ask what the heck was going on--and the doctor, OH JOY!, waved his hand and said, "Go home!!"
WOOHOO!! The kids and Ted ran back to get me, and we ALL left the hospital TOGETHER! I called Dr. T to let him know that we were politely declining the option of getting a room at the Stork's Nest, and after more consultations, he called me back a couple of hours later to tell me basically what we had already decided:
If I go into labor in the next 8 days, I am to go straight to the Italian hospital. If we make it beyond that point, I can come to the Support Site hospital. In the meantime, I am on STRICT bed rest.
But I am on MY OWN BED!!!! How can this not be more restful for me?! OK, sure, I'll miss the amazing Italian lunches and dinners (but the thought of facing one more breakfast in that hospital makes me want to hurl jam), but aside from that...just being away from my family I think causes me more stress! At least here at home I can cuddle on my bed and read stories with them! And we have people willing to help out, so we'll line up some caregivers for next week when Ted goes back to work. We have a few days to get things in place, and honestly, Ted can take more time off work if he needs to, although I'd rather have him save that for when the baby comes.
Whew. This has been quite a journey, and Septimus hasn't even arrived yet! Please join us in praying that we can wait another 8 days or so before that happens! Thank you for all your prayers on our behalf this week!
July 10, 2013
Day 4--A Fresh Start
My day began around 5am with an uncomfortable awakening--painful contractions plus my arm being stiff from the IV. After trying to get back to sleep, I gave up, freshened up in the bathroom, and let the nurses know I was having some painful contractions even with the medicine.
More monitoring. The contractions, which were registering around 25% last night, got as high as 70% or so. After they removed the monitors, I ate my breakfast, and soon after the doctor came in to speak with me. The doctors (I think I've seen at least 3 or 4?) speak enough English that I can usually figure out what they are trying to tell me, and this one brought what I consider to be good news.
Since the steroid for Baby's lungs is now fully in our system, they don't like to continue the anti-contraction medicine. So he had the nurse remove the IV (although the needle is still currently in my arm). They want to do a blood sugar test just before lunch to see if my sugar levels could have caused the increase in contractions (which I doubt, because they were happening off and on throughout the night plus into the morning, and I didn't eat until AFTER the monitoring). And then they will recheck my cervix.
Of course they want to keep me here at least today, possibly tomorrow, to see what happens. IF, by chance, my cervix doesn't dilate any more, if there are NO more labor signs, they will send me home. If labor begins in the next week, I return here immediately to deliver. If I make it beyond that, he said it would be all right to deliver at the Support Site. But the SS hospital is not equipped to deal with babies who arrive early, as I've already been told! So at least all my info is already on file here.
Now that I have no meds going into my system, I feel like today will be very interesting! I haven't noticed any increase in frequency or intensity since the IV stopped about an hour ago, so we will see what happens. In the meantime, "Septimus" has been moving and grooving, and they have not seemed concerned about his well-being, so I refuse to worry about it either! God is in control...He knit both Septimus AND his mama and put us here at just this time for a reason!
More monitoring. The contractions, which were registering around 25% last night, got as high as 70% or so. After they removed the monitors, I ate my breakfast, and soon after the doctor came in to speak with me. The doctors (I think I've seen at least 3 or 4?) speak enough English that I can usually figure out what they are trying to tell me, and this one brought what I consider to be good news.
Since the steroid for Baby's lungs is now fully in our system, they don't like to continue the anti-contraction medicine. So he had the nurse remove the IV (although the needle is still currently in my arm). They want to do a blood sugar test just before lunch to see if my sugar levels could have caused the increase in contractions (which I doubt, because they were happening off and on throughout the night plus into the morning, and I didn't eat until AFTER the monitoring). And then they will recheck my cervix.
Of course they want to keep me here at least today, possibly tomorrow, to see what happens. IF, by chance, my cervix doesn't dilate any more, if there are NO more labor signs, they will send me home. If labor begins in the next week, I return here immediately to deliver. If I make it beyond that, he said it would be all right to deliver at the Support Site. But the SS hospital is not equipped to deal with babies who arrive early, as I've already been told! So at least all my info is already on file here.
Now that I have no meds going into my system, I feel like today will be very interesting! I haven't noticed any increase in frequency or intensity since the IV stopped about an hour ago, so we will see what happens. In the meantime, "Septimus" has been moving and grooving, and they have not seemed concerned about his well-being, so I refuse to worry about it either! God is in control...He knit both Septimus AND his mama and put us here at just this time for a reason!
Day 3--Tuesday
Yesterday was considerably uneventful for the majority of the day. In some ways it was similar to the way I spent Monday. The family came to visit before lunch; I had a nap after lunch; I passed the time by reading, praying, reading some more, and working on a digital scrapbook.
The "main event," in my estimation, was that I was to get the IV removed, since the doctor had told me he would put me on oral medicine since my contractions hadn't really reappeared. Apparently the time line I had in my head (from what I had understood originally) did not match up with the Italian time line...which is not surprising! I did end up asking about the oral meds, because the morning came and went and I was still on the IV.
Around lunch time they finally did remove the IV--but I didn't take any oral medication until 7pm. I didn't understand this, but since my nap happened in the middle of that time period, and since they did hook me up to monitors a couple of times during this, I didn't really pursue asking. (I'm probably not as aggressive or curious of a patient as I should be?!) I don't know if they wanted to wait a certain time between treatments or what--I got my pill around 5:30 but was told to wait and take it around 7:00.
Meanwhile, contractions picked up. Not terribly, but enough to be noticeable. Ted returned by himself in the evening so we could have some time with just the two of us, and he was here during another monitoring session, during which time I was hooked up to a more sensitive monitor. I had noticed that during my earlier monitoring sessions, I was feeling some contractions that weren't registering on the graph, and I mentioned that to the commander who is overseeing my case who called to check on me in the evening. Obviously calls were made, because then this "new" machine was brought in and I was hooked up. Thankfully we noted that it was indeed picking up everything I was feeling, which made me feel better--at least the staff were going to get a more clear picture of what was going on.
Ted had to leave before I was finished, so he missed the end of my day--being told that the oral meds (which had been in my system 2.5 hours by this point) were not going to work and I needed to go back on the IV. Sadly, they had completely removed my original pick line--I should have asked them to keep it in place just in case!! I even wondered about it at the time, but...again...didn't speak up. Sigh. So the nurse, who is incredibly kind and sweet, put a new line in, but this one was in the crook of my right elbow. Ouch. It isn't a great place for an IV in my opinion!
The doctor checked my cervix and found that nothing had changed--I was still only dilated to 3cm and Baby's head was not engaged, so that was encouraging. But when everyone left the room, I confess I shed some tears of self-pity. I only foresaw being here for days and days, with an uncomfortable IV line in my dominant arm. To top it off, some of the varicose veins in my right leg (right behind my knee) began paining me greatly. I didn't know how I was going to get any sleep.
