31 weeks -Easter weekend - 6th trip to Labor and Delivery unit

I had a lovely Easter weekend with a few visits from friends and family that were so nice to load me up on spring flowers to enjoy in my hospital room.

Easter Sunday  - 31 weeks

Saturday visit from Chantel, Mike, Mom, Mark, Kari Olsen, and Diana Murphy

Uncle Mike stopping by for a quick visit.

I made it 2 weeks with out being sent to the torture chamber. 

Yesterday ended up being a combination of Terrific and Terrible Tuesday. My mom wheeled me outside to enjoy some beautiful sunshine and the daffodils. We found a perfect enclosed area near the entrance of the hospital where it's very sunny. Sure enough, right soon when we returned back to my room around 3:20, some heavy bleeding came on which eventually lead to my 6th trip to L&D. 

On a positive note- 1- it will most likely be my last time given magnesium since they stop doing that after 32 weeks 2- it was the least torture I've been there in that unit (maybe because I'm so use to it by now. ;) 3- I was very stubborn and after 4 hours,  I was the one to make the call on whether to start up with mag

It was kind of the same spill that I have always had - bleeding came on all the sudden. This time it was a large blood clot, but not too much bleeding afterwards. Right soon after all this happened, the doctor on call said he wanted to send me to 7 West which is the unit where L&D is located. I refused to go right away since there wasn't that much bleeding compared to what I've had in the past and they hadn't even done a specular exam. There were 2 residents that came in to take a look and talk with me about why the doctor wanted to send me to 7 west. One of the nurses in the back ground was laughing at me since she knows me all too well and understand that I know my body more then anyone else.  So, long story short- it got to the point where I was willing to go to 7 west to be closely monitored, but wanted to hold off on the magnesium since the bleeding had slowed down. I called Mark's sister, Cari, who use to work in Labor and Delivery to get some advice from her. She mentioned that not only does the magnesium help strengthen the baby's brain in case I have to give birth right away, but it also helps calm the uterus and decrease contractions. The night time doctor, Dr. Landers (different doctor then earlier), came in and said since the bleeding has slowed down, we can just wait it out a couple hours with monitoring me and then possibly send me back to 7 South. After that, I started having heavier contractions that were the strongest I've felt during this whole pregnancy. When they got to be pretty bad and consistent, I decided to go ahead with the magnesium. It's either one pain or another. They immediately stopped after the mag dose started up.  I did ask that they don't give me such a huge dose for the first 20 min, but to increase it to 30 min instead so the mag symptoms weren't as bad. It sure made a difference. I was on magnesium for only 7 hours and was able to go back to my room this morning. My night time nurse was awesome. Her name is Libby and I've had her as a nurse in 7 South quite a lot, to the point where she knows me quite well. When she heard about the story, she mentioned it's good to be stubborn sometimes. She also kept talking about what a smart child this baby will be after all the magnesium doses she has had. 

Mark came to visit that night to free my mom, but this time he didn't spend the night. I didn't see any good reason for him to stay since I was doing fine and sleep is important for a long days work tomorrow. So yes, I'm the one that sent him home. 

Wednesday 3/30

Today all is well. I got my room back, and my one day room mate just got discharged. I had a lovely visit with my kids this afternoon and appreciate Jane bringing them every Wednesday. My mom left home this afternoon for Utah to go take care of my dad who recently had eye surgery. Most likely she will be gone for a week and I'm hoping this baby behaves. ;) 

I have a strong feeling she will be an April baby. My songram on Friday went well and the baby weighed in at 3 lbs 13 oz which means she is already over 4 lbs now. They printed out a couple photos and she is a chubby one. I even got to see her hair in the the sonogram. 

I've had plenty to keep me busy and have been reading at least a book a week if not more. I'm almost done reading The Lost wife which is really good so far. My next book I'll start up is All the Light we can not see. Almost done knitting Chantel's scarf. I finished up season 5 of Downton Abby only to find out I can't watch season 6 on Amazon prime. Anyone have any suggestions on how to watch it? I also started up watching The Man in the High Castle which is pretty intense, but it does make me feel grateful for the free country we live in.

