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!
July 11, 2013
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 08, 2013
Adventures in Hospital Showering
After a short night (WHAT was going on in the hall outside my hospital room?!), I found myself lying awake at 5am unable to get back to sleep. Having spent the past 36+ hours in the same hospital gown, I found myself longing for a shower. I knew it would be an ordeal, but I finally gave up trying to get back to sleep and made preparations...
1. Of course I still had to deal with my IV. I decided to take off my hospital gown as best as I could and loop it over the rack, so that I didn't have to thread the whole unit through the sleeve somehow; also, that would make it easier to put back on when I was done.
2. Italian showers are TINY! I barely could squeeze my preggo belly through the doors.
3. When I turned on the water, it shot EVERYWHERE! I twisted it a bit to get the odd random streams to stop shooting over the top of the shower walls, but then the shower stream itself was out of control--crazy hard pressure. By that point I was committed, though!
4. I discovered that Ted had managed to pack me two bottles of conditioner...and no shampoo.
5. The IV is in my right arm...which is a bit tender, of course, so being right-handed, getting through the whole process was harder.
6. When I finished, I discovered that not only was the floor right outside the shower door a giant puddle, but there was water ALLLLL over the door and walls from the random streams! I had to use one of the towels just to mop up all the mess! My non-Old-Navy flip flops were also soaked.
7. However, I feel much cleaner!!
1. Of course I still had to deal with my IV. I decided to take off my hospital gown as best as I could and loop it over the rack, so that I didn't have to thread the whole unit through the sleeve somehow; also, that would make it easier to put back on when I was done.
2. Italian showers are TINY! I barely could squeeze my preggo belly through the doors.
3. When I turned on the water, it shot EVERYWHERE! I twisted it a bit to get the odd random streams to stop shooting over the top of the shower walls, but then the shower stream itself was out of control--crazy hard pressure. By that point I was committed, though!
4. I discovered that Ted had managed to pack me two bottles of conditioner...and no shampoo.
5. The IV is in my right arm...which is a bit tender, of course, so being right-handed, getting through the whole process was harder.
6. When I finished, I discovered that not only was the floor right outside the shower door a giant puddle, but there was water ALLLLL over the door and walls from the random streams! I had to use one of the towels just to mop up all the mess! My non-Old-Navy flip flops were also soaked.
7. However, I feel much cleaner!!
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!
July 01, 2013
Road Trip, Part 6
Day 13:
Today was our Florence day. Thankfully Ted had done enough research ahead of time to realize that we were NOT allowed to drive into the downtown area--it is a very restricted zone, and we could see firsthand exactly why. Traffic is nuts there! We did locate a parking garage under the train station JUST inside the zone, but we figured that people coming in to take the train would surely be allowed to park there, right?! Well, we didn't have any troubles, and thankfully despite the awful traffic, we made it to the parking garage, where there was plenty of space for our GWB (Great White Behemoth, as the Suburban is affectionately known in our family).
Off we went on foot to find the Galileo Museum, which was our one and only scheduled stop for the day. It was a considerable but not unbearable walk. We spent a couple of hours or so puttering around this very cool, very educational museum, where there was something to capture just about everyone's interest. Having been in some amazing children's museums with many interactive features, we were a bit disappointed at the interactive offerings--there were two small rooms that allowed kids to check out some of the science behind some of the tools, instruments, and inventions we had seen on display during our meanderings, but really, given the kind of museum this was, there could have been SOOOO much more! In fact, hands-on, interactive displays in every room would have been extremely helpful for people like us...families with small children who can't read and older children who desperately want to touch all the cool-looking things!
Ah, well. We had fun. Here are a few pics...you can see the whole album here.
After the museum we were more than ready for lunch, so we hit up a little cafe right across the street for some pizza and panini. Then we walked back toward the parking garage by way of the Duomo (pictured just above this paragraph), which I had been told was worth walking by even if we didn't have time to go inside. Wow, was that an understatement! Our photos can't really do it justice...it is absolutely enormous and soooo beautiful on the outside. We had to save the inside for another day, but I'm glad we were able to walk past it at least.
