Daily Routine

DAY 16

Someone once said, "No news is good news" and I suppose that sentiment rings true for me. Every day the doctors tell me to "Stay boring" and so far I think I have complied to their wishes. Unfortunately, boredom is not a very exciting topic to write about. Each evening I sit and think about my day and if there was anything newsworthy for me to blog. As I was processing the events of today, I came to the conclusion that it was a pretty routine day, but then I realized that some of you might be curious as to what a typical day in the hospital looks like for me. So here it goes.

Each day starts shortly after 5:00am with my night shift nurse coming in to take my vitals and listen to the babies heart beats so they can bring the doctors up to date before they go on their rounds. I had heard that a very rare breed of individuals operate at this un-human hour in the morning. I can assure you (much to my disbelief) that indeed they do. I however, am not one of them. At least not by choice.

I have two doctors that come by every morning to check on my status and to tell me my job that day is to stay pregnant. One doctor is the OBGYN that I was assigned to when I was admitted to Wesley. The other doctor, works under the specialist who reviews all the paper work of my pregnancy and makes the determining decisions of what is in the best good for the babies and for myself. This specialist comes by once a week to check on me and to verify that we are on the same page for that week.

Along with these doctors (and sometimes separately from the doctors) come a group of medical students. The first couple of days in the hospital, it was a little unnerving being woken up by so many people wanting to touch my stomach and ask me questions, but now I'm beginning to get used to it. 

Around 7:00am the night shift nurses turns her patients over to the day shift nurse. I am usually up by this point and a little more cognitive of my surroundings. Breakfast usually comes somewhere between 7:30-7:45. Being the mom of three little ones, I have learned how to eat quickly which has proved beneficial, since I have about 15 minutes (sometimes less) to eat my breakfast before the nurse comes in to monitor me.

As far as the monitoring process goes, I lay down on the bed and the nurse attaches three devices to my stomach. One device picks up Baby A's heart, another picks up Baby B's heart, and the third reads any contractions that I may have. Theses devices are attached to a monitor that then prints a graph readout of the information as well as provides a screen with which to see the information. If babies are good and don't move around too much, I am there for an hour. If they are active and keep rolling away from the monitors, so that the machine can't pick up their hearts, I can be there anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours.

After my monitoring I am free until 2:00pm. The nurse will come in later that morning to give me my pre-natal and folic acid and then dinning services will come by to pick up my breakfast tray and take my lunch menu. While I may not be a fan of everything that I have eaten here at Wesley, I am impressed by their variety and their very professional and friendly staff. If a meal is scheduled that I don't particularly care for, I have the ability to swap it out from a large list of additional items that are offered daily. That feature has been a very nice blessing!

I usually fill my morning hours reading, journaling, knitting, or working on Sudoku puzzles. If I am really antsy, I will put on my shoes and walk the floor. The nurses joke with me that I am putting in my rounds. I am not allowed to leave the floor without Stephen or another responsible adult with me. The same rule applies for going outside. While this rule makes me feel rather confined, I understand that they are looking out for my safety and the safety of my children. They simply do not want to risk me being alone, going into pre-term labor, and not having the ability to get back to where I need to be. I now understand a little better how my son must feel when he wants to go outside and I can't take him right away. It's all in perspective.

Lunch comes somewhere between 12:00-12:30. After my afternoon monitoring I have free time till dinner which comes 5:00-5:30. Dining services come back sometime during this span and take my dinner and breakfast order. The nurse also comes back to get another round of vitals. Stephen usually brings one, both, or all of the children during this down time. It is the best feeling in the world to see their faces come around the door. We have managed to keep the kids entertained pretty well in the room, and often take the opportunity to go outside with them. Joel is a big fan of riding in the wheel chair with me.

After dinner I usually read or work on a blog till my evening monitoring. Another pastime is listening to Charles Swindoll on my iPhone. Once the evening monitoring is finished (usually by 9 or 10) and the nurse has taken my last round of vitals, I am on my own for the rest of the night.  

The days tend to move rather slowly but looking back on the weeks, they go by fairly quickly. When I am tempted to complain, I often hear the words of the old hymn Count Your Many Blessings run through my head.

" Are you ever burdened with a load of care?

Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly.

And you will be singing as the days go by.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your blessings, see what God has done!

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your many blessings, see what God has done."

Well, I hope I have been able to give you a better picture of what my hospital stay looks like so far. I will keep trying to find new topics and exciting updates to bring you while still staying boring and pregnant. Doctor's orders!