Thanks for all the visits, emails, cards, text.  Can't believe April is almost here and that I've been in the hospital for 2 months!

Thur 3/31

This morning I was woken up at 3:00 am by a new (5th) room mate joining me. It's so annoying when they end up bringing patients in the middle of the night. Not to mention the house keeping, cleaning ladies come in from 10:10-10:40 pm to clean the room next door. What ever happened to quiet hours starting at 9:00? 

My room mate got discharged this afternoon! :)

30 weeks 3/24

Thursday 3/24

It's been over a week since I've been to the torture chamber. It ended up being a Terrific Tuesday instead of Terrible Tuesday this week. I've also had my room all to myself for over a week (knock on wood).

Most days I've had very minimal bleeding, rated at 3-4, but there have been 2 incidents when I've had sudden heavy bleeding come on rated at a 7 and 8. Luckily both times weren't too much blood to send me back to L&D. I think it's just simple reminders that I won't be going home before delivery and that this bleeding is never going to stop.

___________________________________________________

Ratings:

1-brown spotting

2-dark red spotting

3-minimal bleeding - 1 pad/day

4- light bleeding - 2 pads/day

5- on/off medium bleeds through out the day with a few dime size blood clots - 5 pads/day

6-on/off medium bleeds with numerous quarter size blood clots - 5-7 pads/day

7-hourly bleeding, but not enough all at once to contact nurse right away - pad changed each hour or 2

8- heavy bleeding all at once - immediately contact nurse, put on the monitor, specular exam 

9- heavy bleeding all at once - immediately contact nurse, immediate specular exam, IV, and monitored

10-Heavy bleeding all at once- emergency action

____________________________________________________

Yesterday with how nice the weather was I finally had the guts to ask my doctor if I could go outside to feel some fresh air. He was nice to give me permission, so my sweet mother wheeled me out near the entrance of the hospital where I had an amazing time soaking in some vitamin d, smelling and seeing the spring flowers in bloom, and enjoying the sunshine with clear blue skies. It was so warm that I even ended up taking off my long sleeve cami. Let me mention, I hadn't been outside since February 1st so this was very heavenly and therapeutic. I had a hard time going back inside. We were probably outside for a good 1.5 hours and ended up meeting up with the kids at the entrance since they come to see me every Wednesday after school. :) I may have to request a bi-weekly prescription to soak in vitamin D. 

Mark's boss has told him  -no more going on business trips until after delivery, which I think is smart with how quickly my bleeds have come on. 

This baby is sure getting big and is very active. Wish I knew when she'll be delivered. It's like living on the edge for me, knowing she could come as quick as a day or a month and a half. All I know is the doctors are hoping to keep this baby in the oven til 34 weeks and most likely I won't deliver past 37 weeks. Most people with my condition deliver anywhere between 34-36 weeks. 

29 weeks - 5th time to Labor & Delivery

March 16

I just woke up at 9:00 this morning from a terrible night mare, only to realized this night mare is reality I'm facing. It was about a nurse who came in my room and woke me up by telling me the lab reported back that the blood tube clotted and they need another another one, so we were going to have to draw my blood again for the 3rd time. What had happened before, was I had my blood drawn after getting poked 5 times to find a good vein for the 4 test tubes that were needed. There were 4 different nurses that came into try and one of them was about to poke me in the foot which is the worst spot ever. After getting my blood drawn, they heard from the lab that one of the tubes did't have enough blood so we'd have to draw blood again. Luckily it only took one poke this time. Then early in the morning, my night time nurse came in again and said that the lab reported back that they weren't able to do the test since the blood tube had clots in it. Luckily the nurse was nice about it and said she will check and see if we can wait it out a bit.  I went back to sleep and had my "realitiy nightmare." I woke up somewhat in tears. The good news is I ended up not having to get my blood drawn for the 3rd time since the doctor decided we didn't need the test any more now that the bleeding slowed down. 

