Day 1

We checked in around 7 pm, after a "last meal" at Red Robin (because bottomless steak fries just don't transport well in a to-go box). The shift change happens around 6:45, so they suggested that we swing in a little after that to avoid the chaos that can sometimes accompany that time. I managed to pack a giant duffle with clothes, a carry on shoulder bag with toiletries, a box of books and games, and a laptop bag with all my computer gear. I could have ACTUALLY been moving in.

Since this was the last room available, it stands to reason that it wasn't quite the best possible, but this one is missing it's fridge and it's tv remote. Hopefully we can get both of those remedied before too long.

ALmost immediately we got hooked up to the monitoring gear and spent about the first hour just trying to find the babies' heart beats and get them situated so they stayed on for longer than 4 minutes. The monitors are each about the size of a flattened Hostess cupcake and get gooed up in ultrasound gel before getting squooshed on to my belly and held in place by a tube top. Sometimes they have to strap them in a little tighter with stretchy velcro bands or add pressure in one direction or another by shoving a rolled up washcloth under the band. That approach is actually kind of fun because when the girls kick the washcloth visibly jumps!

After spending the first hour finding them, I spent the next hour and a half just laying there while the machines tracked their heartbeats. It was nearly 10 pm by then and I still had to take the 1 hour glucose test and then get a blood draw to see how I did.

In the meantime, I met the charge nurse, the on-call OB/GYN, the anesthesiologist and several other nurses, most of whom asked me the same questions over and over (Any previous surgeries? Any allergies? Staying here long?). Time for some electronic medical records!

I will still have to get two steroid shots tomorrow to help with the babies' lung development (grow, girls, grow!), and every day I'll go through the monitoring three times for about an hour each. I'll also try to post room pictures tomorrow to give you an idea of our temporary home, and some information about getting in touch with and/or visiting!