We rewarded the kids for their perseverance in walking through the throngs of tourists in stifling heat by getting some yummy gelato...well, everyone except Lucan got gelato. Poor little guy conked out in the stroller and missed out! We were more than ready to get into our air-conditioned vehicle and head out of the city. It was about an hour and a half (maybe less) back to our hotel in Pisa. We enjoyed a wonderful sit-down dinner at the hotel restaurant and then crashed for a decent night of sleep before heading home the next day.
Day 14:
Original plan--touring in Florence during the morning, driving home after lunch. Well. After battling the traffic and the crowds the day before, we ALL agreed that Florence can WAIT!! We will return when the weather is cooler and hopefully there are fewer crowds! It was nice to simply pack up and head back toward Naples. We stopped at the Support Site to pick up Ted's car, which he had loaned to a new AF guy he had sponsored in shortly before we left for our vacation. Ted drove the kids home in the Suburban to begin unloading while I took the Alfa to the commissary to get enough food to last us a couple of days--we had wiped out our fridge, freezer, and pantry before our trip!
Home again, home again, jiggity jig.
We've had enough of this traveling gig...for now! What a blessing to be able to see and experience these things together, even if we DID have our fair share of bickering and complaining and difficulty sleeping! We thank the Lord for His many, many blessings, including keeping us safe during our 3,000+ miles on the road!
Today was our Florence day. Thankfully Ted had done enough research ahead of time to realize that we were NOT allowed to drive into the downtown area--it is a very restricted zone, and we could see firsthand exactly why. Traffic is nuts there! We did locate a parking garage under the train station JUST inside the zone, but we figured that people coming in to take the train would surely be allowed to park there, right?! Well, we didn't have any troubles, and thankfully despite the awful traffic, we made it to the parking garage, where there was plenty of space for our GWB (Great White Behemoth, as the Suburban is affectionately known in our family).
Off we went on foot to find the Galileo Museum, which was our one and only scheduled stop for the day. It was a considerable but not unbearable walk. We spent a couple of hours or so puttering around this very cool, very educational museum, where there was something to capture just about everyone's interest. Having been in some amazing children's museums with many interactive features, we were a bit disappointed at the interactive offerings--there were two small rooms that allowed kids to check out some of the science behind some of the tools, instruments, and inventions we had seen on display during our meanderings, but really, given the kind of museum this was, there could have been SOOOO much more! In fact, hands-on, interactive displays in every room would have been extremely helpful for people like us...families with small children who can't read and older children who desperately want to touch all the cool-looking things!
Ah, well. We had fun. Here are a few pics...you can see the whole album here.
After the museum we were more than ready for lunch, so we hit up a little cafe right across the street for some pizza and panini. Then we walked back toward the parking garage by way of the Duomo (pictured just above this paragraph), which I had been told was worth walking by even if we didn't have time to go inside. Wow, was that an understatement! Our photos can't really do it justice...it is absolutely enormous and soooo beautiful on the outside. We had to save the inside for another day, but I'm glad we were able to walk past it at least.
We rewarded the kids for their perseverance in walking through the throngs of tourists in stifling heat by getting some yummy gelato...well, everyone except Lucan got gelato. Poor little guy conked out in the stroller and missed out! We were more than ready to get into our air-conditioned vehicle and head out of the city. It was about an hour and a half (maybe less) back to our hotel in Pisa. We enjoyed a wonderful sit-down dinner at the hotel restaurant and then crashed for a decent night of sleep before heading home the next day.
Day 14:
Original plan--touring in Florence during the morning, driving home after lunch. Well. After battling the traffic and the crowds the day before, we ALL agreed that Florence can WAIT!! We will return when the weather is cooler and hopefully there are fewer crowds! It was nice to simply pack up and head back toward Naples. We stopped at the Support Site to pick up Ted's car, which he had loaned to a new AF guy he had sponsored in shortly before we left for our vacation. Ted drove the kids home in the Suburban to begin unloading while I took the Alfa to the commissary to get enough food to last us a couple of days--we had wiped out our fridge, freezer, and pantry before our trip!
Home again, home again, jiggity jig.
