Some Things Change… And Some Things Don’t

It’s difficult for me to remember the specifics of my pregnancies, but I do remember that the last few weeks are usually a hot mess. With Felicity, I literally couldn’t function and had to leave work around week 37. The only thing I remember from those three weeks before her birth was going to a corn maze, going to Red Lobster, and going into labor after a walk around the park. Honestly, I likely remember those events because of photos. With Asher, I had such horrible round ligament pain that around week 35/36 I couldn’t walk. With Naomi, I had preterm contractions for about 3 weeks before she was delivered due to me have “elevated blood pressure.” Ironically, I’m having an episode similar to what happened during Naomi’s gestation. I had to look back at my blogs to verify. To my amazement, I was recently hospitalized at week 34 for preterm contractions just like 3 years ago.

Part of me knew something like this would happen, but I wanted to be optimistic. Every pregnancy is different… Right? It was shocking that this was so similar to last time. I started feeling weird about two days before I was admitted to the hospital. Nights started to be difficult. I also had these intense urges to do a number 2, but nothing significant happened. On August 9th everything came to a head when I started to have regular contractions. It didn’t feel like labor, but it was so uncomfortable and concerning . My doctor and the media talked a lot about uterine rupture after repeat c sections and these contractions weren’t letting up.

We’ve been through this before and thought we would be at the hospital a few hours, but this time was different. I somehow dilated a little and that changed everything. Me going to get things stabilized turned into me possibly going into labor and having a premature baby. This kinda happened with Naomi, but I needed more medications this time. I received steroids to help mature her lungs in the event I gave birth. I also received medications to stop the contractions.

Another aspect that was different was the care I received this time around. I’ll never forget how badly I felt the three weeks before I had Naomi. I was hospitalized 3 times and I remember the smug looks I got in triage as if I was doing something wrong. It was to the extent that a PA had to be told explicitly to believe a patient when they say they are in pain. This time was so much different. I haven’t been back ( and hopefully won’t), but the nurses were telling me to ask for them if I had to come back or was in labor. They told me that they were here to treat me and they were happy to do their jobs. I was so impressed with the care I received. All of the nurses were great, but Fatima, Meghan, and Shain stood out. Huntington Hospital has great nurses and food. Yes… I said food. The food there was out of this world for hospital food and for most standard restaurants. They even had daily specials for soup, dinner, and dessert. My last dinner there was halibut with succotash and a green sauce.

It’s been a few days later and I absolutely feel better because the contractions aren’t nonstop. However, I have reached a limit on being “functional” while pregnant. I need to rest and have occasional contractions throughout the day. I also feel like I’m about to give birth most nights. It’s annoying, but something that I’m accepting slowly. I’m thankful that I’ve made it to 35 weeks, so I’m less apprehensive about going into labor. My prayer is that the rest of this pregnancy, the delivery, and the recovery will go exceedingly well for me and Jubilee.