Day 4: Wednesday September 1st
Around 9:00am the nurse, Naomi, who reminded me of an Amish milk made took care of me. She was very sweet and supportive. She began to notice "irritabilities" on the "tacho". She monitored and seemingly became more concerned within the hour. She had Dr. Karana come in to check on me. He asked if I wanted to be checked digitally. I was concerned because I knew that this exam could be disruptive to the amniotic sac. I wanted to speak to Dr. Mentakis. He and I had established relationship and I trusted him. We spoke and he felt that it was prudent to check. We wouldn't know what to do unless we knew what the diagnosis was. How would we treat it if we were unsure. I called Bret and he was on his was in a flash. The Doctor checked me. I was scared. I had visions of the amniotic bag popping right then and there. I warned him to be gentle. He had this swagger about him and a sense of humor that under normal circumstances I would have enjoyed. Right now, not so much. He scared me a lot when he checked me. He closed his eyes and looked like he was on a digging expedition or perhaps that he was squeezing to take a crap. Either way, I wasn't fond of it. He confirmed that I was now 4cm dilated and 100% effaced. My anxiety was needless to say, through the roof.
I was moved downstairs swiftly. Bret hadn't even returned yet and I was already brought back downstairs with my MAG dosage increased to 5mg for the first hour, 4mg the second our until it leveled out at 4 mg. Needless to say I was delirious and inhumanely thirsty. The higher the magnesium dosage the less fluids you can take for of Pulmonary Edema.
I wasn't feeling these contractions intensely possibly due to the fact that my uterus was so small given my almost 24 weeks pregnancy. I made the effort to each some lunch even though I was flat on my back. Bret and I talked, I cried, we talked. He continued to breath for me.
Once I was somewhat settled the resident Doctor came in. I liked her but she still needed to soften her bedside manner and intensity a wee bit. Her name was Dr. Dinklespeil. Her name it itself was scary. She is very young, probably not much over 30. She came in asking me about what my options where and what I was going to do if I went into active labor that day. She scared the shit out of me and I was frustrated that she didn't wait until Bret got there.
She discussed the options of a natural birth or a "classic" C-section. She explained that if the baby's heart rate decreased they would have to do an emergency C-section. This type of C-section required a vertical incision (internally) on my uterus and traditional horizontal line on my tummy. This would be the safest route to get the baby out. The idea of having a natural birth scared me. Would the baby be alive? (yes, his heart rate was perfect. Which would be more traumatizing? I had to decide what was best but I wouldn't do it without my love.
Later that evening Nicole, the hospital manager introduced herself and discussed how we didn't really have an option in terms of not resuscitating one 24 weeks was here at midnight. She was gathering the team of specialists to discuss the situation and what to expect. I wonder now if they felt that delivery was coming sooner than later or they were truly trying to prepare us. Either way, a team of 6 specialists came in. The discussion was lead my Dr. Hererra who I have grown so fond of. Words can't express how grateful I am to her. Regardless of the outcome I know she has completely and wholeheartedly done everything in her power to prove our baby with the highest level of care.
Dr. Hererra tenderly discussed the plan. She looked at me in the eyes, held my hand and displayed the must genuine of emotion. She talked about outcomes and options. She shed some light on positive stories and the worst case scenarios. The discussion, as I lay in bed took a little over an hour. Bret, level headed as usual didn't feel like we received any new information, rather confirmation of what had already be expressed. We learned the dangerous game of asking a doctor "what would you do?". Asking that question can realy muddy that waters. The previous day we asked that question of Dr. Mentakis. He answered our question but the response only correlated in a perfect world. Dr. Mentakis agreed that he would limit intervention in a baby that was not yet 24 weeks. We thought that meant that would continue to be an option for us. However, as 24 weeks rapidly approached, that was no longer an option. A week has passed and I am happy that it never became a choice we had to make. It was really made for us in a roundabout way.
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