Yesterday I was planning on sending out an update, but thought I'd wait til evening in case any changes happened since Monday and Tuesday have been my back luck days. Well, sure enough, once 4:15 rolled along it all happened once again. And let me add that Tuesday wasn't any different from an other day as far as activity and high spirits. I was sitting down on a chair next to my mom and we were giggling, having a great time right before all this heavy bleeding came on. So pretty much another repeat from last week only this time the bleeding was a little more heavy and so I felt better about having a good enough reasoning to make a trip to the "torture chamber."  But once again, right before they started giving me the magnesium, the bleeding slowed down substantially. So why they decide to just not give it to me, I don't know??? I was on the mag for about 15 hours. Mark was given the report from Dr. Sharma to come home from his California business trip, not knowing what the future hours would be. He arrived at the hospital at 12:30 am and my mom headed back home to get some sleep. Our nanny was nice about willingness to spend the night at our house last min notice and take the kids to school in the morning. She will now get today off work so it sounded like a pretty good trade to me. I felt bad for once again cutting Mark's business trip short. 

I've now been to L&D 5 times along with the mag torture. The big question is, how many times will this have to happen before the baby is delivered? I'm trying to think positive and remind myself that if it weren't for me having to go through all of this, it would be her facing the challenges in the NICCU. I may have terrible veins, but much better ones then an infant. I also wonder if all this that I had to go through last night was a punishment for complaining about always having to have an IV in me 24/7. This time it came in handy for emergency since they didn't end up giving me a new one in L&D. My mom brought up the idea that maybe we need to name the baby Maggy from all the Magnesieum I've been on.

My emotions have been all over the place. I cried in front of the doctor this morning and last night when I was told that my room has been taken by another patient and my mom had to clear all my stuff out. As in, all the cards and pictures hanging on the wall had to be taken down and I no longer will have my fridge and window view.

I've been off the mag since 9:30 this morning and should be heading back to 7 south in the next hour. The big question is, what room will I be in? I'm glad I have my kids and a friend coming to visit me this afternoon. Hopefully that will cheer me up. It's also been nice having Mark around to wipe away my tears. 

Sorry everyone, I was hoping for a positive uplifting email saying that I'd gone a week with out making a trip to L&D, but that hasn't been the case. I'll try and send another update later on this week so you can hear from me on my good days. Let's all cross our fingers that I will have a decent room with a nice (not too loud) room mate. The majority of my stay in the hospital I've been so lucky to have a room to myself with an amazing view, but then hours before this incident, I had a room mate join me and then left my room only to find out it's been taken. 

I'm so glad my mom has been in town during all this and that Mark is back in town. Hoping for good luck tomorrow and the rest of the week.

March 18

It's been nice to be back in my room. I was surprised by how quickly I made it back into my original room with river view and fridge. I was transferred from the L&D around 1:30 and moved into a different room for the afternoon. My kids came to visit me which helped to brighten my day.  One of the nurses said, "don't make yourself too comfortable because we may be able to get you your room back tonight." Well, she wasn't kidding. That night around 8:00 that same nurse, Brook, came in and said - "ok, your room is vacant. Let's hurry and get you transferred before it's too late." She was so awesome to make that happen so quickly. The next day, my mom helped to reorganize my drawers, closet, and re -decorate the walls. I'm hoping to stay in here for longer then a week this time. I'm starting to be a little frightened by these "Terrible Tuesday's" that come along. My mom flew back to Utah for the weekend to attend a family event. I told her all will be fine as long as she is back before Tuesday. ;)

I'm really wishing I could make a trip outside to smell and feel the fresh air. Today I'm getting rather stir crazy being in the same room all day. I have a room mate now, but it's sounding like they plan to deliver her baby next Wednesday. She is really quiet in the day times, but come evening she started up her own symphony with her snoring. Last night was rough because her doctors/nurses came in every couple hours to check on her and monitor her. It wasn't like this the first night, so I'm hoping it's not an every night occurrence. Anyway, so I didn't get the best sleep with all the talking that was going on and once I did fall back asleep I was awoken by her loud snoring at 5:30 am. I got up to use the bathroom thinking maybe the sound of the toilet flushing would help to slightly wake her and stop the snoring, but no. It continued for quite a while until finally a nurse came in to take her vitals and after that she was quiet. 

