March 04, 2004

This Time, It's for Real

We have a few quiet moments here in the hospital during Elizabeth's induction, so I'm writing this update while Elizabeth rests and reads. (BTW, having a net connection while in the hospital, even if it is dial-up, seriously rocks.)

This morning was a bit stressful for Elizabeth. First she was woken up around 5:30am to have some blood drawn. Then she was woken up around 6:30am to get weighed and have her blood pressure taken. Finally she was woken up at 8:45am for her non-stress test. She was wheeled down for the NST, then left waiting for an hour. They then took her in for an ultrasound, which hadn't been ordered. She found out it hadn't been ordered when the doctor on call found her, and took her for the NST. The blood results had come back, and her platelet level had dropped from a normal-ish level, (anything above 150,000) down to 127,000, which is of concern. Since she was already borderline with the blood pressure and proteinuria, they decided that the platelet level was enough of an additional 'signal' that it was time to induce. They left her in the NST room while finding a room for her. She got wheeled down to Labor & Delivery, although the lady bringing her there got lost on the way. Once they made it to L&D, they started monitoring her again. She didn't have her cell phone with her through all of this, and it wasn't until she was finally put into a room in L&D that she was able to call me. I went "yikes!" and sprang into action. Then, despite running around frantically, I actually was able to remember to feed the cats, clean their litterbox, grab the newly-printed birth preferences she'd written, plus a few other items, and posted a brief notice on the blog, before I ran out the door. On the way to the hospital, I phoned our doula, Kelly, and both our moms to update them all on the situation.

I arrived at the hospital around 12:15pm. They hadn't yet started the induction, thankfully. After the stress of the morning, Elizabeth was glad to see a familiar face (it was probably even better that it was her husband's). The doctor inserted the prostaglandin gel around 1pm, and she was continuously monitored for 2 hours. Things seemed to be going OK, and she's been allowed to sit up and move about a tiny bit since then. The doctor should be back around 5pm to check on her (they usually give the prostaglandins 4 hours to work) and decide whether to progress with Pitocin to start labor or to give her another application of prostaglandin gel.

We can't promise any more updates until after the baby arrives, but if we get a chance, we'll post another update.

Posted by Tom Nugent at March 4, 2004 04:53 PM
Comments

Good luck Elizabeth! ELW and I are thinking about you. Best wishes for a safe delivery for both you and the baby!

Posted by: Rob Calhoun at March 4, 2004 11:06 PM
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