First Blood Test

So much for bed rest, I really should have stayed in hospital.

I went to the hospital today to have the first blood test since being discharged on Saturday. All went well in that department and I should hear the results later on in the week. The baby’s heartbeat was checked, as well as my blood pressure and temperature, all of which are ok.

I took a trip up to the Antenatal Unit to collect my medication which I was supposed to have collected on Sunday, after being told to do so when being discharged on Saturday.

Having driven up there Sunday, it turned out the midwife had left my prescription in my book and therefore they had to give me enough medication to cover me until today. Today, it turns out the prescription STILL hasn’t been sent down to the pharmacy!

Telling them that I had run out of one of my medications and that I couldn’t leave without it, they called down to the pharmacy who advised that they would have it ready for tomorrow. Im suppose to be on bed rest I advised ... One of the Midwives told me to take my prescription to my doctors to get them to transfer it into a NHS prescription and then I’d have to take it to the chemist.

So, having left the hospital and now on my way home, I called the doctors and explained the situation. They however advised that unless I fax over the request then it would take the standard two days to process. I repeated my history but nothing would make them budge.

So now, I am on my way back out to my local chemist who I have called and who have thankfully agreed over the phone for me to take the hospital prescription to them and they will happily change it for me but will charge me as it’s classed as a private prescription.

Why does even the most stupid simplest things still cause us a challenge?! WTF did I do wrong in a previous life to have such a sh*t current one?!

Playing with Bob

While having nothing else to do but lay on my back these past couple of weeks, Ive discovered a great game to play with Bob.

When I feel Bob kicking/moving, I lay on my back and slowly poke my belly button so it goes in as far as possible.

If I wait, my belly button starts to go in and out on its own. It's the baby pulling on its umbilical cord!

Mum thinks that its nothing to do with the baby but I have my suspicions.

Our 10 Day Stay In Hospital

Well were do I start?!

I can not begin to describe what a rollercoaster of emotions these past 10 days have been. In fact I cant believe it’s only been 10 days!

Wednesday 17th June honestly changed my life. We were told we were going to lose the baby we had yet to meet and you can not prepare yourself for that.

Wednesday I turned up late to my routine scan appointment. I knew something wasn’t right but I didn’t quite think the day would end as it did. I explained to the sonographer about the water loss two days before and she confirmed that yes my waters had broken and due to the lack of water, the scan was not clear so she could not see the sex.

She could however make out the vital bits (heart, organs, brain etc) and confirmed that the baby is growing at a normal rate. After my scan I was transferred onto the Day Assessment Unit where my blood pressure was taken, the baby’s heart beat monitored and my blood taken to be tested for infection.

My OH turned up at this point and I was telling him it all would be ok as Id read on Google earlier in the week that if the waters go, they could give the baby an injection blah blah blah obviously not having all of my facts correct. Its funny how you don’t read the bad bits when you really should isn’t it.

Once my blood results were back, I was told to go into the doctor’s office where there were already a doctor and midwife waiting. The doctor asked me how I was and asked if my partner was with me. She then asked the midwife to bring him in and at that point I knew it was serious. I can’t recall all of what she said but I do remember her stating, rather straight to the point that my waters had broken, I had an infection and because of this and the gestation of the baby we had to prepare ourselves for the baby to die.

Simple as that.

It was at this point that I saw OH look at me out of the corner of my eye but we remained calm and listened and nodded to everything she was saying.

We were then transferred onto the labour ward while they waited for a room to become available. It wasn't the best place to be as there were ladies going into labour there and then around me. Not exactly considerate.

It wasn’t until I started talking to my OH about having to tell my Mum that I finally cried. He did too. I think he was waiting for me to cry first, as some kind of permission that it was ok to let himself go.

Shortly afterwards he left to get a bag for my stay and I was given an internal to check that my cervix was fully closed. Thankfully it was and it still remains that way today. I don’t know how long it was before a private room was ready but I spent the time waiting by sending a multiple of text explaining the situation to friends and family as well as lots and lots of crying.