My bleeding has been very minimal, meaning it's more then spotting but not too much all at once to worry or contact the nurse. I've been very pleased by the nurses here and feel like after 6.5 weeks here in the hospital I have now got to know all of them. 

Yesterday I had to get a new IV put in because my other one fell out after taking a shower. I was so upset because my other IV was such a good one. The protecting cover that one of the nurses gave me to put over my IV while I shower wasn't big enough so the sticky part got on the other plastic that was covering my IV, so when I pulled it off, the IV came out. But I do have to say, the new IV I got put in was great. The lady who came in from the IV team did such a good job to the point where I barely felt it. I made sure to get her name for future days when I have to get it replaced.

Looking forward to a visit from Mark and my kids tomorrow and thanks to all those who have come to visit me and contacted me. Hope you all have a great weekend. I can't believe Easter is just a week away.

28 weeks - 4th time to Labor & Delivery

March 8- 4th trip to L&D

Things have been going great this past week. I've had very mild bleeding that turned into light brown spotting. I've had a great number of visitors drop in to see me. I was doing so well, that my mom went home Sunday and plans to come back this weekend before Mark's business trip.

Today has been a pretty good day overall. That is until the evening came. A friend dropped by at 11:30 with some amazing salad for me and stayed to visit for an hour.

From 1:00-2:00, I wheel chaired it down to the 4th floor atrium to attend a free conference that was about "how to control your anger." It was really interesting. I then took it easy for the rest of the afternoon and even had another visitor drop by at 5:00. 

After how long it's been with light bleeding/spotting the last few days I was having high hopes that I'd be going home sometime soon.

Today it actually hit me that I'm truly getting home sick and missing my kids. It doesn't help that Truman's behavior with Jane has gotten worse and Chantel was even having a melt down yesterday. I really miss my kids.

Right after getting off the phone with Jane and Truman to talk about Truman misbehavior on the bus ride home, I got up to use the bathroom and a good amount of blood came gushing out. As I've learned my lesson, this time I did not call from the bathroom. Instead I changed pads and went back to my bed where I paged my nurse. 

They put me on the monitor right away and Doctor Sharma happened to be on call and came in to do a specular exam to make sure the bleeding wasn't continual. I was monitored in my room and after a few hours Dr. Sharma decided with how much bleeding I had in less then an hour, she wanted to send me to L&D unit where I can be monitors regularly for the night. 

So far I've been here an hour and a half. They had to change my IV since my other one was bad. They have me on fluids and will start me up on magnesium and penicillin soon.  I'm trying to prepare myself for major hot flash side affects. I'm glad Mark has already left, thanks to friend Joy for watching our kids tonight. 

The nurses were joking around saying I'm just trying to keep them on my toes and it's funny that I happen to have the same nurses today then I did the last 2 times I was sent to L&D. The other crazy part is, the heavy bleeding has always come on close to "change of shifts" for the nurses. Never in the middle of the day. On the bright side, at least I got to enjoy a tasty dinner before being told I can't eat or drink.

Lets hope for the best and that the bleeding will subside once again. If I'm counting correctly, this is my 4th time in L&D

27 weeks

Tues - 3/1

Just sending another update that things are still looking good and have been for a full week now. :)

Today marks 27 weeks and 2 days.  It's hard to believe I've been in the hospital for a whole month and boy has by belly grown. 

My doctor stopped by this morning and mentioned that after looking at the sonogram images, the placenta has started to move away from the cervix with the growth of the baby which is what we want. I think that also helps to improve the scaring/tear. She said, "after what happened last week where we almost gave birth, I hate to say too much. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that everything stays settled as it has been. We can't get too excited. I'm still wanting to wait it out 24 hours of no bleeding before even considering the option of discharge."