I spent some time reading some precious promises in Scripture, encouraging passages that reminded me that my hope is in the Lord and not in medicine! Here are a few...
Job 23:8-12
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Hebrews 12:1-3
Psalm 139
I made a list of things to be thankful for and went to bed feeling that this too shall pass.
1. In the middle of summer in Naples, I have an air-conditioned room!
2. I am in a mosquito-free environment!
3. I can look forward to breakfast (and lunch and dinner) in bed! For who knows how long!
4. And I don't have to cook it OR clean up afterward!
5. I have an amazing husband in Ted who is pulling some amazing Daddy duty and holding our sweet family together!
6. I have amazing kids who are rising to the occasion and helping each other and their dad do what has to be done. They are growing through all this, too!
7. I have an amazing family in Christ, both here and abroad, who are showering me with prayers and encouragement.
8. I have an amazing God who will provide everything we will need and get us through this journey.
The "main event," in my estimation, was that I was to get the IV removed, since the doctor had told me he would put me on oral medicine since my contractions hadn't really reappeared. Apparently the time line I had in my head (from what I had understood originally) did not match up with the Italian time line...which is not surprising! I did end up asking about the oral meds, because the morning came and went and I was still on the IV.
Around lunch time they finally did remove the IV--but I didn't take any oral medication until 7pm. I didn't understand this, but since my nap happened in the middle of that time period, and since they did hook me up to monitors a couple of times during this, I didn't really pursue asking. (I'm probably not as aggressive or curious of a patient as I should be?!) I don't know if they wanted to wait a certain time between treatments or what--I got my pill around 5:30 but was told to wait and take it around 7:00.
Meanwhile, contractions picked up. Not terribly, but enough to be noticeable. Ted returned by himself in the evening so we could have some time with just the two of us, and he was here during another monitoring session, during which time I was hooked up to a more sensitive monitor. I had noticed that during my earlier monitoring sessions, I was feeling some contractions that weren't registering on the graph, and I mentioned that to the commander who is overseeing my case who called to check on me in the evening. Obviously calls were made, because then this "new" machine was brought in and I was hooked up. Thankfully we noted that it was indeed picking up everything I was feeling, which made me feel better--at least the staff were going to get a more clear picture of what was going on.
Ted had to leave before I was finished, so he missed the end of my day--being told that the oral meds (which had been in my system 2.5 hours by this point) were not going to work and I needed to go back on the IV. Sadly, they had completely removed my original pick line--I should have asked them to keep it in place just in case!! I even wondered about it at the time, but...again...didn't speak up. Sigh. So the nurse, who is incredibly kind and sweet, put a new line in, but this one was in the crook of my right elbow. Ouch. It isn't a great place for an IV in my opinion!
The doctor checked my cervix and found that nothing had changed--I was still only dilated to 3cm and Baby's head was not engaged, so that was encouraging. But when everyone left the room, I confess I shed some tears of self-pity. I only foresaw being here for days and days, with an uncomfortable IV line in my dominant arm. To top it off, some of the varicose veins in my right leg (right behind my knee) began paining me greatly. I didn't know how I was going to get any sleep.
I spent some time reading some precious promises in Scripture, encouraging passages that reminded me that my hope is in the Lord and not in medicine! Here are a few...
Job 23:8-12
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Hebrews 12:1-3
Psalm 139
I made a list of things to be thankful for and went to bed feeling that this too shall pass.
1. In the middle of summer in Naples, I have an air-conditioned room!
2. I am in a mosquito-free environment!
3. I can look forward to breakfast (and lunch and dinner) in bed! For who knows how long!
4. And I don't have to cook it OR clean up afterward!
5. I have an amazing husband in Ted who is pulling some amazing Daddy duty and holding our sweet family together!
6. I have amazing kids who are rising to the occasion and helping each other and their dad do what has to be done. They are growing through all this, too!
7. I have an amazing family in Christ, both here and abroad, who are showering me with prayers and encouragement.
8. I have an amazing God who will provide everything we will need and get us through this journey.
July 09, 2013
Day 2 at Clinica Pineta Grande
Yesterday's hospital stay was rather uneventful. I didn't leave the room at all--no wheeling me downstairs to radiology for an ultrasound/cervix check. A few sessions of monitoring Baby's heartbeat and my contractions and the usual taking of vital signs, and I was pretty much left alone all day.
Ted and the kids came for a very welcome visit about mid-morning. I can't believe how much I miss our exuberant household! I had some very sad, lonely moments after they left! But then they delivered lunch, which was a good pick-me-up...still enjoying the meals here!
So the medical plan was to have me finish out the IV treatment and then give me oral medicine the following day (which is today). I had some stronger contractions now and then throughout the day, but they were never very frequent, and I guess they weren't anything to cause concern when the monitoring sessions captured everything on paper.
I did enjoy a lot of quiet time--I know this is not something I can get every day, so I made the most of it:
Ted and the kids came for a very welcome visit about mid-morning. I can't believe how much I miss our exuberant household! I had some very sad, lonely moments after they left! But then they delivered lunch, which was a good pick-me-up...still enjoying the meals here!
So the medical plan was to have me finish out the IV treatment and then give me oral medicine the following day (which is today). I had some stronger contractions now and then throughout the day, but they were never very frequent, and I guess they weren't anything to cause concern when the monitoring sessions captured everything on paper.
I did enjoy a lot of quiet time--I know this is not something I can get every day, so I made the most of it:
- Listened to worship music
- Watched worship videos
- Listened to a podcast of Sunday's sermon that I missed
- Stood and did some stretching exercises multiple times during the day
- Spent time reading through favorite portions of Isaiah and Psalms
- Did my regular daily Bible reading
- Prayed for my family and many of my friends (Facebook is a great way to see prayer needs!)
- Took a nap
- Updated our budget spreadsheet
- FB chatted my mom and dad a bit--they are (or were) traveling home from a family reunion
- Started reading a book Charis and Tobin wanted me to read: Science Fair by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
- Talked to Ted and Charis on the phone
- Began a new My Digital Studio project
Wow! I guess I wasn't too bored!! I got my last set of vitals/monitoring done shortly after dinner, so I went to bed earlier (about 10ish) and managed to sleep until 7 (with a couple of potty runs).
Now I'm awake for Day 3 in the hospital...it's a beautiful, sunny morning, my IV bottle is EMPTY, and I cannot WAIT to get this thing OUT of my arm!! I believe they plan to monitor me another 24 hours after I begin the oral medication, so perhaps this is the last full day I will be here? Tomorrow marks 34 weeks for "Septimus" and me (Septimus is Latin for "seven" and is our joke of a name for Baby!). I'm hopeful we can at least make it to 35 if not 36 weeks or longer, and let me just say, I really, really hope that we don't have to go a full 40 weeks with this gigantoid of a son, LOL!
