Thursday, October 18, 2007

A Long Post About A Hospital Visit

I had a pretty relaxing day today...

I had another Dr's. visit today. Routine 39 week exam, ya know... I told the Dr. about my swollen hands, feet, face, etc... My blood pressure was just a little more than last week (okay, so last week it was 120/72, like Aunt Rachel thought), but it was still okay. He thought I could go downstairs to the lab to have some blood work done up to check for pre-eclampsia, but he had second thoughts after checking my reflexes... which were pretty crazy. I was asked if I was always so jumpy, but my reflexes haven't been checked in so long, how am I to remember? He decided that I should go have my blood work done at the hospital so I could have the results faster. Rather than wait till tomorrow for the results, if I wasn't busy today, go up and get everything done today. So after having a Non-Stress Test, I went up to the hospital to have some blood tested. They hooked me up to a monitor so we could see (and hear) the baby's heartbeat and watch any contractions be recorded on paper. After taking some blood and urine samples, I lay in bed watching the squiggly lines come out of the machine onto the paper. The nice nurse came in and asked if I was hungry and since it was 1:00 or so, and I hadn't eaten since 8:30, I was naturally. So she brought me a boxed lunch from somewhere with a ham sandwich and potato salad. Actually, it was pretty good. Long story made short, I ended up waiting for the results to my tests for a few hours. A few relaxing hours, some of which I spent sleeping. Which is good, because I'm fighting some sort of cold/sinus thing and I could use all the sleep I can get. What was interesting though, was this drama queen who came into the triage unit halfway through my stay there. She had thought her water had broken, was not sure when her due date was because supposedly different Dr's. told her different dates, and she kept exclaiming things like she was in grave pain. The nurses told her that her water wasn't broken and that she wasn't due until Nov. 30. Still she was sure the baby was coming if only "she would open up". On and on... I was thinking "Good grief, woman! Give it a break!" Of course I've never been in labor, but the nurses were pretty sure she wasn't even close. She kept saying to someone, "They're talking about sending me home already, but I'm just going to have to come right back" and then "These people don't know what they're talking about." Quite humorous... Kept me entertained while laying there. Anyway, the results of the tests were negative for pre-eclampsia, but positive for taking it easy and drinking lots of water till baby comes. So Adam is supposed to treat me like a princess and do the grocery shopping and any heavy lifting. (Check in with him form time to time folks, and make sure he is doing his job.) And I'm supposed to watch for additional signs or increased swelling.

I guess it's a good thing that I've been cleaning my house like crazy early in the week. I cleaned my bed room, living room and computer room from top to bottom. I even did the bathroom, the basement and the shed outside. All I had left to do was mop the floors throughout the house and hang a few odd shelves and window blinds. (I made myself a list of things to get accomplished before baby came.) I suppose I can overlook the last few things on the list, even though I think that mopping the floors is not over-doing it like the nurse said it was. How hard is it to mop the floor? Not any harder than washing the clothes... Except maybe more arm movement? I know, I know... Be good and listen to the what the nurse said. She knows what she is talking about. I'm probably not supposed to do all those things because of blood pressure and keeping it down where it should be. So I'll be a good girl and hopefully, sometime in the near future, you will hear good news of great joy and messy diapers. I'm sure my Mom will let everyone know on her blog when this happens and then I will too, when I feel up to it.

Just 9 more days till my due date!

4 comments:

Martha said...

You are too funny. Someone is sure to tell you that with all the cleaning you have done the past few days, labor and delivery will follow any second now. Of course that is true, especially since you are due in little more than a week. Take it easy and put your feet up. You've done enough running around and now it is time to take a break before Baby arrives. Let Adam do his job and make sure he knows you appreciate any effort he puts forth on your behalf. Tell him to call if we are needed and we'll be there.

PS Soon it will be your turn to be dramatic. :)

judi/Gmj said...

yes!! Drama Queens are the best for breaking your train of thought. How can anyone focus on a personal problem with a Drama Queen around? God does work in mysterious ways :)
Come on Baby, Beth is ready.

Rachel said...

Funny "Drama Queen" story! It is quite entertaining. I'm glad you had some resting time in the care of many Drs and nurses.

Gudl said...

All the best from me!
Maybe the baby will come a little early, wouldn't that be nice?!