We've had enough of this traveling gig...for now! What a blessing to be able to see and experience these things together, even if we DID have our fair share of bickering and complaining and difficulty sleeping! We thank the Lord for His many, many blessings, including keeping us safe during our 3,000+ miles on the road!
June 27, 2013
Road Trip, Part 5
Day 10:
I wish we had been able to plan ahead to really celebrate Ted on this day, but I confess my trip plans did not take into consideration the fact we would be away for Father's Day. :-/ But we did enjoy a wonderful day with the L family, attending Sunday school and church with them and then going out to eat for a long, leisurely dinner in the beautiful sunny weather that finally appeared! We gave Brian and Joy an Italian remembrance in appreciation for their gracious hospitality during our week in Germany. We so enjoyed being able to fellowship with them and see how Ian and Ellie have grown in the several years it has been since our families were together.
Since we were hitting the road the next day, we didn't plan anything beyond enjoying schnitzel at a restaurant! I finished up some laundry (so thankful Joy shared her little washer and dryer with us--we kind of took it over, LOL!) and we did our best to get as much packed as possible before bed. We enjoyed one last evening of visiting together and probably got to bed much later than we should have. Our kids are certainly going to miss each other, especially Ellie and Kenna, who were inseparable!
Day 11:
Road trip! It was an estimated 9-hour drive from the L's house to Pisa, where we had booked a hotel for the next 3 nights. It was a beautiful day for driving, which helped alleviate the stress of the loooong, two-lane roads between Germany and finally reaching the autostrade in France. (How many hay trucks can there be, anyway?!) We made a desperate stop for gas and potty runs, at which the only available toilet was in the back of a greasy mechanic shop--oh, joy! Adventures in Europe!
Crossing into Switzerland was pretty exciting, even if we did have to pay 40 Swiss francs for the sticker (which is good for a year--guess we need to make a point of going back in the next 364 days or so!). I've always wanted to drive through the Swiss Alps, and I was not disappointed. Even though we didn't have time to stop in country, we all enjoyed the drive, and the infamous tunnels didn't slow us down at all--we had been warned that sometimes you have to wait for a green light to get through the tunnels, but we were able to keep trucking along.
By the time we reached Pisa, though, we were more than ready to stop traveling! We were a bit alarmed at the time the GPS was telling us it was going to take to arrive at our hotel; however, we figured out that the GPS thought we had to walk a considerable distance, as the road leading back to the hotel building wasn't on the map! It's in a nature preserve area, with horse stables (complete with loudly braying donkeys who sing not-so-sweetly even before the break of dawn) and was a beautiful, peaceful place for our family to "land" for a few days. We unloaded the Suburban as quickly as possible into our two rooms (separated by a couple of other rooms and a stairwell; unfortunately, they were unable to get us adjoining rooms) and then headed back into town in search of food. As we drove to the city center, it was easy to spot the famous leaning tower--so exciting!
We found a parking spot on the street right beside a diner that served cheeseburgers, to the boys' everlasting delight. Ted and I enjoyed kebab panini while the girls chose pizza and the little boys ate remnants of everything. We went back to the hotel and worked on settling everyone down...the rooms had no A/C, and with daylight hours stretching far past bedtime, it took awhile before Zaden at least was sound asleep enough for me to crawl into bed. It was a fairly short night...between the stifling heat and humidity and sleeping in an unfamiliar place...and then the lovely "ass-inine" wake-up call from the donkeys, LOL!
Day 12:
Today we got to be tourists! It was so fun...but oh, it was HOT! The sun was merciless, but we decided the chances of us coming back to Pisa are fairly slim...the town is small (though we really did enjoy it), and when we come back to Tuscany, it will be to explore Florence more. So, by golly, we were going to get all of the Pisa sight-seeing done in one day! We found a nearby parking center and walked into the cathedral and tower area.
Ted got tickets for us and the older 3 kids to climb up the tower--children under 8 are not allowed, much to Kenna's chagrin. But she was pacified when I told her she could get TWO treats! Ted and the boys went up first; the wait really wasn't too bad, about a half-hour from the time he purchased tickets. The girls, Lucan, and Zaden and I got ice cream and slushies and went back to the tower to wait for the hand-off. Then Ted, Tobin, Arden, and the littles did the same thing while Charis and I went up.