I humbly offer my very sincere thanks and gratitude for all the prayer support our family has received. Local friends are offering meals and help with child care, and while we haven't formulated a specific plan yet since we don't know if I'll be able to do bed rest at home or if they want me at the SS hospital, we are so appreciative of all the offers and will let people know when we are ready to take them up on those offers.
In the meantime, Ted has this whole week off work for emergency leave, and thankfully the summer is a slow time for NATO, with many folks taking vacations. In fact, most Italians take nearly all of August off, so we were anticipating a lot of family time once Septimus was born...we just hadn't ever anticipated the possibility of him arriving BEFORE August! And maybe he won't!
"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you,
I always pray with joy..."
Philippians 1:3-4
July 07, 2013
A Day in an Italian Hospital
(Read about the start of this adventure here!)
Our day didn't begin until after 8am or so, when my body wouldn't let me sleep any longer due to the stiffness of trying to lie semi-comfortably in a hospital bed with a needle stuck in my right arm. In fact, Ted slept (or dozed) off and on even after 8:00. A lady whom I will ever bless brought me breakfast, and even though it was not as plentiful as I would have hoped, having skipped dinner last night, there was the saving grace of Italian coffee. Mmm!
The nurses kindly waited for me to finish breakfast, and then one of them wheeled me down to radiology for an ultrasound of my cervix, which was dilated to 3cm. The docs on base had estimated only 1-2cm last night, so at first I wasn't sure this was a good thing. But the Italian doc seemed pleased, saying that the medicine they were using for treatment was not good to use for 1-2cm dilation, but only for 3+. And knowing that I have been dilated to 3 for weeks before delivering previous babies, I decided it wasn't worth being concerned about either!
We came back to my room, where they hooked up monitors again to check Baby's heart rate and my contractions, which were entirely un-noteworthy in my opinion. They didn't disturb me at all during the night, and even after fully waking, I had hardly noticed any during the various activities. We felt this was a good sign! As before, the monitors were only on me 20-30 minutes--and when the nurse came in to remove them, she turned the air conditioning on for me! Woohoo! We hadn't even realized A/C was an option here! A member of the kitchen staff came in to take my lunch and dinner orders, and then we were left alone. Ted and I decided he would head home to take over kid duty (Carla had texted that things were going well, praise God!) and return later in the day, hopefully with the children for a visit.
Gina, the hospital liaison, called right after Ted left. She had spoken with the Italian doctor and confirmed what we thought we had understood from him earlier--he is pleased with how the treatment is working, and assuming my contractions don't return, they would likely release me tomorrow morning. Hooray! I asked Gina about visiting hours and whether the children were allowed to come...she called me back after checking on that to let me know that as long as we kept the door closed, it was fine for them to come anytime. Technically, children under 12 aren't allowed here, BUT...that is obviously not adhered to, based on the sounds that came from the hallway throughout the day!
I had a wonderful, peaceful quiet time, starting off with listening to The Job Suite by Michael Card. A friend had posted it on Facebook, and I thought it was a beautiful and thought-provoking way to begin some worship time. Renewing my mind and spirit with the water of God's Word was so refreshing...and I realized that the fear and even terror I had felt last night was absolutely, completely gone. I renewed my hope, my trust, and my joy in my Lord!
Lunch arrived at noon--and what an amazing lunch it was! It totally made up for my not having dinner the night before! A bowl of pasta bolognese, rosemary-seasoned potato wedges, grilled pork, a mini-loaf of bread, and a fresh peach. I had to save the bread and peach for a snack, there was so much food! (Maybe that's why they give such tiny breakfasts, LOL!) So, hands down the BEST hospital meal I have ever had, and that includes the "Proud Parent" dinners they serve in the military hospitals after a baby is born! Score 2 for the Italian hospital care!!
Score 1 for the Italian hospital care--did I not mention specifically? The LACK OF HOVERING!! I LOVE that they do vitals, monitor a short while, and then leave me in peace! I never would have slept at a military hospital last night with all the stuff they would have been doing to me! The only unavoidable thing here is the IV drip, but that's kind of the point of being here--doing something to stop labor!
After my yummy lunch was consumed (and extra food stashed away for later!), I was free, blissfully free, to lie down for a two-hour nap! Thankfully the little Italian visitor in the hall stopped running up and down the corridor and banging on my door by the time I was finished eating so that it was actually pretty quiet.
So my hospital room. I suppose it isn't terribly different from what I might expect anywhere else...but here are a few random observations...
Our day didn't begin until after 8am or so, when my body wouldn't let me sleep any longer due to the stiffness of trying to lie semi-comfortably in a hospital bed with a needle stuck in my right arm. In fact, Ted slept (or dozed) off and on even after 8:00. A lady whom I will ever bless brought me breakfast, and even though it was not as plentiful as I would have hoped, having skipped dinner last night, there was the saving grace of Italian coffee. Mmm!
The nurses kindly waited for me to finish breakfast, and then one of them wheeled me down to radiology for an ultrasound of my cervix, which was dilated to 3cm. The docs on base had estimated only 1-2cm last night, so at first I wasn't sure this was a good thing. But the Italian doc seemed pleased, saying that the medicine they were using for treatment was not good to use for 1-2cm dilation, but only for 3+. And knowing that I have been dilated to 3 for weeks before delivering previous babies, I decided it wasn't worth being concerned about either!
We came back to my room, where they hooked up monitors again to check Baby's heart rate and my contractions, which were entirely un-noteworthy in my opinion. They didn't disturb me at all during the night, and even after fully waking, I had hardly noticed any during the various activities. We felt this was a good sign! As before, the monitors were only on me 20-30 minutes--and when the nurse came in to remove them, she turned the air conditioning on for me! Woohoo! We hadn't even realized A/C was an option here! A member of the kitchen staff came in to take my lunch and dinner orders, and then we were left alone. Ted and I decided he would head home to take over kid duty (Carla had texted that things were going well, praise God!) and return later in the day, hopefully with the children for a visit.
Gina, the hospital liaison, called right after Ted left. She had spoken with the Italian doctor and confirmed what we thought we had understood from him earlier--he is pleased with how the treatment is working, and assuming my contractions don't return, they would likely release me tomorrow morning. Hooray! I asked Gina about visiting hours and whether the children were allowed to come...she called me back after checking on that to let me know that as long as we kept the door closed, it was fine for them to come anytime. Technically, children under 12 aren't allowed here, BUT...that is obviously not adhered to, based on the sounds that came from the hallway throughout the day!
I had a wonderful, peaceful quiet time, starting off with listening to The Job Suite by Michael Card. A friend had posted it on Facebook, and I thought it was a beautiful and thought-provoking way to begin some worship time. Renewing my mind and spirit with the water of God's Word was so refreshing...and I realized that the fear and even terror I had felt last night was absolutely, completely gone. I renewed my hope, my trust, and my joy in my Lord!
