Hospitalization - Day 16

Wow. Big day today. I woke up at 5 am and did work for a few hours before the doctors did their rounds and the nurses came to check on me. I ended up trying to go back to sleep, which failed miserably. Between 7 and 11 there were four stops by a nurse, two stops by volunteers, two stops from doctors and a partridge in a pear tree... Wait, I mean one lab tech coming to take a blood sample. I was still awake with the two stops from the doctors and two stops by the nurse, but the volunteers both woke me up to ask if I needed anything and so did the lab tech. By the time the lab tech came in, I was wearing a sleep mask and when she introduced herself, I just said (without removing the mask), "The left arm is the one that works best for taking blood," and then waited for her to stab me with a needle. When she was done, I just rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Sometimes people speak to me with a tone that makes it sound like I'm extremely lazy and I probably am, but you would be too if you were stuck in a hospital for two weeks and were pregnant enough that it felt like someone had put your lungs in a clothes dryer to shrink them. Symptoms of yuckiness I woke up with: headache, congestion, cough, decreased lung capacity, muscle aches, churning intestines, facial pressure and heartburn. Quite the mix but it didn't stop me from entertaining several special guests!

I finally just decided that sleep was not going to happen and got up to seek a nurse to wrap my arms like a mummy so I could cleanse myself. I even shaved my legs, miracle that it is. I was starting to resemble Chewie's sister. After I showered, my lunch date arrived. He's taken ladies, but check out this awesome picture of us....

Smiling nice!

Steve was nice enough to bring me Steak and Shake for lunch and spend time chatting. He then had to head back to work, but took my dirty laundry for Renae to wash. While putting away (aka dumping it in my suitcase) my laundry that Renae had delivered on Saturday, I discovered this t-shirt. Is it a sign from God that Madelyn should be a Hawkeyes fan or did Renae just dry my t-shirt too long?

Go Hawkeyes!

The doctors and nurses recommended I get out more often. After Steve left, I went and got Sarah and we went for a walk around the hospital. She took me over to the old part of the hospital where the original wall is partially there.

Love old buildings! Cool dragon thingy too. 

We also were on the elevator with a very nervous-looking lady. Here's how the conversation went:

Nervous Lady (NVL): I get lost in here. 

Sarah (S): Oh, yeah. We're getting good at it because we live here. 

NVL: Yeah, I'm not from this area.

S: No, like, we live in the hospital.

NVL: Oh! You work here. 

S: No, we live here (cue both of us rubbing our bellies).

Me: Until we deliver or they kick us out. 

NVL: (steps off elevator) Oh wow, so you're like high risk -- (doors close)

It was really entertaining to see the look on the lady's face when she realized that we actually live at the hospital. We also went to the library and the medical museum. Then we sat outside of the museum for awhile because I lost feeling in my legs. It is a really uncomfortable feeling when your legs fall asleep while you're standing on them. 

This afternoon I had three very entertaining visitors. Jass, Calkins and Katelyn all came to visit. Jass and Calkins arrived first and we talked about my current situation, the blog, work, all the normal things that we would usually be sitting in the caseworker office talking about when we had decided that paperwork was just not happening for the rest of the day. They also brought a gift from Tonya. She obviously knows me really well from the looks of what she included.**

Tonya is so awesome.

As a result of Tonya's gift, she won out in the awesomeness contest. Is it wrong that I get excited about receiving diapers as a gift? The Diet Mt. Dew will come in very handy as I am on the verge of running out of caffeine, and as we know, the doctor has ordered that I drink caffeine daily to maintain my sanity lack of headache.

We also played Cards Against Humanity again. Nurse B insisted they play before they could leave! Some really good responses again today regarding why we couldn't get our homework done and why I'm sticky. My nursing assistant, B and another nurse played with Jass, Calkins, Katelyn and I. Eventually Jass and Calkins had to leave due to Calkins' stomach roaring with hunger.

Jass, me, Calkins

Katelyn brought pictures of her puppies, who are a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e. They are named after Star Trek characters. This is why I need a dog, so that if Dan and I have a boy in the future that he does not suggest Tiberius as our child's name. Katelyn also provided me with information on the bus schedule and how I could get around the Iowa City/Coralville area in case I don't have a car (or cannot drive) after Maddie is born. Super helpful.

Katelyn and I

She also brought a gift. I had heard of Sophie the giraffe teether, but had not gotten one yet. I heard that babies really love them because they have lots of places to chew and are easy for them to hold with their little hands. I hope Maddie likes Sophie!

So excited!

After Katelyn left, Sarah and I went on another walk, this time to make sure I maintain my weight gain with the help of cheese balls. We sat downstairs people watching for a long time. Also, we saw the mean cleaning lady that likes to stand by the compost can in the cafeteria! Well, I'm pretty sure it was her. It was definitely the same cleaning lady that was mean to Sarah a couple weeks ago.

I also got to see Eli (sub-intern) this afternoon. I have decided that to prepare him for his residency interviews, that I will come up with random questions to ask him for practice. He said one of his friends got asked about what fruit he sees himself as. I think I can do way better than that.

I also made a stop by the newborn nursery again tonight, and K brought one of the babies over to the window for me to see. He was a chubby little guy with lots and lots of dark hair. He had so much, I would have put it in a faux-hawk if I were a nurse taking care of him.

Daily Info
Date: November 13
Gestational Date: 26 weeks, 6 days
Countdown to Baby: 8 1/2 days
Today, I am thankful for: my loyal blog readers. They get awfully antsy at night though when I haven't posted my daily entry!




**Unfortunately, some gummy bears were consumed in the writing of this blog. Actually all of them were consumed. And I don't feel bad about it.