5/30/13 – Yummy Yummy Yummy in my Tummy Tummy Tummy

So I realized I never posted what Olivia’s middle name was.  We decided to give her the middle name of Valentina, it means strength and health.  We went to visit her tonight and she is doing well.  They increased her food intake to 1cc every hour and she is taking it well.  She has not gained weight just yet but she did stay the same, which is good.  They removed the top Billy light but kept the Billy blanket.  Hopefully that will come off soon so the glasses can come off and we can see her eyes again.  Her sugar is still good so they are keeping her off of the insulin.  She is such a strong little girl, we thank God every day for blessing us with her. 

Daddy reading to Olivia

5/29/13 – Constant food

Today was a long day.  After work I went home to pick up my book for bible study.  While I was home, I ate some leftovers.  Then I went to bible study, the message was excellent.  I love my Wednesday night bible study group.  After the study I drove to visit Olivia; I met Nurse L face to face for the first time.  She is Olivia’s primary nurse for the night shift. I love the way she takes care of Olivia; I’m happy she decided to take her as her primary.  Olivia is now getting breast milk every hour! It is still a small amount but the frequency is much closer.  She will definitely begin to grow now.  Her sugars have been good so she is still off of the insulin and her oxygen is still going up and down a bit but it was good last night.  This could be because she was lying on her belly; preemies do better when they are on their belly.  Now that they are able to switch her sides each touch time her head is evening out.  A colleague of mine bought her some children’s books so I read her one after praying over her and reading the scripture prayers to her.  Other than that, no major changes for Olivia.  Daddy and I are going to visit her tomorrow

5/ 28/13 – There is nothing better than a good poop!

I went back to work today; it was nice seeing all of my colleagues after being away for 2 weeks.  I was able to keep my mind occupied while working on projects.  I made sure to keep my phone with me throughout the day just in case the hospital called.  Thankfully they did not.  There was some news that was shared with me that made me very sad as well; I cannot share it in this forum but I can say that it makes me realize how blessed I truly am, even in these circumstances. After work I drove down to visit Olivia, Nurse S was there again today.  Junior met me at the hospital as well.  I decided not to go to the support group today because I had not printed out the pictures yet.  I will have that done by next week so I can add it to the scrap book.  Nurse S shared some good news; Olivia is now being fed every 3 hours and she had a good poop today! She had to change her diaper 3 times! Her mommy’s plant based milk is really giving her good movements’ hahaha.  It is still meconium, but is should become regular after another movement.  The doctor also tried to put in an arterial line but was not able to.  This is the second time they tried, but she is so small it is extremely difficult.  Olivia is still off of the insulin and her sugar numbers have been good.  Nurse S also informed us that Olivia had an actual Brady cardia today, where she had to help her catch her breath.  This is normal among preemies, they keep track of it and she were to have a certain amount of them a day, then they would need to worry.  But so far this is her first and it only happened once today. During our nightly call we spoke with Nurse K and found out Olivia weighed 530 grams which is 10 grams more than her birth weight.  Olivia also peed on Nurse K during the hands on :-/ haha her systems are working just fine

Monday May 27, 2013 – Memorial Day

Junior and I were off of work for Memorial Day.  We got to the hospital for touch time and Nurse S (our primary nurse) was there today. We saw that Olivia is back on the billy light and now she has a Billy blanket.  Nurse S said preemies can go off and on of things often.  Just like Olivia goes off and on the insulin; speaking of which, today she is off of her insulin and her sugar level is good.  Another thing we noticed was that someone made a beaded bracelet with Olivia’s name on it.  In addition, Nurse L decorated a little box for Livvy that holds her thermometer and sanitizing wipes.  She also decorated her laundry bag.  All of the nurses are so caring it is wonderful.  Nurse S also informed us that they increased Livvy’s milk intake to every 6 hours instead of every 8.  After a few days they may increase the amount as well. 

Our nightly call went well.  Olivia is doing well and they are decreasing her TPN.  Her oxygen level is back down between 23-26 and she is off of her insulin again.  

 

Sunday May 26, 2013 - Getting breast milk!

We went back to church this morning to volunteer; it was nice to see all of our fellow volunteers.  We went back to visit Olivia for touch time.  This time it was very active, we were able to clean Olivia up and take her temperature and change her diaper.  They also had to change her tubing since it was getting loose.  This was a little difficult to watch, but we were able to see her entire face for a minute so it was nice.  As the touch time came to an end Yvonne (my mom in law) and Nicole (sis in law) came in.  They were able to get a quick view of Olivia with the incubator open.  John (bro in law) and Jesse (nephew) came in after them as well.  Since we are only allowed 2 visitors at a time (including us) I decided to go pump so they can spend time with Olivia.  We also found out that they began giving Olivia breast milk today, 1 millimeter every 8 hours.  This is to coat her intestines and prepare her body for feeding.  Also, during the touch time the nurses mentioned that Olivia had a lot of phlegm so they were going to test that to see if it’s an infection.  Another thing is that she is now sleeping on her belly! She looks so comfortable in that position and it helps with her oxygen as well.  During our nightly call nothing major has changed.  Olivia is taking well to the breast milk which is great! Once they see she is taking it well, they will begin feeding her every 6 hours instead of every 8. 