Lunch arrived at noon--and what an amazing lunch it was! It totally made up for my not having dinner the night before! A bowl of pasta bolognese, rosemary-seasoned potato wedges, grilled pork, a mini-loaf of bread, and a fresh peach. I had to save the bread and peach for a snack, there was so much food! (Maybe that's why they give such tiny breakfasts, LOL!) So, hands down the BEST hospital meal I have ever had, and that includes the "Proud Parent" dinners they serve in the military hospitals after a baby is born! Score 2 for the Italian hospital care!!
Score 1 for the Italian hospital care--did I not mention specifically? The LACK OF HOVERING!! I LOVE that they do vitals, monitor a short while, and then leave me in peace! I never would have slept at a military hospital last night with all the stuff they would have been doing to me! The only unavoidable thing here is the IV drip, but that's kind of the point of being here--doing something to stop labor!
After my yummy lunch was consumed (and extra food stashed away for later!), I was free, blissfully free, to lie down for a two-hour nap! Thankfully the little Italian visitor in the hall stopped running up and down the corridor and banging on my door by the time I was finished eating so that it was actually pretty quiet.
So my hospital room. I suppose it isn't terribly different from what I might expect anywhere else...but here are a few random observations...
- Hospital beds in Italy = just as uncomfortable as hospital beds in the States. They are nearly identical.
- So are the pull-out couches.
- Bathrooms in Italy have a bidet!
- I have a mini-fridge in my room...I don't think I've ever had one in a military hospital!
- There is a rolling tray to hold meals, etc. So glad--at first we didn't see it, and it made for difficulty twisting around to reach my water bottle, phone, etc. But then we located it tucked into place, cleverly fitted into a cabinet unit.
- There is a TV, which I haven't even turned on for obvious reasons.
- There is a crucifix on the wall. Lucan noticed it right away when he was here visiting, saying, "There's Jesus dying on the cross!"
- My room has a little entryway of sorts...not sure why, but there is a second door and a wall, about the size of an elevator--I suppose it's for privacy? The other rooms we've seen as we've been up and down the hallway are more open, but I also think those rooms have more than one bed.
After my nap, I enjoyed some reading time before Ted and the kids arrived for a visit. Hooray! I was starting to get a bit lonely! It's so weird not having ANY responsibilities...just me and my IV rolling cart, ha!
The kids were happy to see me, too, which made me feel great. :-) I was a bit concerned that Zaden would want to yank on my IV line, but thankfully that did not capture his interest, and I was still able to hug and snuggle him a bit before he was ready to explore the new surroundings. The nurse came in to do another round of monitoring, so the kids got to see and hear all of that excitement. We enjoyed hanging out together for awhile, and then the kids were too hungry and getting a bit too rambunctious for the space we were in, so Ted took them home to make tacos while I enjoyed some surprises myself: my dinner was delivered by my Italian friend Emilia, the mother of Salvatore who comes to play with our boys a couple of days each week! I didn't realize she worked in the kitchen here, so it was a fun surprise for both of us! She was of course surprised to see me here--she and Salvatore had hosted us for a morning of swimming in their pool followed by lunch last Wednesday, and I hadn't seen or talked to her since then.
Anyway, I was just about to dig into my equally delicious dinner (more pasta--I chose that over soup--plus a ball of mozzarella di buffalo and a tomato salad, more yummy bread, and an apple) when another friend dropped by for a visit! I just met Jacki last week at Carla's house when the Ks hosted a 4th of July party. Jacki and her family have been in Naples as missionaries for about 15 years! Carla had called her last night during our flurry of "what do we do now" activity to see if she would be available and willing to translate for us if needed. Well, since we have a base liaison assigned to us, we haven't needed translation services, but since Jacki lives so close to this hospital, she decided to pop in and check up on me. So sweet! I enjoyed visiting with her while I ate my dinner, and then she took her leave and I have been enjoying a quiet evening ever since.
So, as things stand now, I can still feel our little guy movin' and groovin' in my belly; contractions are barely happening at all; and I anticipate perhaps one more round of monitoring before I can turn in for the night. With the thought of being released in the morning, I'm feeling very optimistic!
All in all, I am extremely pleased with this whole experience, given the considerable shock I underwent at the beginning of it all. The staff at this hospital has been nothing but kind and professional, and I can't complain at all about the quality of care. I'm very thankful that the medication worked--even though meds/intervention would not have been my preferred approach, given the time frame we were dealing with and the circumstances, I'm thankful that God has allowed the scientific knowledge for us to have dealt with the contractions to slow things down. I'm not ready physically OR mentally for a baby yet!!
As far as our little bambino, well, he's apparently not so little, LOL. I do wonder about the due date--originally at my first check-up, when they did an 11-week ultrasound, the due date matched up perfectly with the date of my LMP. However, at the halfway point ultrasound, he was measuring about a week and a half bigger than where I supposedly was. And that's about the same size difference now--measuring about a week and a half beyond where I am. So, if his current size puts him in line with a 35-week baby, even though I'm 33.5 weeks based on a due date calculated from LMP...well, do I need to be that concerned about delivering him early? I'd like to think not. And frankly, the thought of carrying him full term or even late is rather terrifying, LOL! I thought Zaden was big at 8 pounds, 3 ounces! (I don't know how my friend Claire has delivered 9 babies, all without drugs, and all weighing around 9 or more pounds, I believe?! One was over 10!)
So that's where we are at! And if you are not related to us and are still reading this far, thanks for following our journey and for your prayers! (Thanks to our relatives for that too, ha!!) God has once again reminded me that He is sovereign, and no matter what happens tomorrow...or the next day...or the next week...or the next month, I trust His purposes and pray for His glory to be made known in and through us.
What to Expect When You're...Not Expecting THAT to Happen!
Yesterday was quite an ordinary Saturday...for awhile. Charis and I went to Support Site for a little vendor fair that is starting up once a month, she with some crocheted and knitted items and I with some cards for sale. We also manned a table for our friend Hannah who just left for a trip to the States but had hair accessories to sell for her and Tuba's adoption fundraising. It was a slooooow morning. I did sell $20 worth of cards, and Charis DID get some leads for future babysitting jobs, but other than that...well, we enjoyed the conversation with the women who stopped by and who were at the other tables!
We packed up our stuff, got lunch at the food court, and did our grocery shopping. I tried to sip water throughout the morning; we were sitting in the shade, but it WAS a hot day. It was exactly 1pm when we got into the Suburban to head home. I noted a contraction at the moment I was getting settled in the driver's seat, thought nothing of it, and went on my merry way. Since I generally have Braxton-Hicks contractions starting at 5 months or so (at least with my later babies), I don't usually notice them. But another one came at 1:05. And another at 1:10. I thought that was a bit odd and mentioned it to Charis. I continued to sip water and figured I'd get extra water in my system once we were at home and lie down for a nap.