The first night on the Antenatal Ward was the worse night sleep I’ve ever had. I think I pretty much cried myself to sleep but was woken several times by women in labour, which I admit to feeling quite angry over, wondering why they had managed to get that far without any problem.

Monday I was sent down for a scan and thankfully the fluid around the baby had increased from 1.5 to 3.1. Unfortunately it was breach so it still didn’t show its bits off. It was also discovered via the scan that my placenta was lying over my cervix, which, I was told was the cause of the bleeding Id been experiencing.

During our 10 day stay my blood pressure was taken, baby’s heart beat monitored and my body temperature checked every four hourly. I was woken every other morning at 6am for a blood test and thankfully the infection has gone down from 17 – on admission - to 12 – today - but it should ideally be at 5. I was and still am on 10 tablets a day to fight the infection.

Every day – including today - the doctors have told us that the outlook isn’t good but do you know what, we’ve got this far and that’s what matters. I admit I feel sh*t scared about being back at home and not being at hospital in case something does go wrong but if it does then it does. We can only take each day as it comes.

As things stand at the moment, I still have an infection of which I have medication for and I have to go to the hospital every Tuesday and Friday to have my bloods taken so they can monitor the infection. I have to be on bed rest until due day and I have to drink plenty of fluid to encourage the baby to wee more to increase the fluid around itself. I also have to keep a daily eye on my temperature and the blood loss – hopefully though my placenta will rise which will cause the blood lose to decrease.

The current goal at the moment is to reach 24 weeks, as this is when they will start to inject me with steroids to help the baby’s lungs develop quicker incase it does decide to show its face early.

Let’s just hope that Bob carries on its fight and that we prove these doctors wrong.

FFS

Forget what I posted earlier about being excited and nervous about tomorrows scan. I am now just sh*tting myself!

I’ve just been to the toilet only to have a massive bleed. WTF is going on in there?! I’ve not felt baby moving all day either come to think of it which is now making me panic a little. FFS I’m tired of all this stressing out about not only financial sh*te but also this pregnancy. This isn't how I imagined it to be!

The Scan Department and Day Clinic are now shut and if anything is happening to this baby then I’d much rather it happened here at home then be kept in overnight. I can’t even call my midwife as she is on holiday this week.

Fingers crossed that tomorrow brings only good news but I’m now completely resigned to the fact that it won’t.

Sex Scan Tomorrow!

I'm excited but also so nervous.

I remember having this same feeling the day before the 12 week scan so god only knows what I will be like when I go into labour. Jeeze the 12 week scan seems so long ago now.

My OH might not be able to make this scan as he's got to be somewhere else and he can’t get out of it.

The hospital appointment is at 10:40am and his appointment is at 11am so I'm hoping that the hospital will make me wait for the scan, as he is going to drive straight over once his appointment finishes. I feel a little sad that he's not going to be there when we find out the sex but if he doesn't go to his appointment then he wont get the money of which is owed to him and boy do we need it right now.

Talking of money, we spent most of the weekend arguing over our lack of current incomings.

It got so bad that I ended up asking him if he wanted to split up. He said no but he does sometimes feel that he'd be better off if he was single!

We eventually sat down and agreed to a financial plan of how we are going to get through the next 4 months of pregnancy and the however many months of baby before I look to go back to work permanently. The thing with my OH is that when he is stressed he can’t see past tomorrow and he isn’t that good at looking at things in the long term.

Annoying yes but there is obviously something about him that I love otherwise we would not still be together after all this time.

Back from the Doctors

After advice from my Birth Board I have just got back from the Doctors.

Apparently it is an infection and my waters are still intact! Although come to think of it he didn't actually touch my stomach or touch me at all in fact, he just tested my urine.

I feel like a twat for thinking it was my waters but at least I now know why I'm like a walking tap and the reason for the pain in my side!

I am a little peed however that the MW didn't pick up on the infection when I went on the 4th and nor did the hospital when I went in on Friday.

The main thing is that the baby is fine, the brown discharge/bleeding has gone and I have been given a course of tablets to take for the next seven days. Until it passes I guess I shall be walking around with a nappy on lol