The whole tower tour was only about 30 minutes long, but it seemed just the right amount of time. I forget how many stairs there were--Ted and the kids counted, but everyone came up with different numbers! I seem to remember 252 being one of the numbers, so I'll go with that! It was so interesting to actually FEEL the lean as you wind your way up the the staircase. There were two areas where you can walk around at the top, with the top being right up with the bells.
We joined the rest of the family on the ground and grabbed a simple lunch from a street vendor, then toured inside the cathedral, which was gorgeous. From there we went to the baptistery--I've been in my share of cathedrals in Europe over the years, but I haven't ever seen a separate building for a baptistery before. Unique! Ted and the kids all went upstairs so they could look down...I decided I had had enough stairs for one day and stayed on the main level with the stroller and backpacks.
(For more Pisa pictures, see our album here.)
By the time we had our fill of religious buildings, we were more than ready to get out of the heat. We plodded back to the Suburban (completely omitting the standard forced perspective shots of people holding up the tower) and went back to the hotel for naps/rest time. Zaden and I napped...Lucan may have napped, too. Tobin and Ted relaxed in the boys' room, and the others played outside in the woods building forts. The original plan was to rest and then head to the private beach owned by the hotel, but we learned--the the kids' dismay--that for whatever reason the clerk was unable to communicate to us in English, the beach was not accessible at that time, even though the web site had said it was open June through August. Sigh.
So we simply...relaxed. It was a beautiful thing to have time on our hands! Unfortunately, the wireless access we were supposed to have worked in Ted's room but not mine, so I was unable to keep up with our blogging when I had the time and inclination to journal about our trip, ha! But a forced internet break wasn't really a bad thing! We ended up having dinner at the same place we had eaten the night before, but the boys were sad that they were out of cheeseburgers. (Yeah, that never happens at fast food places in the States! "Fast food" is VERY different over here!)
I wish we had been able to plan ahead to really celebrate Ted on this day, but I confess my trip plans did not take into consideration the fact we would be away for Father's Day. :-/ But we did enjoy a wonderful day with the L family, attending Sunday school and church with them and then going out to eat for a long, leisurely dinner in the beautiful sunny weather that finally appeared! We gave Brian and Joy an Italian remembrance in appreciation for their gracious hospitality during our week in Germany. We so enjoyed being able to fellowship with them and see how Ian and Ellie have grown in the several years it has been since our families were together.
Since we were hitting the road the next day, we didn't plan anything beyond enjoying schnitzel at a restaurant! I finished up some laundry (so thankful Joy shared her little washer and dryer with us--we kind of took it over, LOL!) and we did our best to get as much packed as possible before bed. We enjoyed one last evening of visiting together and probably got to bed much later than we should have. Our kids are certainly going to miss each other, especially Ellie and Kenna, who were inseparable!
Day 11:
Road trip! It was an estimated 9-hour drive from the L's house to Pisa, where we had booked a hotel for the next 3 nights. It was a beautiful day for driving, which helped alleviate the stress of the loooong, two-lane roads between Germany and finally reaching the autostrade in France. (How many hay trucks can there be, anyway?!) We made a desperate stop for gas and potty runs, at which the only available toilet was in the back of a greasy mechanic shop--oh, joy! Adventures in Europe!
Crossing into Switzerland was pretty exciting, even if we did have to pay 40 Swiss francs for the sticker (which is good for a year--guess we need to make a point of going back in the next 364 days or so!). I've always wanted to drive through the Swiss Alps, and I was not disappointed. Even though we didn't have time to stop in country, we all enjoyed the drive, and the infamous tunnels didn't slow us down at all--we had been warned that sometimes you have to wait for a green light to get through the tunnels, but we were able to keep trucking along.
By the time we reached Pisa, though, we were more than ready to stop traveling! We were a bit alarmed at the time the GPS was telling us it was going to take to arrive at our hotel; however, we figured out that the GPS thought we had to walk a considerable distance, as the road leading back to the hotel building wasn't on the map! It's in a nature preserve area, with horse stables (complete with loudly braying donkeys who sing not-so-sweetly even before the break of dawn) and was a beautiful, peaceful place for our family to "land" for a few days. We unloaded the Suburban as quickly as possible into our two rooms (separated by a couple of other rooms and a stairwell; unfortunately, they were unable to get us adjoining rooms) and then headed back into town in search of food. As we drove to the city center, it was easy to spot the famous leaning tower--so exciting!
