Whoever coined the term "practice makes perfect" couldn't have described our revisit to the hospital better. We knew where to park, which elevators to take, where to turn, where to register, and even how to get to my room. This time around, my room is on the opposite side of the building, which actually makes me really happy because I get a view of the plaza and there are trees and people all over the place. Guess if I get really bored, I'll be able to count how many people walk by every day or catalog what people are wearing to hospitals these days. I will be here to serve out the remaining of my gestational "time" so I might as well have a good time while I am here at "Hotel Cedars Sinai".
Once I got settled in, John went home to pack a suitcase full of my essentials since we were told to head up here directly from Dr. Lee's office.
Here's a list of my essentials:
Laptop, webcam, and AC Adapter, and DVDs from Blockbuster.com
iPod with docking station
Pillow
Silk Throw from KumiKookoon (so comfy)
Silk Slipper also from KumiKookoon
Cellphone Charger
Crushed Velvet Pajama Pants from Victoria's Secret
Toiletries (that were still in the suit case from my last stay here)
John's white undershirts
Panties from Motherhood Maternity (sorry, maybe this is tmi)
Prenatal Vitamins & DHA supplement
Sports bras
Lounge Socks
Facewash
Shampoo/Conditioner
Baby Wipes
Things that John also brought without me asking:
Snacks
Notebook & Pen
Reading Material
It's hard to imagine what life will be like in here for the next few months. There are questions in my mind that I do not know the answers for...How will I try to enjoy myself? Who will come to visit me? How will John survive without having his wife around him? When will the babies decide to come out? How much is this going to cost us? Will I lose lots of muscles and not be able to care for the babies when they get here? What kind of exercise routine can I do to maintain some sort of strength & flexibility since I will be laying here for 23 hrs a day? Will people come visit me after a month of hospital stay? How is my back going to react to all the non-activity? So many questions that I don't have the answers to. So many unknowns... Oh well, it's easier to just take it one day at a time and see how things turn out. I can only control so much and the rest of it is just not up to me.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Bedrest at home...love letter to John
It's amazing how a wonderful, loving husband can make being stuck in bed, sideways, that much more tolerable.
John and I have been together since December 17, 1999. I've always known I picked a good man to spend the rest of my life with but John always amazes me in my times of need.
After getting home from the hospital, John helped me settled into bed, arranged all my bedrest essentials (laptop, cellphone, house phone, tv remotes, books, magazines) within arms reach and made sure I was comfortable and didn't need anything else. I made a grocery list, so soon after I got comfortable, John went grocery shopping.
Apparently, he bought lots of yummies. Without being able to go see what all he had acquired, I am surprised at the amount of goodies John brings down for me for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. On Sunday, John made me a fruit and kefir smoothie before he went for his morning bicycle ride. After he got back, he made chicken fajita wrap for lunch. For dinner, he went and picked up Quiznos after running some errands. On Monday, he made scrambled egg and cheese sandwich. For lunch, since he was working and couldn't come home, he made me some PB&J sandwiches. For dinner, I had texted John that I was craving steak, mac&cheese, and veggies. After he got home, he came in to say hi to me and the babies in my belly, and disappeared for half an hour. When he came back down, he brought with him...you guessed it...steak, mac&cheese, cream of corn, and pork and beans. Not only did I marry a wonderful husband, he can cook too!! And not only did he make the yummy food, when we ate, he would make me laugh and help keep my spirits up :)
Tuesday morning was a little different. I was to have my glucose tolerance test at 9:30 which meant I couldn't eat any carbs 5 hrs prior to the test. Knowing that, I had requested John to made me some hard boiled eggs since they taste fine cold. So the night before, John boiled a couple and kept them in the fridge. He got up at 5:30 to get ready for his morning bicycle ride. And before he left, he brought me down 3 eggs, that were cooked PERFECT, by the way. I'm glad he brought down 3...since my doctor had to postpone my appointment until 12:30 due to baby deliveries. So I savored John's perfectly cooked eggs, drank some tea, and at 12noon, chugged the Glucola that tasted like slightly flattened orange soda (wasn't bad at all, like I've heard from some people...but after 3 eggs and unsweetened tea, the sugary drink was a nice change).
