Reader Discretion is Advised! Friday Hospital Stay Part 1

      Does anyone else miss watching TLC's show A Baby Story or Bringing Home Baby?  When I was pregnant with my older boys, those shows were still in  syndication, and I loved watching them, being pregnant and watching someone else's story, gave me things to look forward to, new ideas, and even made me aware of things I didn't want to do.  Now, the only show on, that has anything to do with babies and birth stories, is I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant.  That show BLOWS MY MIND!  Women can go their whole pregnancy and not know they are pregnant?! No nausea, having to go to the bathroom 100 times a day, no smell or food aversions, largely expanding uterus, feeling their baby move...nothing!  I have such a hard time comprehending this concept and am curious if anyone carrying multiples ever experienced this phenomenon...that would be one heck of a story; however, I'm sure I would watch the entire episode in disbelief.

       The above was the post I had started writing on Friday when my contractions started getting so intense I had to call my doctor.  WARNING: the following post will contain honest details of what I have experienced the past few days.  If reading about certain body parts makes you uncomfortable, I suggest you skip this post.  In going through this experience, I wish I had a raw and real journey to follow so I din't feel like, because this pregnancy hasn't been roses, I was alone in these symptoms and circumstances.

         FRIDAY: hospital stay part 1
   I had my scan at my MFM on Tuesday followed by a cervix check, all were fine.  Afterwards, however, every time I would stand up I would have a fairly intense contraction that would take my breath away.  It would fade after a few moments and I could continue on to where I was going, i.e. the bathroom!  Same was happening on Wednesday and Thursday, although at this point the "moments" turned into minutes.  I still wasn't worried, as they did fade, and I wasn't having any while I was lying down or sitting.  Thursday evening I started having some intense back pain and even while lying in bed I was having some contractions.  I figured as long as they didn't progress in the time in between and intensity, I would be ok.  I slept miserably that night, no matter what position I tried, I couldn't ease the back pain.  Friday morning, I packed Campbell's lunch and sat down in my recliner as Matt got the boys off to school.  I still could not shake these contractions and back pain, I tried a heating pad and Tylenol, neither of which worked.  I attempted to watch tv, knit, and write in my blog to occupy my mind.  My whole belly would get so tight, I could see it contract under my shirt.  I thought I should take a hot shower and let the water ease my muscles.  If I was still contracting after that, I would call my doctor.  Unfortunately I couldn't even finish my shower, I was out of breath and in pain.  I got a towel and called my doctor.  Although I was sure I was having contractions, I still had the idea in the back of my head that I would be told, it's just growing pains from carrying four babies, So I was not totally panicking, I was just in pain.  I called my sister to ask if she could take me to my doctor.  As soon as we hung up my doctor called me back and told me to just go ahead and go straight to the hospital.  Arriving at the hospital I was immediately taken to OBED (obstetrics emergency department) I had all my vitals checked, was put on a monitor(for the contractions) and was awaiting my doctor to come check me out.  There are three doctors in my regular OB's practice, two of which I mainly deal with.  The third, ironically delivered both my boys.  She is an amazing surgeon but just doesn't have the bed side manner of which I prefer in my regular visits.  She is book smart, but comes off flighty in regular conversation.  Anyway, she just happened to be the Doctor on call and was who I was waiting for  (I will refer to her as Dr. A).  By the time she arrived, I was in intense pain and the monitor was picking up contractions and uterine irritability.  Dr A first wanted to ultra sound me to check on the babies, before checking my cervix with an internal exam.  Watching her trying to get an ultra sound machine to work, that she was unfamiliar with, was hysterical.  She kept saying how inept it made her feel.  She talks slow and quite and almost "valley girl like"(part of the reason she comes across as flighty) I couldn't help but feel sorry for her, but I couldn't help but laugh as well.  All in good fun as she was laughing at herself.  Babies all looked great, no sign of decreased fluid and their heartbeats were all in their normal range(145-158). Moving on to the internal exam!!!  We did not have a regular labor and delivery bed in the room(these beds are made to be able to breakdown quickly in case delivery is needed, er go, they are extremely uncomfortable and have no cushion or padding to them(remember this description for later).  Being in a regular hospital bed, I was comfortable, but we had no way of elevating my hips for her to examine me...so her idea is to use a bed pan!!!  My sister and I made wide-eyed eye contact at each other!  Plastic bed pans are not that sturdy and not very big, but we did what we had to do.  I was able to get my hips on top of the upside down bed pan and "relax my legs outward."  Dr. A then turned on her light and said "Oh my God, those are some hemorrhoids, let's go ahead and put in an order of colace for this girl!"  My sister and I died laughing.

this is an image of hemorrhoids
they are swollen vessels coming out of your  rectum
 and are filled with blood and very painful!

