Well, that was interesting...

Well, we just got out of the hospital and I am so, so glad to be home with NO BABY! We had a rough couple days and night, but thanks to excellent care and a finally chilled-out uterus and baby, I am back with my puppies and McSexy.

At 9:30 yesterday morning, I went upstairs for my regular bath time and low and behold was bleeding! That was a bit of surprise, even though they have told us for months to expect it and I have tried to become mentally prepared. Yay. I called Jason freaking out, because we are sooo not ready for the hospital. I have been a slacker and have lists of what to pack, but nothing really together except for Noah's diaper bag, which is the VERY last bag we will need! He was leading a meeting but finally answered his phone and came home. I am so thankful that he works five minutes away from our house...

Anyway, we called our perinatologist and went to his office for an ultrasound and monitoring. We were there within 20 minutes. Noah looked great and is now 4 lbs, 9 oz (which is in the 68 percentile!). He was not as active as he has been, which didn't freak me out but I thought it was kind of interesting. He had a strong heartbeat, good fluid, all that.

So they put me on a contraction monitor and I was having them yet again. I felt mostly back labor, so it was hard for me to tell. I was uncomfortable, but that has sort of been the story of this pregnancy, especially having contractions off and on for a few weeks now.

To make a long story short, Dr. Watson transferred us to the hospital (which is across the street) with assurances that it would probably be only for a few hours. Okay, we can handle this, we were thinking. Bleeding had stopped and Dr. Watson assured us that even if they had to deliver, he would have 100% chance of survival and a 95% chance of not having any long-term complications. I really wasn't worried...

Hospital was a whole different story. We were still having contractions but naively thought they would end up resolving themselves and we could go home in a few hours. But all of a sudden, Noah's heartbeat dropped way below 100 (it had been 150-160 previously) and didn't resolve itself. Before I even knew what was happening I had four nurses and two doctors in my room freaking out, moving the monitor, grabbing the printouts, shoving an IV in (worst IV ever in the top of my right wrist - took three nurses), rolling me around and telling me that if his heart rate didn't come back up in a minute or two we would need to have an emergency c-section immediately. Ooookay. Let me tell you, I have never been as scared in MY LIFE as when I watched my baby's heart rate plummet and was instantly surrounded by medical personnel. The only thing I was thinking was, "GET HIM OUT. GET HIM OUT RIGHT NOW EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO DELIVER HIM RIGHT HERE." So panicked. There was nothing Jason and I could do but watch and hope.

Finally his heart rate went above 100 again, praise the LORD, and kept dipping but would come back up again. So needless to say, we were admitted and were there all freaking night and today until 5:00 p.m. His heart rate had a few more issues and I continued to have contractions, but no more bleeding and during the night his heart rate went back up to normal and stayed there. He also "woke up" and became more active at around 8:00 in the evening. My contractions stopped this afternoon. Happy momma. We also got two rounds of steroid shots to mature his lungs in case of delivery in the next few weeks.

With all the panic and kind of traumatic experiences that went along with the past hours we also had some positive outcomes of our little adventure.

1. We loved the nurses at our hospital. They were wonderful, reassuring, calm and we just adored them. I am so glad we are delivering at St. V's. Especially my day nurse, Peggy. I absolutely love her and we totally hit it off. I am praying she is our nurse when Noah is born! God bless nurses, seriously. They are amazing.

2. We met a few more doctors who were part of Dr. Watson's perinatal practice and really liked all of them. If Noah reaches his scheduled c-section date we will have Dr. Watson deliver him, but if it turns out to be an emergency delivery, we are very comfortable with any of the doctors we have met so far. I swear that this practice must have had "super super nice around paranoid pregnant women" as a requirement for joining.

3. We were kind of able to practice our delivery game plan and find out holes and flaws BEFORE it is actual go time and we are stuck in the hospital for ages. My friend Aja and her husband watched the dogs, as planned, but I realized that I need to make more detailed lists for them (mostly about Duke's medications he is on), and list out where exactly to find their beds, leashes etc. It worked out because Jason ran home to get some stuff for us for the night and was able to drop them off with their gear. We are lucky to have such good friends who will watch our precious babies within a moment's notice!

4. As mentioned before, I got a swift kick in the rear as to what I still need to buy/prepare for the hospital stay. I am on much stricter restrictions now (complete bed rest with showers but no longer allowed to putter around the house or go on walks or anything), so I am not sure how it is going to get done, but at least I know of some much needed toiletries/clothes/accessories that I had totally overlooked but would make a hospital stay much more pleasant. So my goal is to get my toiletry bag ready and packed in the next few days so I am ready, and whatever I can of my clothes bag, because obviously we could be back in the hospital at any time. I also need to update my little lists for Jason.

5. We also became aware that there were some birth plan holes that we need to get moving on. We are slowly realizing that we have little to no control over how things play out, but we were asked a bunch of questions about our preferences that we haven't yet solidified (SHOCKING, I know). Like about circumcision. We have done research but still can't decide. What do you guys think/how did you decide?

6. We were reminded again how blessed we are that Jason works for a company that is so flexible and understanding. He has amazing co-workers that stepped up instantly (as they have done in the past as well) and spent the whole day emailing him, not about work, but about me and the baby. I can't believe how we both ended up working for companies/schools that really practice what they preach about families and supporting their employees. He is able to take off work with me tomorrow and Friday (so he'll end up being gone the whole week pretty much), which doesn't affect his paternity leave in any way. So, support Intel and buy their products!

7. Amazing insurance. I cannot imagine having to worry about how to pay for all that monitoring and tests and such ON TOP of worrying about Noah. This type of pregnancy would absolutely SINK a family without insurance. I just feel so awful for those without means to pay for proper medical care, but I am so thankful that we do.

So now we are back to waiting, which is fine by me. We are praying that nothing more threatening happens in the next few weeks and Noah can grow a bit longer. I am somewhat comforted in knowing that we have the lung steroids now, which should help immensely. Praying that he stays in there as long as possible. I'll keep y'all updated!