The contractions continued every five minutes. I left Ted and the boys in charge of unloading the car and went up to my bedroom to lie down. I couldn't sleep...every time I would nearly drift off, a contraction would wake me up...and I would look up to see the clock and realize that yup, it had been 5-7 minutes.
By now I was getting slightly concerned. I had reached 33 weeks on Wednesday, so regular contractions were not anything to be happy about. I went downstairs for another water bottle and set myself on my bed with books and my laptop, figuring I could at least keep my feet up even if I wasn't able to get to sleep.
By 4pm, with no change in the frequency or intensity of the contractions, I was on the phone with a Tricare nurse to get some advice. Even though I had no dire symptoms (bleeding, fluid leakage, pain, etc.), of course they advised me to go get checked out.
Groan.
I was JUST at the Support Site all morning!! Now I have to go back?! I called my friend Carla, who lives just around the corner from us, and as she had been following my FB status updates, she was aware of the situation and willing to drive me to the hospital so that Ted could stay home with the kids and get them supped and bathed, etc.
We left around 5pm. I grabbed a water bottle, a couple of snack bars, my WORLD magazine, and my Kindle. I fully expected that they would tell me to go home, keep drinking water, go to bed, and come back if anything changed.
The evening began to drag on as various personnel came in and out of the room to do this, check that, ask me questions, start an IV to make sure dehydration wasn't the issue causing the contractions, etc. Various tests were run and the on-call OB doc was contacted. So we continued to wait for lab results and for the OB doc to arrive.
I was so thankful Carla and I had the opportunity to chat! We joked about at least having the excuse to catch up--we haven't seen each other much this summer!
Finally the OB doc arrived (wearing flip-flops, ha!), and she did some ultrasound checking. The baby was looking fine--a more-than-adequate 6lbs, 12oz or so, give or take given the small machine they were using. Still! Charis was 6lbs, 13 oz at birth, and she came at almost 40 weeks!
After the ultrasound, the doctors left the room to discuss their findings, and Carla and I began making plans for packing up and heading home.
And then the doctors came back in the room.
The test results, the ultrasounds, everything pointed to the fact that my body was, indeed, heading toward pre-term labor. They had ruled out all other causes for the contractions--which STILL had not subsided, despite extra hydration.
Bottom line? There was a good chance our baby would attempt to make his appearance early, and the Naval Support Site hospital is not equipped to deal with early labor and delivery. I was to be transferred immediately to an Italian hospital, where they would do what they could to prevent labor from happening...but in the event that the baby did arrive early, they would be capable of caring for both me and the little one.
The news pretty much rocked my world. I had been feeling slightly foolish for running to the hospital when I figured I was just a bit dehydrated. And this is baby #7...contractions like the ones I had been feeling were pretty much normal. (Granted, the consistency is not something that I had experienced before, but still!) And now here I was, hearing words like "ambulance," "steroids," "liaison," and more. It felt like a surreal nightmare.
The staff immediately got busy readying things while Carla and I took a few minutes to pray together, try to clear our heads, contact Ted, and come up with a plan. I think I went into a bit of a shock mode; my body began trembling head to toe, like when you're in transition during labor and you just. can't. stop. shaking. That made me feel panicked--what if I WAS laboring?! More prayer. More casting out fear in the name of Jesus. A bit of calm. Deep breaths. I didn't expect this--but God knew it would happen before I was even born.
OK. We can do this!
Ted set about in a flurry at home, packing some items up for me, updating the older kids on the situation, and putting Charis in charge until Carla could come and be there for the night.
Carla shifted into practical caregiver mode, asking all kinds of wonderful questions--will she need sheets and towels? (You do in many Italian hospitals.) What if she delivers--what happens next? What if she DOESN'T deliver? Then what? I was so thankful someone who could think clearly was there with me! God knew Carla was just the person I needed with me yesterday evening!
Ted arrived just as they were ready to put me on the stretcher. During that time of waiting, I got a shot in my bum (still hurts--ouch!) of some steroids to help Baby's lungs just in case he did come early. I left the hospital wearing a military hospital gown--good thing, because they don't have any of those available here in the Italian hospital! I got strapped down into a stretcher--a first experience, one I do not care to repeat. (Can you say claustrophobia?!)
The ride to the hospital was borderline tortuous--but mostly mentally so. I began trembling all over again, and my contractions were coming harder and closer together. I can't say for sure whether it was the bumpy road or the fact that my stress level probably shot through the roof, but the last 10 minutes or so of the ride, my abdomen was one hard lump the entire time.
Ted and Carla followed in their cars and then joined me inside the hospital. Gina, the hospital liaison, had ridden in the ambulance from SS and was with us the whole time, as were the Navy ambulance staff, who were all wonderful.
More examinations. Another ultrasound. (By the way, this baby IS, in fact, a boy, if there was any doubt, LOL!) Drawn blood. Paperwork. Translations. Questions.
It was nearing midnight when we said goodbye to Carla, Gina, and the Navy guys and came to my hospital room. Now we had no translator available, and the nurse, kind as she was, spoke about 3 practical words of English: pain? You OK?
I was instructed to lie down, and she brought out what looked like some medieval torture devices. I had absolutely no idea what might be happening next. I had to lift up my gown, and she put a series of about 5-6 suction cups with little bulb-syringe-type tops around my chest area, so I assume it was a heart monitor of some sort. Then clamps went on each wrist and ankle. I was alarmed. What the heck was all this?! Talk about feeling vulnerable! I whispered to Ted to grab a sheet for me to at least cover my middle--good gracious! The nurse left the room, Ted got acquainted with our facilities, and I lay there, spread-eagled, on the verge of tears, thinking that I was NEVER going to be able to sleep with all these contraptions on me.
Thank God. She returned within 10 minutes and removed all the devices. Oh, yay!! I had been so worried that they were there for the long haul, since I'm used to round-the-clock monitoring at military hospitals! Then she hooked up monitors for the baby's heartbeat and to measure my contractions. Sigh. Well, THAT at least I could understand. Meanwhile, another nurse put the medicine in my IV that was to help slow down the contractions.
After about 20-30 minutes at the most, the heart rate and contraction monitors were removed! Oh, joy! The nurses were done with me for the night, and we were blissfully uninterrupted the rest of the night hours! Praise God! We didn't sleep all that great--I was so hungry, having never eaten dinner, but I was unable to choke down the carrots and crackers Ted had grabbed for snacking. Ted was on a pullout couch (and yes, he did need those sheets he brought from home!), and the room was stifling. I opened the windows during one of the times I woke up, but it didn't help a whole lot.
