Last night I ended up staying at the hotel my dad booked with his built up points (thanks dad!). After I figured out what antepartum meant I was a little calmer. The fact that there was a whole unit of patients "flirting with labor" and specialized nurses ready to pounce meant a lot to me. Even if they lacked communication yesterday, they still have their act together and know how to do their jobs.
I was back at the hospital earlier in the morning than I planned because I got a text from Christine saying her night didn't go that well. She couldn't sleep and her bleeding and contractions increased. Tuesday morning I tried to make light of the situation by reading Christine a bit from a blog I found when I was trying to find out what antepartum meant, http://fridaynightplights.wordpress.com. Some of it made me chuckle which is why I wanted to read her some. Other bits kinda sucked, but were funny. My mom later said something along the lines of, "Well no wonder she gave birth so early smarty... what'd you go and read that to her for?!"
We went for another ultrasound and the doctor was concerned that her fluids went down some more, having already been low yesterday. Christine went to the restroom while they prepped to check her cervix.
Her placenta abrupted (placenta previa). She pulled the "help" chain, and said "help" in a weak voice. I thought I heard her, but no one else in the room seemed to register it. I thought I might have made it up, but two seconds later there it was again and this time everyone turned around and went to the bathroom at the same time. She came back out with the help of a nurse and the ultrasound tech and they called for the doctor who had just stepped outside. The doctor ran in shouted lightly out the hall for them to bring in a transport bed (they brought her to the room in a wheelchair which I found odd considering the increase in bleeding and contraction pain the night before). He calmly and forcefully told the ultrasound tech to "call ahead to labor and delivery NOW and tell them we're on our way up and they WILL tell me what room to go to as we roll in through the door." As Christine was rolled to the elevator and down the hall to the elevator I called her mom and my mom and said, "Mom, we're going to be having a baby soon." Any more than that and they wouldn't have been able to understand me. I probably would have welled up if I had to come up with any more words. I didn't want to think about it.
We moved quickly to the elevator and then down the hall back to labor and delivery. As we walked through the hall, he again, in a calm assertive voice got the attention of a nurse and basically said, "Alert the OR" in a crptic fashion probably meant not to worry us. Christine was a bit out of it, but strangely calm and attentive. One of the nurses told her "There's going to be a lot of us moving around in the room and touching you. Try not to pay attention." After seeing that she was dilated 5 cm., her doctor talked to both of us. "Your baby is going to come soon. We're going to do a cesaerean section. Because of where and how the baby is laying (low, breech), this will be done the old fashioned way. For most women who have c-sections now, they can go on to have babies vaginally in future pregnancies. You won't. Your babies will always be delivered by c-section and will be 4 weeks premature." I jumped in to say "You'll get to schedule them!". Christine later told me that in her head she rolled her eyes and thought, "oh my, he's trying to make a joke out of this." It was a reference to the day before when the doctor told her to find things she could control.
He continued saying that there were things he could do to keep the baby in longer, but that's talking hours, not days, weeks or months. He said it would be much better to do this now when it could be planned for and everyone was in place and expecting it. While days, weeks, and months make a big difference for babies, hours won't outweigh the risk of delivering soon. He asked if we had any questions. I had one. "When?" "In a few minutes". "OK". I was oddly at peace with that. The steroids which they said worked best if given 48 hours before birth had been given 72 hours to work. Everyone had remarked how excellent his heartbeat patterns were. Christine had been on magnesium for a little while longer than that, which apparently also has good effects on the baby even though it made Christine feel sick. That stress and all the turmoil inside Christine also apparently made the baby better off than if she just all of a sudden delivered with no warning / hospitalization ahead of time.
The nurses told Christine that again, many many people would be bouncing about and touching her. They told her what to expect. The anesthesiologist talked with Christine and told her what to expect. They wheeled her out and into the OR. One of the nurses that I had met several times before came in with scrubs. I changed, prayed, and waited. From that point on for about a day or two, I never stopped switching from almost balling to rejoicing every other minute. I was going to be a dad! For the rest of my life, I hoped.
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