And the Hospital Tours continue...

So we got a first hand tour/experience of both Tulane Lakeside and East Jefferson Hospitals this week. On tuesday, at 25 weeks and 5 days, I started bleeding again. After a call to my doctor and an immediate call back from the nurse, we were off to Tulane Lakeside, the hospital of choice for labor/delivery when the time came. From 4:00 until 10:00, I had the pleasure of being briefly admitted into one of Tulane Lakeside's fine labor and delivery rooms --- this is an experience I normally wouldn't have gotten to have because I'll likely be having a c-section. I was hooked up to a monitor for baby's heartrate, and another clever machine which told me I was having contractions every 2-4 minutes. Great.
So after 2 shots of something to stop contractions and make me feel like I had just taken several hits of Meth (or what I imagine this would feel like) and six hours of monitoring, I was released.

As it happened, I had an appointment already scheuled for an ultrasound with our specialist at East Jefferson in the morning, which in retrospect is probably the only reason Tulane Lakeside released me. But in my recently optimistic state, I thought everything was fine.

So yesterday morning, we went to the specialist for our ultrasound. Mom and Dad are in town (having flown in tuesday morning just in time for the drama) and came with me to the doctor's appointment. I thought it would be fun for them to see an ultrasound and get to peak at the baby. Well, there was none of that. The ultrasound was all business, focusing on what I then found out was placenta previa, or my own fibroid demented version of it. And then came the big moment... we're admitting you.

"What?!? You can't admit me! My baby shower is tonight!"
"Cancel it"
Instant tears.

So along came the wheelchair and off I went to labor and delivery at East Jefferson -- the current hospital of choice for us. I spent the night hooked up to the same clever machines, which beeped, alarmed, thumped and made every other inconvenient noise possible throughout the night. My sweet, sweet husband spent the night on the expandable couch next to my bed ... sleeping like a baby while I tossed and turned. I got another shot of the "meth drug" which is actually called Brethine and makes your heart race and makes you all shaky, and then they started me on Procardia (an oral blood pressure medicine which stops contractions) and also makes me feel like complete crap because I already have low blood pressure --- now I have low blood pressure, headaches, nausea, and shakiness. During the night, my blood pressure was actually 82 over 47 (or almost dead), but the nurse didn't seem too concerned.

In the morning, my specialist checked me out again, and said I could go home (thank god!) But here's the kicker... home is the only place I can go. I'm done with work for the next 4 weeks. Done with exercise, done with walking, done with everything. Complete bedrest. Only up to eat, drink, pee or shower. They'll re-evaluate again after 4 weeks and I might - "might"- get to go back to work until the baby comes.

So I missed my own baby shower (which Jessica, Becky, and Sun spent lots of time and effort planning). Though in their neverending sweetness, Becky and Jessica brought flowers, balloons, my shower cake, and food up to the hospital for me, and even dropped some off at my house for my parents and Jeff. Thanks girls! And Thanks for understanding... I feel awful about all of this.

I guess if nothing else, we found out that East Jefferson is where we want to be. Both my normal doctor and specialist say that the doctors and care there for a premature baby will be much better than at Tulane Lakeside, and I was much more impressed with the care I received at East Jefferson as opposed to Tulane. I guess not everyone gets to try out their labor and delivery choices before the actual event.

So if you all have any movie, book, magazine, or in-active entertainment ideas, send 'em my way! I'll be sitting on my butt and eating ice cream for the next 4 weeks.