I'll end here and start a new post covering today's happenings!
We packed up our stuff, got lunch at the food court, and did our grocery shopping. I tried to sip water throughout the morning; we were sitting in the shade, but it WAS a hot day. It was exactly 1pm when we got into the Suburban to head home. I noted a contraction at the moment I was getting settled in the driver's seat, thought nothing of it, and went on my merry way. Since I generally have Braxton-Hicks contractions starting at 5 months or so (at least with my later babies), I don't usually notice them. But another one came at 1:05. And another at 1:10. I thought that was a bit odd and mentioned it to Charis. I continued to sip water and figured I'd get extra water in my system once we were at home and lie down for a nap.
The contractions continued every five minutes. I left Ted and the boys in charge of unloading the car and went up to my bedroom to lie down. I couldn't sleep...every time I would nearly drift off, a contraction would wake me up...and I would look up to see the clock and realize that yup, it had been 5-7 minutes.
By now I was getting slightly concerned. I had reached 33 weeks on Wednesday, so regular contractions were not anything to be happy about. I went downstairs for another water bottle and set myself on my bed with books and my laptop, figuring I could at least keep my feet up even if I wasn't able to get to sleep.
By 4pm, with no change in the frequency or intensity of the contractions, I was on the phone with a Tricare nurse to get some advice. Even though I had no dire symptoms (bleeding, fluid leakage, pain, etc.), of course they advised me to go get checked out.
Groan.
I was JUST at the Support Site all morning!! Now I have to go back?! I called my friend Carla, who lives just around the corner from us, and as she had been following my FB status updates, she was aware of the situation and willing to drive me to the hospital so that Ted could stay home with the kids and get them supped and bathed, etc.
We left around 5pm. I grabbed a water bottle, a couple of snack bars, my WORLD magazine, and my Kindle. I fully expected that they would tell me to go home, keep drinking water, go to bed, and come back if anything changed.
The evening began to drag on as various personnel came in and out of the room to do this, check that, ask me questions, start an IV to make sure dehydration wasn't the issue causing the contractions, etc. Various tests were run and the on-call OB doc was contacted. So we continued to wait for lab results and for the OB doc to arrive.
I was so thankful Carla and I had the opportunity to chat! We joked about at least having the excuse to catch up--we haven't seen each other much this summer!
Finally the OB doc arrived (wearing flip-flops, ha!), and she did some ultrasound checking. The baby was looking fine--a more-than-adequate 6lbs, 12oz or so, give or take given the small machine they were using. Still! Charis was 6lbs, 13 oz at birth, and she came at almost 40 weeks!
After the ultrasound, the doctors left the room to discuss their findings, and Carla and I began making plans for packing up and heading home.
And then the doctors came back in the room.
The test results, the ultrasounds, everything pointed to the fact that my body was, indeed, heading toward pre-term labor. They had ruled out all other causes for the contractions--which STILL had not subsided, despite extra hydration.
Bottom line? There was a good chance our baby would attempt to make his appearance early, and the Naval Support Site hospital is not equipped to deal with early labor and delivery. I was to be transferred immediately to an Italian hospital, where they would do what they could to prevent labor from happening...but in the event that the baby did arrive early, they would be capable of caring for both me and the little one.
The news pretty much rocked my world. I had been feeling slightly foolish for running to the hospital when I figured I was just a bit dehydrated. And this is baby #7...contractions like the ones I had been feeling were pretty much normal. (Granted, the consistency is not something that I had experienced before, but still!) And now here I was, hearing words like "ambulance," "steroids," "liaison," and more. It felt like a surreal nightmare.
The staff immediately got busy readying things while Carla and I took a few minutes to pray together, try to clear our heads, contact Ted, and come up with a plan. I think I went into a bit of a shock mode; my body began trembling head to toe, like when you're in transition during labor and you just. can't. stop. shaking. That made me feel panicked--what if I WAS laboring?! More prayer. More casting out fear in the name of Jesus. A bit of calm. Deep breaths. I didn't expect this--but God knew it would happen before I was even born.
OK. We can do this!
Ted set about in a flurry at home, packing some items up for me, updating the older kids on the situation, and putting Charis in charge until Carla could come and be there for the night.
Carla shifted into practical caregiver mode, asking all kinds of wonderful questions--will she need sheets and towels? (You do in many Italian hospitals.) What if she delivers--what happens next? What if she DOESN'T deliver? Then what? I was so thankful someone who could think clearly was there with me! God knew Carla was just the person I needed with me yesterday evening!
Ted arrived just as they were ready to put me on the stretcher. During that time of waiting, I got a shot in my bum (still hurts--ouch!) of some steroids to help Baby's lungs just in case he did come early. I left the hospital wearing a military hospital gown--good thing, because they don't have any of those available here in the Italian hospital! I got strapped down into a stretcher--a first experience, one I do not care to repeat. (Can you say claustrophobia?!)
The ride to the hospital was borderline tortuous--but mostly mentally so. I began trembling all over again, and my contractions were coming harder and closer together. I can't say for sure whether it was the bumpy road or the fact that my stress level probably shot through the roof, but the last 10 minutes or so of the ride, my abdomen was one hard lump the entire time.
Ted and Carla followed in their cars and then joined me inside the hospital. Gina, the hospital liaison, had ridden in the ambulance from SS and was with us the whole time, as were the Navy ambulance staff, who were all wonderful.
More examinations. Another ultrasound. (By the way, this baby IS, in fact, a boy, if there was any doubt, LOL!) Drawn blood. Paperwork. Translations. Questions.
It was nearing midnight when we said goodbye to Carla, Gina, and the Navy guys and came to my hospital room. Now we had no translator available, and the nurse, kind as she was, spoke about 3 practical words of English: pain? You OK?
I was instructed to lie down, and she brought out what looked like some medieval torture devices. I had absolutely no idea what might be happening next. I had to lift up my gown, and she put a series of about 5-6 suction cups with little bulb-syringe-type tops around my chest area, so I assume it was a heart monitor of some sort. Then clamps went on each wrist and ankle. I was alarmed. What the heck was all this?! Talk about feeling vulnerable! I whispered to Ted to grab a sheet for me to at least cover my middle--good gracious! The nurse left the room, Ted got acquainted with our facilities, and I lay there, spread-eagled, on the verge of tears, thinking that I was NEVER going to be able to sleep with all these contraptions on me.
Thank God. She returned within 10 minutes and removed all the devices. Oh, yay!! I had been so worried that they were there for the long haul, since I'm used to round-the-clock monitoring at military hospitals! Then she hooked up monitors for the baby's heartbeat and to measure my contractions. Sigh. Well, THAT at least I could understand. Meanwhile, another nurse put the medicine in my IV that was to help slow down the contractions.
