An Afternoon at the Hospital

No baby yet. I had contractions for 3 hours that were 5-7 minutes apart last night, that even lasted through a bath, but they weren't strong enough to keep me from falling asleep, although each time I got up to use the bathroom, I could feel them.

We had our ultrasound at 2PM for the AFI (fluid check) and it was like 13.6, which is great the tech said. Baby is head down (which we knew) and we saw a hand, which was blocking the goods shot, so even this late in the game, baby is still modest and won't give a clear shot. With the family statistics though, and the 4 techs thinking girl at the 20 week ultrasound, I can't imagine anything else in there but another little girl.

We went down to labor and delivery for the NST (Non-Stress Test), so I got to lay in bed for 30 minutes while they monitored the baby's heart rate and any contractions, and I got to push a little button whenever I felt the baby move. They had the stats they needed within the first 10 minutes, but had to keep us on for a half hour to make sure. After that half hour, apparently the baby had a heart deceleration, so they called Dr. Laing, and I got to stay on the machine and drink some water. All in all, I was hooked up for an hour and a half. Everything is fine though, and I even had some contractions show up on the monitor. Being in that bed for that long though, I have no idea how I am supposed to stay hooked up to all that equipment while going through pitocin contractions. I am going to need to move around, or this induction just isn't going to happen.

On another note, as we walked through the door, they had a sign posted that said no one under 18 will be allowed to visit patients, which means the girls won't be able to visit. Luckily Chris was off work early today, so we left the girls with him. This makes me very upset, because this whole H1N1 is getting blown way out of proportion, and now it's affecting a very important moment in my family's lives. I told Luke we are going to pressure everyone around us to get us discharged as early as possible. I don't want to stay the 48 hours I did with the girls...hopefully we can get out at 24. I don't want to rely on family for so long when in this economy, people shouldn't take off work unless absolutely necessary.

I'm hoping something happens this evening or tonight, or even tomorrow morning, even though it would ruin Luke's photo shoot. I just want to keep away from a pitocin induction if at all possible, but this baby is not helping this situation!