Dr. Lee remeasured my cervix, which now has shortened to 2.1cm. She told us it didn't look good and we needed to go immediately back to Cedars to check back in... and stay until the babies arrive... ugh... I wish I could have "served" the remaining of my "time" at my own home, but guess being at the hospital with nurses, doctors, and instruments around me would give John a peace of mind. So off we went, back to Cedars, but not before we went through McDonald's..hehe.
Even though my bedrest at home was short, it really showed me that John is just an awesome husband and a terrific dad (to his unborn children). I am so lucky to have the most wonderful man in my life. John knew that my priority was to take care of our babies in my womb and made sure that I didn't have to worry about anything else. I am truly thankful and in love with my dear husband.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Sideways Betty...
First of all, let me start by explaining why my name is now "Sideways Betty". Last Thursday I went in to my perinatologist to check on the growth of my twin boys whom are due on Aug 2. Everything about the boys looked great. They are healthy, on track, and moving around like always. We were able to get some 4D pictures of one of our boys, he looks just like his daddy :) The other boy was a little shy, facing away from the ultrasound and snuggling up against his brother. Heartwarming images. Now I really can't wait until they are here in our arms. After the ultrasound, the doctor did a Fetal Fibronectin test (if the test is positive, the chance of me delivering in the next 2 weeks is 50%, if negative, less then 1%), and also an exam to measure the length of my cervix. I told him last week, at my OB's office, my cervix measured a little over 3cm...however, today we were down to 2.6cm. Dr. Naylor was a bit concerned and said he will call me after getting the Fetal Fibronectin result back, in the next 2 hrs. If it's positive, we need to get to the hospital.
That night, around 6ish, Dr. Naylor called and said, I hope you're not planning to do anything tonight or tomorrow...you need to get yourself checked into Cedars and have them start monitoring you. WELL, HECK! I broke the news to John (hubby), and started packing. Felt like I was gonna be going on a vacation where they only allow people to wear pajamas...haha. Guess it hasn't kicked in that I'm going to the "HOSPITAL!" How ironic that I had just called the day before to schedule a maternity tour and they put me down for June 8th because my due date is so far away. Well, guess we're now gonna do a "dry run" on our own. Hey, at least we'll know where we need to go when the "WET run" comes!
We got there around 9pm after a food run through McDonalds, checked in with the Labor & Delivery people, then were shown in room 3010. The room was nice...but the decor is...well...pastel. I quickly got settled in, changed into my Victoria's Secret silver crushed velvet pajama pants, a comfy tshirt from Forever21, crawled into bed and waited until the nurse visitations started.
Nurse Ginny strapped 2 fetal monitors (one for each of the boys, to monitor their hearbeats), and 1 contraction monitor to my belly. It was amazing listening to both their heartbeats at the same time...and little louder thuds here and there when they are moving around or trying to kick away the monitors that were pressing down on them. A couple of weeks ago I started playing a game with the babies by saying "All the babies in the womb go woowoo!" Now that the monitors are on I was wondering if they would actually respond to mommy's silly demand. So I played with them again..."All the babies in the womb go woowoo!!"...loud thumps...I guess they heard me. John and I giggle...it was so cute and amazing! I repeated the statement a couple of more times, getting the same loud thumps right afterwards. But they got tired of the game after a little bit. So I figured I'll play with them some other time.
John spent the night by our sides...felt nice to not have to be alone at the hospital for our first night. Although I didn't feel anxious, I was having a hard time falling asleep with all the activities coming in and out of my room. To keep myself entertained, I was able to email my sister, Elisa, who's in Taiwan, via my cell phone. We must have written 5 or 6 emails to each other that night and the next day. I was glad that we have our time difference since it was nice to have her entertain me and also keep my parents informed of what all was going on.
Besides the machine monitoring, I also got some blood drawn, and at 3:20am, Nurse Ginny came in to give me my first steriod shot (of two, given 24 hrs apart). The steriod is to boost the babies' lungs just in case they do arrive too early. This case the doctors and nurses can have a better chance of helping the babies develop normally.
Friday pretty much the same things happened. More monitoring, more nurses and doctors poking their heads in to check up on me. It's reassuring to know that I'm being cared for. My OB, Dr. Lee, came in to see me too. She told me that my cervix will be measured again on Saturday...and until that happens, I am to lay on my left side. Great...now I'm looking forward to Saturday to see if I get to go home and continue this bedrest instead of being at the hospital.