We found a parking spot on the street right beside a diner that served cheeseburgers, to the boys' everlasting delight. Ted and I enjoyed kebab panini while the girls chose pizza and the little boys ate remnants of everything. We went back to the hotel and worked on settling everyone down...the rooms had no A/C, and with daylight hours stretching far past bedtime, it took awhile before Zaden at least was sound asleep enough for me to crawl into bed. It was a fairly short night...between the stifling heat and humidity and sleeping in an unfamiliar place...and then the lovely "ass-inine" wake-up call from the donkeys, LOL!
Day 12:
Today we got to be tourists! It was so fun...but oh, it was HOT! The sun was merciless, but we decided the chances of us coming back to Pisa are fairly slim...the town is small (though we really did enjoy it), and when we come back to Tuscany, it will be to explore Florence more. So, by golly, we were going to get all of the Pisa sight-seeing done in one day! We found a nearby parking center and walked into the cathedral and tower area.
Ted got tickets for us and the older 3 kids to climb up the tower--children under 8 are not allowed, much to Kenna's chagrin. But she was pacified when I told her she could get TWO treats! Ted and the boys went up first; the wait really wasn't too bad, about a half-hour from the time he purchased tickets. The girls, Lucan, and Zaden and I got ice cream and slushies and went back to the tower to wait for the hand-off. Then Ted, Tobin, Arden, and the littles did the same thing while Charis and I went up.
The whole tower tour was only about 30 minutes long, but it seemed just the right amount of time. I forget how many stairs there were--Ted and the kids counted, but everyone came up with different numbers! I seem to remember 252 being one of the numbers, so I'll go with that! It was so interesting to actually FEEL the lean as you wind your way up the the staircase. There were two areas where you can walk around at the top, with the top being right up with the bells.
We joined the rest of the family on the ground and grabbed a simple lunch from a street vendor, then toured inside the cathedral, which was gorgeous. From there we went to the baptistery--I've been in my share of cathedrals in Europe over the years, but I haven't ever seen a separate building for a baptistery before. Unique! Ted and the kids all went upstairs so they could look down...I decided I had had enough stairs for one day and stayed on the main level with the stroller and backpacks.
 |
| Ted and the kids with the baptistery in the background |
 |
| See the itty bitty person in the bright blue shirt by the third column?! That's me with the stroller! |
By the time we had our fill of religious buildings, we were more than ready to get out of the heat. We plodded back to the Suburban (completely omitting the standard forced perspective shots of people holding up the tower) and went back to the hotel for naps/rest time. Zaden and I napped...Lucan may have napped, too. Tobin and Ted relaxed in the boys' room, and the others played outside in the woods building forts. The original plan was to rest and then head to the private beach owned by the hotel, but we learned--the the kids' dismay--that for whatever reason the clerk was unable to communicate to us in English, the beach was not accessible at that time, even though the web site had said it was open June through August. Sigh.
So we simply...relaxed. It was a beautiful thing to have time on our hands! Unfortunately, the wireless access we were supposed to have worked in Ted's room but not mine, so I was unable to keep up with our blogging when I had the time and inclination to journal about our trip, ha! But a forced internet break wasn't really a bad thing! We ended up having dinner at the same place we had eaten the night before, but the boys were sad that they were out of cheeseburgers. (Yeah, that never happens at fast food places in the States! "Fast food" is VERY different over here!)
June 16, 2013
Road Trip, Part 4
Day 8:
Today we drove into France! Just over the border, it was a much shorter distance than we drove the previous day to get to Burg Eltz. We toured the citadel at Bitche, a magnificently built fortification that has probably been around for centuries, though the history we learned focused on the Franco-Prussian war in the late 1800s. (Full album of pictures is here.) We had headphones with English instruction, so as we passed certain points along the tour we could learn about the fortress, its design and construction, and events that happened there.