That being said, my bleeding still hasn't stopped but it has been very mild for the past week since returning to my room. If things stay this way, then my Mom will plan to head home this weekend after Truman's pinewood derby on Saturday and possibly celebrating his birthday early before leaving? 

Last night my room mate was discharged. Things were going so well for her and she had originally thought she'd have to be here for the rest of her pregnancy. She was sweet to leave me her flowers and magazines. She was a really nice room mate overall, but it was nice to finally get a full good night sleep last night while not being woken up by her nurses or snoring.;). We'll see how long I actually have this room to myself, but it's nice so far.

The kids are doing great with Jane. Chantel is starting to  progress once again with violin which makes me so happy. I'm sad to not be home to celebrate Truman's birthday next Monday, but so grateful for face time.  Speaking of gratitude, I'm also grateful to finally have the IV removed from my right hand. It left a pretty good mark and this new one they put in my arm has been so much better. 

This week a friend is stopping by to teach me how to knit which I'm way excited about. I've been getting a lot more reading in and have loved having visitors everyday, which includes my sweet mother. :) She has saved me from this hospital food by bringing REAL food. This morning she brought me a smoothie which was so refreshing. 

26 weeks 5 days - Recovery from Labor and Delivery

Friday 2/26

Today marks the 2nd day back in my own room with the beautiful window view. As of yesterday, I have had very minimal spotting. Every day makes such a difference. I'll be 27 weeks on Sunday. It's amazing how quickly the bleeding subsided. I'm doing so well, that it almost feels like I'm back to where I was the first week I was here when I had high hopes of going home soon. I'm trying my best to make this hospital room seem like home to me. I have lots of fun cards and pictures hanging on my walls as well as flowers people have brought me. I have my night stand full of tasty goodies, junk magazines, books. Mark was so awesome to give me his new IPad he recently received from work and so now I don't have to keep borrowing his old one (I had mine stolen at the airport last summer). I also have a mini fridge filled with good food to help fill my cravings. 

I just had a sonogram this morning and it sounded like everything looks good, but I haven't heard back from the doctors yet. The cervix is still closed and baby is looking great and growing fast. They said she now weighs 2 lbs. 

Thanks again for all those checking in on me.  Hoping not to make any more trips to labor and deliver any time soon. 

26 weeks - True Blue Miracle

Tues - 2/23

I'm now 26 weeks and 2 day. I haven't had any other trips to labor and delivery over the last week which is a relief. My bleeding has still been rather heavy at times, but nothing too drastic to send me back to L&D and hook me up to IV's. 

It feels great to be back in my room with the awesome window view of the East River. I've been lucky to have the room all to myself. That is, until last night when a room mate joined me. :/ It turns out she snores and tends to watch a lot of tv (which isn't too loud for me, but I can still hear it). She is 27 weeks which means she could be here for a while longer. So much for having my own room, but I can't complain too much. It could be worse.

I passed my glucose test last week!!! I didn't pass the first test they did on me, so the next day after fasting over night, they had to draw my blood 4 times after I drank the tasty (not) sugared drink. They drew blood every hour for 3 hours after the drink. My blood cells seem to be a lot thinner and so my nurse that day ended up poking me 5 extra times that were unsuccessful. 

But hey, at least I pasted the test and don't have gestational diabetes.

My next sonogram is scheduled for this Thursday afternoon.

I think the worst part about being in the hospital for long period of time is the fact that I always have to have an IV in me and because I'm pregnant its double the size as the smallest one. The only times I end up screaming in the hospital is when they have to change my IV (which has to be done every 4 days). The last one I had put in only lasted 2 days and was feeling really tender. It turns out it came out of my vein some how and so the nurse took it out last night. They have let the IV team know I'm due for another IV. I was all worried I'd be woken up in the middle of the night by the IV team, but they never showed up thank goodness. I don't have IV in right now and its the best thing ever, but I know it won't last too long. So far I have 6 IV scars on my arms. :/ Not to mention I end up getting my blood drawn around 4 times a week.