After about 20-30 minutes at the most, the heart rate and contraction monitors were removed! Oh, joy! The nurses were done with me for the night, and we were blissfully uninterrupted the rest of the night hours! Praise God! We didn't sleep all that great--I was so hungry, having never eaten dinner, but I was unable to choke down the carrots and crackers Ted had grabbed for snacking. Ted was on a pullout couch (and yes, he did need those sheets he brought from home!), and the room was stifling. I opened the windows during one of the times I woke up, but it didn't help a whole lot.
I'll end here and start a new post covering today's happenings!
January 30, 2013
Si, Sette Bambini!
Our family had fun preparing this baby announcement video that we finally "leaked" this week to make the news of our pregnancy public. I realized a few days before Christmas that I was, in fact, pregnant, but Ted and I decided to keep it under wraps for awhile so we could get our brains around the fact that Numero Sette will be joining us in August 2013! Since both of my miscarriages happened early (8.5 and 7 weeks), we thought we'd wait at least that long before saying anything to anyone.
We emailed the announcement link to our close family members first; once we received replies from the grandmas, we posted the video link on Facebook, knowing the word was going to get out sooner than we may have thought anyway--the kids were anxious to tell all their friends in their classes that go on during my Tuesday morning Bible study, so of course moms and teachers and all kinds of people ended up hearing, LOL!
I am officially at 11 weeks today. I had the appointment to fill out my paperwork at the medical center yesterday, and God was so gracious--while I was there, a slot opened up for me to just slip right in and get that initial exam taken care of. Woohoo! Since I was already on base for Bible study, and since I had already made arrangements for all the kids to stay at the playground playing with homeschool buddies while I took Zaden with me, it was a no-brainer to just get 'er done. They do an ultrasound at that first exam, so we confirmed that there is UNO bambino (whew) and that her/his heart is beating just fine. The measurement was right at what my expected due date is, August 21. And we got the lab work taken care of, too. So I won't need to go in for another appointment until the first week or so in March. The doctor was nice but will be moving this summer. There are no midwife positions available here--not surprising, I guess. But as I've only had one midwife delivery, I'm not terribly particular, as long as they let me do what I want in the delivery room! And I'm already praying I make it TO the delivery room...I don't have extremely fast deliveries, but we do live nearly a half-hour's drive from base, and since my body likes to contract early and often, sometimes it can be hard to tell just when it's time to make that drive!
Currently things are going fine. I was (and sometimes still am) very, very exhausted initially, so the timing worked out that Ted was off work for nearly two weeks over the holidays, allowing me to nap an exorbitant number of times! I've struggled a bit with "evening sickness," but nothing too awful. Salty carbs help...though they aren't helping my figure. :-/ My uterus is apparently having a grand old party, realizing that it no longer needs to squeeze into normal-fitting pants. I think I even heard it shouting, "Woohoo! Let's go out and see the world!" I look about like I did when I was 5-6 months pregnant with Charis. Sigh. The joys of multiple births...and getting older...I suppose...I'm not in maternity clothes yet, but I will be shopping for some at the monthly bag sale at the SS thrift store (fill a bag for $5). I've secretly been eyeing the selection and have noted that there is usually a pretty good stash. Also, a local friend who is due within a few weeks is willing to loan me some of hers, as she has a good summer selection from previous pregnancies.
The children are absolutely ecstatic. We told them Sunday night by passing out the signs that you see in the video--we gave each one "their" number (Ted had Zaden's, since he was in bed), asked them to read it out loud, and then I stood with "sette" (7) in front of my belly. At first they wanted to keep counting, thinking we were doing some kind of Italian counting game. But I kept saying "sette" and holding it more obviously by my belly. Charis caught on first, and a look of pure joy came over her face as she rushed to hug me, exclaiming, "Really?!?!" Arden was next, I think, and I wish I had a video of his expression! Priceless! His eyes and his mouth just kept getting bigger and bigger!
You can read Charis's thoughts on all of this on her blog. Now that I'm nearly finished with the first trimester, reality is starting to sink in...do we want to keep the Suburban and use every single seat in it? Or look for something more van-ish? The Suburban is completely paid for, so that's kind of a big decision. We have no closet for the baby to sleep in, LOL, but our room is pretty, well, roomy, and we can put the playpen/bassinet in with us initially. Charis is determined to share her room, which actually isn't a bad idea, since it's just across from ours, and she is already set on being Mama's Baby Helper. (On a side note...HOW is it possible that my firstborn will turn 13 two months after this little one arrives?!)
I guess that's it for now! I'm sure we'll be getting the question, "Was this baby planned?!" just as we always do, and the answer is the same now as it always is: "Yes, God plans each and every child, and we welcome whoever He sends us!"
(Of course, the other question is always, "Haven't you figured out what causes that yet?!" And THAT answer is the same, too: "Why, yes, and we certainly enjoy it!")
August 25, 2011
Labor Story--the Long Version
I tried not to get too excited when I realized I was having contractions consistently throughout the evening on Tuesday—we had been down this road before! But they seemed to be coming, whether I was cooking dinner or sitting in bed reading with the kids, so I was cautiously optimistic. The pains weren’t intense at all, which did make me wonder, but since they were coming fairly regularly, I put everyone on alert, including Ted, and went to bed around 10:30 p.m.
I actually slept fairly well, considering; I woke at 1:30 with a fairly painful contraction, then went back to sleep for another hour before waking with another pain. I must have been tensing up in my sleep, though, because my shoulders and back just ached when I woke for good! (They still ache today--along with other muscles!) I got out of bed at 2:30 a.m. and decided to try timing the contractions to see if anything might be happening. They were anywhere from 8-12 minutes apart, and they definitely weren’t all that painful for the most part. I putzed around the kitchen, making raspberry tea and a grilled cheese sandwich. I emailed Ted at work—he had finished a meeting and was free to leave anytime he needed to. I was on the verge of taking a shower when I was hit with two intense contractions within a few minutes of each other, and I just had a feeling I shouldn’t take time to shower! (Too bad it didn’t occur to me until AFTER we were at the hospital that I should grab my shampoo and conditioner for the overnight bag!)
I called out to Charis, who was sleeping on the family room couch, and asked her to go wake Grandma. I called Stefanie—it was around 4:15 a.m. by this time—and she came to the house to be with the rest of the kids. I emailed Ted one last time to tell him we were headed to the hospital and told him to look on his email for the link for the “Daddy Cam” that the hospital would send once things were set up.
I called the Labor & Delivery ward to tell them I thought I should come in, and the conversation went like this:
“Did your water break?”
“Um, no…but this is my 6th child…”
“Oh, say no more—that’s your ticket in!”
So off we went, with my mom driving our minivan and a very excited Charis in the back. I had not ONE single contraction during our whole drive to the hospital…which reminded me of when Debi drove me to the Nellis AFB hospital when it was time for Kenna to be born—that was a much longer drive, and I had no contractions then, either! I was worried both times that we would end up turning around and going back home, but that was not the case for either Kenna or Zaden’s delivery.