Shortly after we entered we came to the first of a series of video screens--we would watch a portion of a movie reenactment (with some explanation/narration interwoven within), then move on to the next part of the citadel, where the movie would continue. It was dark, damp, and chilly, and unfortunately I would have to say that our younger members were not as impressed with the tour--they didn't have headphones, but even so, they probably would not have been able to follow what was happening with the movie! This was just as well, as portions of the drama were quite disconcerting. We shielded young eyes more than once! Aside from the fact that some of the screen shots were definitely not for innocent eyes, the movie was well done and gave a thorough picture of what people were experiencing during a time of war and the role the fortress played in the surrounding area.
This portion of the tour was much longer than any of us had anticipated--at least an hour, which is quite a long time to be in what felt like a cave! We went through all the snacks I had brought in our effort to appease the younger ones' discomfort; Zaden rode in the Ergo on Ted's chest (where he has HAPPILY spent much of our touring time, I might add), and I pushed Lucan in the stroller. When we finally emerged into daylight, we were more than ready for lunch--and there was only one option at that point! The gift shop/cafe offered two choices: pizza or flamkuchen. Ted, Charis, and I decided to try to flamkuchen, which is like a pizza but has a white sauce with ham and onions on it, and the rest of the kids got pizza. It was all fantastic! The weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed eating outside while the kids ran up and down the hill leading to the French flag with a nice view of the town/valley below.
After enjoying the panoramic views and puttering around some of the places on top of the fortress, we hiked back down to the parking lot and headed out for our next stop: the Simserhof fortress, part of the Maginot line, a defensive, underground structure France put in place in anticipation of German advances. (Pictures of this can be found here.) This was so fascinating! We watched an introductory movie and then got on a cable car type thing to ride through the tunnel system where men lived for months--it was the last English tour of the day, whew! It was an ingenious idea, well designed...but unfortunately, it wasn't as successful as it could have been since the Germans simply went north and overran France through territory everyone thought was either off limits or a natural line of defense (neutral Belgium and the Ardennes forest).
We came home after a long but fun and educational day of tours and had an easy dinner of leftovers. Evenings have been fairly routine as we bathe little ones, begin the "shower brigade," and have some down time to visit before turning in for the night.
Day 9:
Today's country--Luxembourg! (Full picture album here.) We drove about an hour and a half to get to this little country. Only one little hitch...we found ourselves in a complete traffic jam...at a rest stop!! What in the world?! We just wanted to find a bathroom, and instead we found ourselves in an utter mess of vehicles! The guys ended up turning our cars around while Joy and I walked the kids through the maze of traffic and into a huge truck stop kind of building so we could take care of business. We hiked back to the van and Suburban, where we loaded up again, went the wrong way on a one-way entrance, and snaked back around to the freeway. (We weren't the only ones to end up doing this, ha!) The traffic on the freeway didn't last too long, so finally we were able to arrive at one of our stops, the American military cemetery where Gen. Patton is buried along with approximately 4,000 soldiers. It is a beautiful place and a sobering reminder of the cost of war.
After that we went 1.5 kilometers to the German military cemetery--which stands in complete contrast to what we had seen at the American site. Just a few observations:
Then it was on to Luxembourg City, where we enjoyed walking around the beautiful downtown area. We had lunch at Chi-Chi's (only because we knew everyone could find something they liked to eat), saw the Duke's Palace, visited the extremely busy chocolate factory store, wandered around the path overlooking the steep ravine below, took more pictures, and finally made our way home to the L's house.
Today we drove into France! Just over the border, it was a much shorter distance than we drove the previous day to get to Burg Eltz. We toured the citadel at Bitche, a magnificently built fortification that has probably been around for centuries, though the history we learned focused on the Franco-Prussian war in the late 1800s. (Full album of pictures is here.) We had headphones with English instruction, so as we passed certain points along the tour we could learn about the fortress, its design and construction, and events that happened there.