I replied,  "it's not due to constipation, I have four babies in there and that creates a lot of pressure, if the babies stay in, something else must come out!"  After the laughter died down, she continued to check my cervix.  I am tall and my cervix is way up high and tilts back, making it hard to reach.  The other main OB's I see, know this and have an easier time reaching it.  I don't know if it was because I was on a bed pan, or what, but she was all up in there trying to find it.  She kept asking me to cough, I couldn't cough because I was laughing, but my laughing seemed to do the trick.  My cervix was still closed!  We swabbed for fluids that would indicate if one of the babies' water was leaking(four babies with four separate sacs= four separate waters).  All looked good.
       Within 10 minutes of my arrival to the hospital, Dr. K(the head neonatologist at the hospital) came in to check on me.  I had spoken with him on Thursday about my concerns with the sudden change in him "not being comfortable with me delivering at that hospital before 30 weeks."  While talking with him, he explained they just didn't have enough man power and enough machines on hand to properly provide the needed care for my babies.  I could tell in speaking with him, that he was disappointed, and did want me to be able to deliver there, but the hospital wasn't willing to assume that liability.   All that to say, I was touched he came to check on me.  He asked Dr. A if she would come update him after she did her exam.  Dr. A got on the phone with my MFM(Dr. Rosemond) to find out how he wanted to proceed with treatment.  Since I wasn't dilated and my waters were in tact, he wanted to keep me monitored and put me on a mild medication to relax my uterus.  He is big on the 24 week viability maker and did not want to go ahead with the steroid shot to help develop the babies lungs until next week.  However, after Dr. A went and discussed treatment with Dr. K he said he(Dr K) would fight to resuscitate the babies if they were born now and would advise going ahead with the steroid shot... so we did! I was thankful that he was willing to fight for my babies(quick props to Dr. K)!  The steroid shot was big and very thick, it was given to me on my left upper leg, almost in the butt region but not quite.  That was one painful shot I could feel the heat as it entered my vein. I just kept muttering under my breathe, that this is for my babies! After I was given the uterine relaxer, my contractions and irritability did calm down, I was still having them, but not nearly to the extent I was earlier.
          Three hours later, Dr. M(one of my regular Ob's)came in.  I was quite surprised to see her, as Dr A was the one, from their office, that was on call.  She explained that she was called in because Dr. A was at another hospital attending a patient and the hospital I was currently at was ready to have me gone.  The board, the head of the hospital and their attorney's had been meeting in the NICU all after noon about my case, and although I showed NO signs of active labor, and was not dilated and my waters had not broken, they(the hospital admin staff) wasn't even willing to let me continue being monitored there.  They called in my OB to tell me that I was getting transferred to Augusta within the hour!!!! I was completely shocked and Dr. M wasn't pleased with their decision either.  She said it wasn't right that they could take two sets of preemie twins but not one set of preemie quads? and I wasn't even in labor!  Both she and Dr. Rosemond felt like Athens had let them down, they are great doctors that know what they are doing, but the hospital just wasn't willing to take any chances.   By the time Dr. M finished talking with me I had 1 hour to call my support system to try and get a plan in place.  I had nothing with me, I was only supposed to be monitored! Not sent to Augusta!  I was so nervous to call my hubs, he does not handle change well...at all!  and all day I had been assuring him I was fine, the babies were great, I was not in labor, I was just being monitored!  Even though the hospital's stand point was "things can change in a split second" and I'm sure there is a bit of truth in that; however, medically speaking, I had not signs of impending doom and pressing circumstances! So I was still feeling God's peace with all of it.  I was not feeling too much peace about having to be transported two hours away with no time to get my things in order.  I didn't even have enough time to get someone to bring me a bag!
             My sweet friend had come by, right after Dr. M had left, to bring me two huge bags of Swedish Fish!!! I explained what had just gone down and jokingly asked her if she wanted to call Matt! She sat with me through all the phone calls, she listened to me cry over my fears of being transported away from my family, she made me smile again, and she stayed with me until the ambulance arrived.  I had a team of 6 going with me.  Normally it is the driver, and one EMT that rides in the back with you.  I had them, plus another guy, plus a labor and delivery nurse, a NICU nurse and a neonatal respiratory therapist!  We were packed.  Everyone was so kind and helped to keep my mind focused on what was the most important thing- getting my babies to the best place possible in the rare case that I had to deliver!  Before we left, the driver and I made a deal, he wouldn't hit any cars or deer, and I wouldn't have my babies in his ambulance!
           In the ambulance I was having contractions every 7 to 9 minutes the first hour of the trip, because it was a very bumpy ride, and every time my uterus was jarred, it contracted.  Once we hit the highway, they slowed down to every 20minutes.  I held up my end of the deal and so did the driver!  We arrived in Augusta in a little over two hours.  I was taken upstairs to labor and delivery and was placed in a very small overflow room with two other women, things were about to get interesting...