I asked Mom to park in the regular parking lot so I’d have a chance to walk a bit more. I needn’t have worried; I had three very intense contractions just on the walk up to L&D! It was a slow night, so we were soon settled into the delivery room, and soon after 5 a.m. the midwife told me I was dilated 8-9 centimeters. THANK YOU, JESUS!
The only damper was that no one was able to get the Daddy Cam set up. As it turned out, the internet ports in the rooms were not working. A call to the 24-hour help desk wasn’t much help; the gal on duty didn’t know what to do, and her supervisor was not going to arrive until 7 or 7:30—which would be too late, the way things were going.
I was heartbroken…but what could they do?! I asked if someone could use their phone and at least send a quick email to Ted to let him know we were at the hospital and everything was OK so that he wouldn’t be pacing his room, worried. (I joke that I have a "dumb phone," not a smart phone, as we can't do cool things on the internet on our old-fashioned flip cell phones!)
A new solution presented itself—by 6ish our time, Ted had called the DSN line, and we were able to talk on the phone for the next hour and a half. So, although he wasn’t able to see anything, he could certainly hear what was going on!
Meanwhile, in the delivery room, Joanne, our midwife, was calmly asking Charis if she would like to put gloves on and help catch the baby. Joanne was AMAZING! She was the one I had seen the most during my OB visits, and she had met all my kids and knew ahead of time that we wanted Charis to be able to be present during the birth. She explained everything that was going on, too; later, when one of the doctors asked Charis if she had missed school, I couldn’t help but say, “Today WAS school!” Charis got some first-hand experience in the school of life, and none of us would have traded it for anything!
I ended up standing beside the bed after transition…how freeing to not be tethered to a monitor or anything else! Joanne raised the bed so that I could lean over it, and Mom took off her rings and let me squeeze her fingers off during my pushes. The pushing phase lasted longer than I expected. My only other natural delivery was with Kenna, who was two weeks early and ended up coming faster than we realized. I think I maybe pushed through just a few contractions before she slithered out. But I was not so lucky with Zaden! I think perhaps I was pushing for a little over half an hour, BUT I will say that overall, the labor was easier than any of the others ones I’ve had, since the contractions leading up to the final phase were so much less painful to endure.
Still, I have to say HATS OFF to my friends (like Claire!) who have delivered so many (big!) babies without any drugs! If I could skip that whole pushing-the-baby-out-of-my-body thing, I wouldn’t mind so much, ha! Poor Ted…it must have been awful for him to hear the sounds of a natural delivery without being able to see anything or physically be there for his wife.
But obviously things went well; Zaden Ezekiel arrived at 6:29 a.m. into the waiting arms of the midwife and his big sister Charis. I got to hold him right after that, and then Charis cut the umbilical cord. She did such an amazing job with everything! I was so proud of her, and everyone commented to us later how mature and poised she was through the whole process. (The best news for me was finding out later that she still wants to have her own children someday, LOL. Good thing we didn’t traumatize her!)
We all got cleaned up while I talked more with Ted on the phone. When we heard that Zaden weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 20.6 inches long—the biggest of all my babies—I understood why it took longer to push him out than it did Kenna. He weighed almost 2 pounds more than she did! (I can’t even imagine birthing Claire’s 10 ½ pound baby!!) I’m definitely glad I was able to deliver him naturally, but I will say that is an hour or so that I don’t care to repeat again anytime soon, LOL. Good thing our memories of that kind of pain fade fast!
Zaden nursed like a champ during that first feeding. He was so alert, too, staying awake for several hours. I was hard pressed to get him back after feeding him—Charis took over like a little mother hen! We had to move to a different room, so we shuffled all our stuff down the hallway and got settled there. Charis went with Zaden to have his first bath around 10:30 and took lots of pictures there while I showered and Mom went in search of something to eat. She also went back to the van to get Flat Daddy, whom we had forgotten to bring in with us in the rush!
After Zaden returned to us, I shooed Mom and Charis home so they could get some lunch and we could all get some rest. Charis did NOT want to leave…it’s safe to say she is very much in love with her new little brother, as we all are! He has dark hair and features that STRONGLY resemble Arden and Lucan. Tobin seems to be the lone boy in the family carrying strictly his father’s genes, LOL! I guess that’s appropriate, given the fact that he’s our firstborn son!
So, that's the story of Zaden's delivery. The next 30 hours involved lots of commotion and only about 4 hours of sleep. I can't blame Zaden--while everyone commented on how alert he was, he was definitely not fussy. The few times he grunted unhappily, it was because he needed to burp or feed. Can't blame him there! But honestly, the in and out routine of the various hospital staff drove me absolutely insane. Can't you guys COORDINATE your efforts so a different person is not walking in the room every 15 minutes?! The time they actually left me alone, at night, was the time that Zaden was having his grunting issues. So while he wasn't really all that difficult to deal with, it was just exhausting being jerked out of a light sleep both day and night.
The good news of the morning was that we would be released to come home around lunch time. Hooray! The bad news--which I just learned an hour before going home--was that I would have to bring Zaden back for a check-up the very next day. Sigh. Originally they were going to have me bring him in after church on Sunday...they want to do a weight check after 48 hours to make sure the baby is gaining weight, but they were willing to wait longer since he had only lost 3-4 ounces, about 3% of his body weight. (Lucan had lost nearly 11%, so we had to bring him back a couple of times before his 2-week appointment even.)
However, when the pediatricians did the last check before releasing us, they noted that his bilirubin level was getting higher. While it isn't anything to be all that concerned about--the level was 8.1, and anything under 12 is fine--it does mean turning around and going to the hospital 24 hours after leaving to go home. That hardly makes for a restful homecoming! I'm still disgruntled about it! I had the calendar cleared for tomorrow so I could rest and get our family ready for the Bible Bee event on Saturday, which is truly going to be a major ordeal, between getting the Bee kids ready to go and making sure things will be set for the babysitter who will be here with Lucan and Kenna all day. I guess I just need to trust that God will help us get everything in place.
So anyway, Stefanie came to the hospital to get Zaden and me, bringing the car seat with her. She had gotten the straps back to where they were when we brought baby Kenna home from the hospital, in the lowest setting. Well...we had to adjust them higher! Zaden is one long baby!! It was another moment that really made me miss Ted, as he is always our Car Seat Guy! After we got approval from the nurse, we headed home to a very excited set of siblings, the more artistic of whom had prepared signs for our front door. :-)
So...we're home now...I started this post at the hospital knowing I'd want to remember some details even though I wouldn't have internet access until coming home. I got a good 2 1/2 hour nap this afternoon and look forward to a more restful night than the last few nights, anyway!
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