Its been so great having my family bring me left over foods from meals people have brought our family. They have all been so much better then hospital food. As of yesterday, our nanny started up and with my mom in town for the next few weeks, we are not in need of meals at this time, but thanks to all those who have offered. Our nanny's name is Jane and she is really cute with the kids. She is in her early 50's and has had a lot of experience with kids as she was an elementary school teacher for 4 different grades. She mentioned that 2nd grade was her favorite, which happens to be Truman's age.

I've sure appreciated all the surprise visits, emails, texts, flowers, goodies, cards, etc... It always helps to strengthen my spirits.

2 hours later:

Ok, I spoke too soon. Within 10-20 min after sending this email out I had more heavy bleeding. They immediately hooked me up to monitor and IV fluids. I did not appreciate the way I was treated as far as immediate IV poking. They immediately went for the vein in my right hand (which is still tender) with out even considering the arm. I screamed and cried and was so grateful that my friend, Kate Lindsay came to visit and help boost my spirits and wipe away my tears.

The bleeding subsided for a couple hours and I was getting close to being unhooked from IV fluids, but then more heavy bleeding came on. I'm now in labor and delivery room really hoping I don't have to be on magnesium.  

I haven't been able to eat or drink since this morning. My mom is here and I do have a pretty awesome nurse. Let's hope for the best! :/

Wed - 2/24

Talk about a true blue miracle and the Lord watching over the baby and me. I was really close to having to deliver last night. After being hooked up to magnesium/fluids/penicillin, being given another steroids shot, and being on full bed rest, by 7:30 the bleeding was still really heavy. My doctor estimated (from looking at my pads that were being changed within each hour) that I had already lost around 200 ml of blood that day. I was having contractions and even though the baby's heart rate was fine all along, we were worried about her losing nutrition from all the blood Id lost from the placenta. We didn't want to cause any stress on her since baby's this young don't handle stress as well as baby's born in the 30 weeks range. So my doctor prepped me for possible c-section if the bleeding continued heavily for another hour like it had been. 

During the whole time, my mom and I had been texting Mark to keep him updated. He was able to catch an earlier flight from LA and was still 4.5 hours away by then. 

My emotions were all over the place. I can't even count the number of times I cried yesterday. Not to mention the pain in my arm and hand from this IV. My mom and I said a little prayer as I'm sure many family and friends did. While waiting it all out we watched a few shows on Netflix to keep our minds off all that was going on. 

It was within that hour that some how, some way the bleeding turned into light spotting and has been ever sense. Mark was so glad he made it to the hospital with this baby still inside me. He slept here for the night. 

Things are looking up from here, but who knows how much it will change once they let me get up out of bed instead of using a bed pan. I've been told I may be sent back to my room today. I've learned I can't get too excited, but so glad we gained another day of baby's life in the oven. 

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. That's all for now. Let's hope I didn't speak too fast

25 weeks - 1st and 2nd trip to Labor and Delivery

Tue - 2/16

It was a crazy weekend with some heavy bleeding Saturday morning and a trip to labor and delivery where they had me on IV fluids and gave me magnesium to strengthen the baby's brain development in case she comes early. The bleeding slowed down so they sent me back to my room. Yesterday was a good day with only light bleeding. 

This morning at 7:45 I had more heavy bleeding that was worse then Saturday, so I'm back to the beginning in labor and delivery again. This time I'm having more contractions and I'm a little worried the baby is going to come early if this bleeding continues. I'm also in more pain with cramping and contractions.  Lots of emotions going on. 

Wed - 2/17

Home again, home again jiggidy jig!

After a miserable 24 hours of IV fluids, Magnesium,  penicillin, and hooked to monitors,  I'm now back in my original room with the beautiful window view and comfy bed. 

The worst if it was having to get another IV put in my arm and the side affects the magnesium causes (drowsy, nauseous, body aching, stinging sensation in the eyes, hot flashes). I was on a clear liquid diet for 24 hours while hooked to the IV.

