Day 5

Hospital pictures

Ok, I'm getting more settled now. I wake up around 6 from the sunlight, text Sean because that's usually when he's on his morning lunch break and can respond, and then I have an Ensure. I get up, dressed and presentable, and the chief of OB/GYN and Resident make rounds about 7 am. They quickly ask me how I'm doing, make one small obligatory personal comment (good book, I like that IPod speaker, how's the fridge, etc.) and then they shuffle right on out again.

I hop on the laptop and start work until the morning nurse comes in and starts my monitoring around 8. I order breakfast about 15 minutes before we're done so it arrives when I'm ready, and then I eat. I keep working until I break for lunch, usually left-overs from what Sean brought the day before (I'm still not won over by the food provided here). My second round of monitoring starts around 2, and after that I have a protein shake.

Sean arrives sometime after 4 and we hang out, talk about our days, and pretend like everything is normal. He leaves between 7-8 and I hop back on the laptop and complete a few more things for work before I shower and get ready for bed.

Being able to work via laptop has been wonderful. It fills my day with tasks and achievements and makes it go by much faster, and so far I haven't had any issues that keep me from doing what I need to get done. *knock on wood*

Overall the monitoring has been going pretty well. It takes about 10-15 minutes to find the girls and put the monitors in a place that will track them even if they shift around a little. But they usually shift around a lot. They're still just small enough that they can move around in there, but the further along we get, the more crammed in they'll be and unable to roll and slide. Baby A is the big mover and shaker, but both start to act up if I've eaten anything in the last hour, so I try to time my meals around the monitoring to make it easier. With the belts around my belly (one for each girl and another for a third monitor that tracks contractions) I definitely start to get uncomfortable by the time we're done.

Their heartbeats run between the low 140's to the low 160's, with slight variations that haven't been of major concern yet. It would be worrisome if one dropped below 100 or stayed very low or high for more than a few minutes, but we luckily haven't experienced any of that.

While Baby A (the one on my right-hand side, sitting lower in my abdomen and in a cradled position) is the more active of the two constantly, Baby B (the one on my left-hand side, sitting more toward my rib cage and in an up-and-down position) is the more sensitive. B tends to move more when in response to my stress. And during the monitoring a very loud paper jam alarm went off - I looked over and Baby B's heart rate had soared to 200 in response to the sound and Baby A stayed just the same. It's so interesting to get these little clues to their individual personalities.

This place is surprisingly quiet when my door is shut, so I'm sleeping well, with the exception of the many bathroom breaks throughout the night. I still roll over carefully and quietly so that I won't disturb Sean, the dog or cat and create more activity that wakes me up further. And then I realize I'm all alone in this bed. It's an adjustment. I know, I know, I'm in for a lot of adjustments soon.

We're still working out the whole parking situation. There is a lot behind the building that isn't supposed to be monitored very frequently in the afternoons, but the first time we tried it there was a $30 ticket waiting. I posted an ad on Craigslist hoping that someone would have a quarterly pass they'd be willing to sell us, maybe because they're dropping a class, or buy and sell to us at face value, but no responses yet.

Sean is thankfully staying home today after work and doing something for him (nap? project? motorcycle ride?). He needs and deserves it. He did make me double fudge frosted brownies yesterday, after all. Mmmm.