Saturday rolls by...can't believe I've already spent two nights at the hospital. One of the doctors rolled in an Ultrasound machine. With Dr. Lee and Dr. Faroohduddin, Dr. Harris does the ultrasound measurement. Cervix isn't looking too bad. Dr. Lee decides to discharge me and let me go home to continue bedrest in the comfort of my own bed. YAY!
Once we got home, John helped me set everything up in the bed. Laptop, cellphone, tv remote, etc...then I gave him a list for groceries. While I was laying on my left side, my sister, my parents and I were using Skype to talk to each other and webcam to be able to see each other. They got a kick watchinig me laying sideways all the time...so my sister started calling me "Sideways Betty". Gotta love her. Now, to entertain myself, I am calling myself Sideways Betty!
That night, around 6ish, Dr. Naylor called and said, I hope you're not planning to do anything tonight or tomorrow...you need to get yourself checked into Cedars and have them start monitoring you. WELL, HECK! I broke the news to John (hubby), and started packing. Felt like I was gonna be going on a vacation where they only allow people to wear pajamas...haha. Guess it hasn't kicked in that I'm going to the "HOSPITAL!" How ironic that I had just called the day before to schedule a maternity tour and they put me down for June 8th because my due date is so far away. Well, guess we're now gonna do a "dry run" on our own. Hey, at least we'll know where we need to go when the "WET run" comes!
We got there around 9pm after a food run through McDonalds, checked in with the Labor & Delivery people, then were shown in room 3010. The room was nice...but the decor is...well...pastel. I quickly got settled in, changed into my Victoria's Secret silver crushed velvet pajama pants, a comfy tshirt from Forever21, crawled into bed and waited until the nurse visitations started.
Nurse Ginny strapped 2 fetal monitors (one for each of the boys, to monitor their hearbeats), and 1 contraction monitor to my belly. It was amazing listening to both their heartbeats at the same time...and little louder thuds here and there when they are moving around or trying to kick away the monitors that were pressing down on them. A couple of weeks ago I started playing a game with the babies by saying "All the babies in the womb go woowoo!" Now that the monitors are on I was wondering if they would actually respond to mommy's silly demand. So I played with them again..."All the babies in the womb go woowoo!!"...loud thumps...I guess they heard me. John and I giggle...it was so cute and amazing! I repeated the statement a couple of more times, getting the same loud thumps right afterwards. But they got tired of the game after a little bit. So I figured I'll play with them some other time.
John spent the night by our sides...felt nice to not have to be alone at the hospital for our first night. Although I didn't feel anxious, I was having a hard time falling asleep with all the activities coming in and out of my room. To keep myself entertained, I was able to email my sister, Elisa, who's in Taiwan, via my cell phone. We must have written 5 or 6 emails to each other that night and the next day. I was glad that we have our time difference since it was nice to have her entertain me and also keep my parents informed of what all was going on.
Besides the machine monitoring, I also got some blood drawn, and at 3:20am, Nurse Ginny came in to give me my first steriod shot (of two, given 24 hrs apart). The steriod is to boost the babies' lungs just in case they do arrive too early. This case the doctors and nurses can have a better chance of helping the babies develop normally.
Friday pretty much the same things happened. More monitoring, more nurses and doctors poking their heads in to check up on me. It's reassuring to know that I'm being cared for. My OB, Dr. Lee, came in to see me too. She told me that my cervix will be measured again on Saturday...and until that happens, I am to lay on my left side. Great...now I'm looking forward to Saturday to see if I get to go home and continue this bedrest instead of being at the hospital.
Saturday rolls by...can't believe I've already spent two nights at the hospital. One of the doctors rolled in an Ultrasound machine. With Dr. Lee and Dr. Faroohduddin, Dr. Harris does the ultrasound measurement. Cervix isn't looking too bad. Dr. Lee decides to discharge me and let me go home to continue bedrest in the comfort of my own bed. YAY!
Once we got home, John helped me set everything up in the bed. Laptop, cellphone, tv remote, etc...then I gave him a list for groceries. While I was laying on my left side, my sister, my parents and I were using Skype to talk to each other and webcam to be able to see each other. They got a kick watchinig me laying sideways all the time...so my sister started calling me "Sideways Betty". Gotta love her. Now, to entertain myself, I am calling myself Sideways Betty!
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