Shortly after we entered we came to the first of a series of video screens--we would watch a portion of a movie reenactment (with some explanation/narration interwoven within), then move on to the next part of the citadel, where the movie would continue. It was dark, damp, and chilly, and unfortunately I would have to say that our younger members were not as impressed with the tour--they didn't have headphones, but even so, they probably would not have been able to follow what was happening with the movie! This was just as well, as portions of the drama were quite disconcerting. We shielded young eyes more than once! Aside from the fact that some of the screen shots were definitely not for innocent eyes, the movie was well done and gave a thorough picture of what people were experiencing during a time of war and the role the fortress played in the surrounding area.
This portion of the tour was much longer than any of us had anticipated--at least an hour, which is quite a long time to be in what felt like a cave! We went through all the snacks I had brought in our effort to appease the younger ones' discomfort; Zaden rode in the Ergo on Ted's chest (where he has HAPPILY spent much of our touring time, I might add), and I pushed Lucan in the stroller. When we finally emerged into daylight, we were more than ready for lunch--and there was only one option at that point! The gift shop/cafe offered two choices: pizza or flamkuchen. Ted, Charis, and I decided to try to flamkuchen, which is like a pizza but has a white sauce with ham and onions on it, and the rest of the kids got pizza. It was all fantastic! The weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed eating outside while the kids ran up and down the hill leading to the French flag with a nice view of the town/valley below.
After enjoying the panoramic views and puttering around some of the places on top of the fortress, we hiked back down to the parking lot and headed out for our next stop: the Simserhof fortress, part of the Maginot line, a defensive, underground structure France put in place in anticipation of German advances. (Pictures of this can be found here.) This was so fascinating! We watched an introductory movie and then got on a cable car type thing to ride through the tunnel system where men lived for months--it was the last English tour of the day, whew! It was an ingenious idea, well designed...but unfortunately, it wasn't as successful as it could have been since the Germans simply went north and overran France through territory everyone thought was either off limits or a natural line of defense (neutral Belgium and the Ardennes forest).
 |
| About to enter the tunnel via an automated train car that used the old supply tracks. |
We came home after a long but fun and educational day of tours and had an easy dinner of leftovers. Evenings have been fairly routine as we bathe little ones, begin the "shower brigade," and have some down time to visit before turning in for the night.
Day 9:
Today's country--Luxembourg! (Full picture album here.) We drove about an hour and a half to get to this little country. Only one little hitch...we found ourselves in a complete traffic jam...at a rest stop!! What in the world?! We just wanted to find a bathroom, and instead we found ourselves in an utter mess of vehicles! The guys ended up turning our cars around while Joy and I walked the kids through the maze of traffic and into a huge truck stop kind of building so we could take care of business. We hiked back to the van and Suburban, where we loaded up again, went the wrong way on a one-way entrance, and snaked back around to the freeway. (We weren't the only ones to end up doing this, ha!) The traffic on the freeway didn't last too long, so finally we were able to arrive at one of our stops, the American military cemetery where Gen. Patton is buried along with approximately 4,000 soldiers. It is a beautiful place and a sobering reminder of the cost of war.
After that we went 1.5 kilometers to the German military cemetery--which stands in complete contrast to what we had seen at the American site. Just a few observations:
- American cemetery = bright, open area; German cemetery = back in more of a forested area, making it seem darker
- American cemetery = well maintained, beautifully manicured grounds; German cemetery = overgrown grass and randomly growing weeds
- American cemetery = every soldier has an individual place/cross marker, including unknown soldiers; German cemetery = each cross marked a spot for 4 bodies
- American cemetery = respectful recognition of the unknown soldiers ("Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God"); German cemetery = stark statement ("One German soldier" or "Two German soldiers")
- American cemetery = memorial areas with inspiring quotations, maps, descriptions of history, a separate chapel building; German cemetery = one larger central cross, no inscriptions, no chapel
Then it was on to Luxembourg City, where we enjoyed walking around the beautiful downtown area. We had lunch at Chi-Chi's (only because we knew everyone could find something they liked to eat), saw the Duke's Palace, visited the extremely busy chocolate factory store, wandered around the path overlooking the steep ravine below, took more pictures, and finally made our way home to the L's house.
Whew! Three countries in two days! It has been SO fun, but we are also thankful today is Sunday, a day of rest and church! And happy Father's Day to the wonderful dads in my life!
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