My mom was there in the room with me for most of the day and during the times I wasn't  napping, we watched a few episodes of Leverage on Netflix. It definitely helped get my mind off the pain. 

Before getting switched back to my room this morning, my doctor came in and mentioned that it's not anything I'm doing that is causing the bleeding. That was comforting to hear because to be honest I took it very easy on Monday with little walking and lots of bed rest. This placenta just has a mind of its own and needs to behave and stay attached to the uterine wall so I won't have to keep having these trips back and forth to the labor and delivery room. The baby has been fine all along. 

My doctor also mentioned that there is a good chance I'll end up being in the hospital for the rest of my pregnancy.

Most of the bleeding has slowed down, but still hasn't stopped completely. It feels like I'm on a never ending period. :/

Thanks to all your thoughts and prayers. I'm hoping for a good week ahead and no more trips to labor and delivery.

24 weeks - 2nd weeks

Tue - 2/9

I thought I'd send out an update since it's now been a week in the hospital.

First off, I have been through very minimal physical pain through out this whole ordeal. It's mostly been emotionally draining on me and being a pregnant women, it can be hard to hold back the tears. The physical pain has mostly been from unexperienced phlebotomist and having an IV in my arm 24/7 in case of an emergency. I was so glad that my nurse I have today was willing to take out my IV which was getting very tender. She said, "I don't want to break any rules, so if the doctor says something, we'll have to put one back in. The emotional pain, is the thought of "what if" she comes early. 

The baby is doing great. She's a constant mover and every day when they do a stress test, her heart is beating regularly. It's always comforting to feel her moving a lot.

Yesterday I had an ultra sound and everything looked good. The baby's head was in the way so they were unable to see if the tear in the placenta has completely healed. But ideal that the baby's head is helping to patch it up. The bleeding has slowed down a lot, but still hasn't completely stopped. There has been a couple days when I've got a little too excited about possibly being discharged, but then the bleeding comes on again. On the other hand, I do agree with the doctor in that I will be much more relaxed and inactive in the hospital then I would at home, so its safer to wait a full 24 hours of no bleeding. For all we know, I could be here all week. And even when I do go home, the other scary part is it takes at least 45 min to get to the hospital from our place. If only this hospital could be located on the west side of Manhattan instead of as far east as possible. We are talking, I have a view of the East river and Roosevelt Island out my window. 

This week is a very crucial week for us. I am 24 weeks along and waiting to reach the 25 week hurdle with no complications. We are talking, double the survival rate of a child born at 24 compared to 25. 

Today we are hoping to finalize who we will be hiring as a nanny. I was very impressed by this girl we interviewed last night and if we decide to go with her, she'll be starting on February 22nd. In the mean time, my dad is flying out here tonight to help out with the kids so that I can have someone with me at the hospital during for most of the day. 

Today I'm delighted to have my mom at the hospital with me while the kids are in school. She gave me a wonderful pedicure on Sunday and continues to serve me as my day nurse making it so I don't have to wait hours for the regular nurse to respond to my nurse call button. She has also brought me some of the amazing left over dinner meals people have brought us. I got to eat some Jacob's pancake and chicken this morning which totally fulfilled my craving. The hospital food is never amazing. They do have some good meals, most of them aren't that great. I have a little mini fridge where I can keep extra goods and snacks for when I do get hungry. There is also a microwave where I can reheat food and I'm very excited to try the Jacob's pickles mac and cheese for lunch today.

I have loved having visitors so thank you to all those who have stopped by after the long trek to the east side. Also a big thank you to those who have been willing to help out with our kids and send me a goodie bag.

I'm feeling very loved. 

I will keep you all posted if things change, but as for now we are just still taking it a day at a time. The future is such a gray area that we don't know what's ahead. 

Don't feel like you have to stop by, but I love having visitors to fill my time as bed rest can get pretty boring after a while. There are no strict visiting hours. Once again I'm at cornell presbyterian hospital, 525 E 68th St. 

Greensburg pavilion, 7 south, labor and delivery, room 234B.