And the saga continues

Week 2 of my incarceration is going by surprisingly quickly, have had a few visitors already which is great, and they are being quite inventive with the gifts they are bestowing on me ( as their obvious 1st choice would have been pizza, goodies and chocolate which is now banned in my diabetic presence) , I have received some lovely gladioli, magazines, books, puzzle books, a balloon on a stick and a cuddly toy so far, as well as more offers to ‘break me out’ for lunch ( which I have obviously accepted!) . I should really appreciate this time, as it’s all about ME….as I am aware that as soon as the lady bumps arrive I will be forgotten ..for ever!

For anyone that does not have children, or is in the process of deciding whether they want children I would suggest you never visit anyone on an ante-partum ward..it really could put you off for life! There are women here who are suffering from acute ‘morning sickness’ where they have been hospitalized for their own safety due to the fact that they are vomiting constantly and are hooked up to IV’s to hydrate them, so I hear loud retching sounds at all hours. Other ladies are on permanent bed rest (can’t even get up to shower or pee) because their membranes have ruptured, or they are bleeding. However the majority of the women are here for inductions, so there is a lot of comings and goings…I was quite surprised how many inductions don’t work at first, so they spend all day here with no results, then they are sent home and told to come back the next day. Needless to say all of this information, coupled with my own experiences have been instrumental in me making the decision that I am definitely going to get my tubes tied when I have the C-section. Previous to coming here I was of the opinion that BD should ‘get the snip’, after all I surmised that’s only fair! I have been through 2 pregnancies, childbirth, breast feeding and all the rest that goes along with it..HE should go through something a little bit painful ….just to be polite if nothing else! I must be growing up ( or giving up?) as now I just think screw it, while they are in there they may aswell just do the job..then it’s done..no more babies, no more worries about taking the pill, no stress waiting for BD to work up the courage ( from what I have seen men are such wimps about it) etc.. In fact BD had already mentioned a few ‘reservations’ when I brought up the subject..his favorite quote being “ you never castrate a good bull ” ( obviously he’s never heard of sweetmeats!) ..so I am sure he will be thrilled when I tell him the news.

So how am I doing on the health front these days? Well, I came into hospital pretty healthy (or so I thought) , I took my daily prenatal tablet and my nightcap of Gaviscon, but all in all I was feeling pretty good. Now however I am on multiple medications! Thanks to the Ranitidine for excessive heartburn, a twice daily stool softener (for the constipation my new diabetic diet has given me!), steroids for the babies lungs, and my 7 chemstrips (finger pricks to test my blood sugar) a day I feel quite the patient! In fact my fingers are running out of places to prick, and I’m worried if I have a bath I will take on water!

I’m in a semi-private room (2 beds) and have had numerous ‘cell mates’ so far..ranging from a lady who got induced and went into active labor at 2am ( the husband was here the whole time with her too..cozy eh? ), a Sri-Lankan lady who talked incessantly in her sleep, to another ‘lady’ that had a bit of a flatulence problem..In fact I think my self lucky that I didn’t get the pleasure of the company of the ‘wild eyed’ looking woman that is constantly pacing the corridor at the moment muttering something about Methadone! Actually when you think about it I should be writing a bleeding ‘sit-com’ for TV about this whole pregnancy experience…either that or a documentary crew should have followed me around from day 1! I am sure that my experience could have a substantial impact on teenage pregnancy rates if they played it to girls in sex education classes in high school!

On that note I will sign off…20 days to go and counting, I am starting to get butterflies in my tummy when I think of it being so close! Thank you for all the messages of support, it really, really helps and means a lot to me..I am glad you are out there in the world reading and understanding (and may I say offering some bloody good advice too!) my thoughts.

UPDATE: new lady in room snores louder than BD…2 hours sleep last night..BD bringing ear plugs later…I may be on prozac by the time this hospital stay is over!