Saturday May 25, 2013 - Nurse L

Today we decided to visit Olivia during touch time so we can help with the diaper change and temperature.  My parents met us there a little bit after.  The nurse informed us that she had to adjust some of Olivia’s wires so she wasn’t going to do the touch time until later.  We decided to go have lunch and come back.  We went to a pizza shop that was walking distance from the parking garage.  They had great veggie subs.  When we returned Junior helped the nurse everything while I pumped.  We spent more time with Olivia then dropped my parents off at the train station so they could head back home.  After that, we went to the mall to walk around before church.  We then called for our nightly update and heard a familiar voice, it was Nurse L; this nurse has worked with Olivia several times already.  I began thinking we should go in and meet her so we can see if we want her to be our primary.  While she was giving us an update she mentioned that she signed up to be Olivia’s primary and she hopes we don’t mind.  She said when she went home she couldn’t stop thinking about Olivia and how she was doing.  Junior and I were very happy with that.  There were no major changes on her since our afternoon visit. 

Friday May 24, 2013 - Prayer blanket

Today was a relaxing day, I woke up and made breakfast for myself and Junior. He went to work and I began reading the bible and working on my bible study guide.  I ate lunch around 12:30 and Chucky came by to hang out.  Chucky and I went to Publix to pick up a few things.  She also brought me the beautiful prayer blanket Melissa's church made for Olivia.  It is purple and extremely comfortable.  I will bring it with me tonight.  Junior went to work out after work and then came home for dinner.  Once we finished dinner we went to visit Olivia.  When we got there we saw they put a little cute knitted hat on her.  We also found out that she was off of her antibiotics and the insulin.  She received another blood transfusion and it was from a donor.  In addition, they did an echo scan and found that she has a murmur; they are going to wait a week to see if it closes on its own.  We prayed that God allows it to close on its own.  The doctor informed us that if it doesn’t close on its own they will try medication to get it to close; they will try it a few times.  If that doesn’t work they will then discuss surgery with us.  We know it will close on its own by next week. We left the prayer blanket covering Olivia's incubator.   After visiting with Olivia for a bit we went home.

Thursday May 23, 2013 - Clean brain scan

I saw my midwife today and she gave me clearance to go back to work.  In addition, I’m able to begin driving.  She gave me timelines for other activities as well.  This evening Junior and I went to visit Olivia and met Nurse K who was her nurse last night and is her nurse tonight as well.  When we first arrived Olivia’s incubator had a blanket over it, we asked if she was moved (because we never brought in a blanket) and was told she wasn’t.  Since they took off the billy light, they put blankets over the incubator.  I will have to purchase some blankets for Olivia.  Nurse K informed us that they did a brain scan and everything came out clean! This is a major thing for preemies, it is common for them to have brain bleeds.  God is amazing, even the doctor came by and mentioned that she is doing really well.  He looked a bit surprised when he said it.  We were there in time for touch time and Olivia is not in a sterile environment anymore, we were able to touch her without the sterile gloves.  Junior took her temperature and I changed her diaper.  The “sunglasses” came off and we kept them.  When we began talking to her, she opened her eyes and looked at us.  She is so beautiful! After the hands on, she seemed very tired; it is a lot of work for her.  We prayed over her and read some prayers from the scripture book we purchased on Saturday.  In addition, Junior read a baby book I brought for her.  It was so sweet watching him read to her.  We hung out with her for a while then we headed home, after all the good news it was easy to sleep through the night. 

I also mentioned to Chucky that I needed to go and buy blankets for Olivia.  She told me that Melissa's church made Olivia a prayer blanket.  This is so kind of them! It was completely unexpected and greatly appreciated.

Wednesday May 22, 2013 - Off the oscillator ventilator

Today, I took the train to see Olivia with my mom.  We spent a few hours with her and I prayed over her and read another book to her.  Nurse H was her nurse today, he said that he and Nurse S will be Olivia’s primary nurses.  Which means anytime they work they will be her nurse.  They usually work different days so it works out great.  It is good for Olivia to have that consistency.  I texted Junior while I was pumping in the back to let him know, he was excited about this as well.  Now we need to get to know the night shift nurses so we can ask one of them to be a primary. 

Olivia was stretching and moving around as usual.  Today, I got to see her yawn, it was the cutest yawn I’ve ever seen lol.  Since Junior had school tonight, he was unable to visit Olivia; I sent him pictures so he could see what she looks like today.  When Junior got home that night we called the NICU for our nightly check-in.  The nurse of the evening was Nurse K; she told us that Olivia was taken off of the oscillator ventilator!! That’s the machine that keeps her shaking.  Nurse K said this is a very good thing.  Olivia keeps going on and off of her insulin to regulate her sugar; tonight she was off.   We were very happy after this phone call and were able to go to bed with a good peace of mind.  Earlier today I received a call from my doctor’s office and I was able to get an appointment to see my midwife tomorrow morning at 7:45 am. 

Tuesday May 21, 2013 - Support group

Today, Chucky picked me up and dropped me off at the hospital around 4 pm so I could visit Olivia before the support group started at 6 pm.  Nurse L was the nurse this day, she is very kind and informative.  When I got there, I read 2 books that I bought for Olivia.  One was about reading scriptures over your children and the other was a children’s book called “God gave me you.” I want to read to her as much as possible, this way she stays familiar with my voice.  Junior came in after work, right before the group started.  We find out that Olivia opened her right eye today J the left one isn’t fused anymore.  Nurse L took off her eye cover but Olivia wouldn’t open them for us.  She’s not ready to show off her beautiful eyes to mommy and daddy yet.  It’s okay we will wait.  The support group was nice, it was a small group today because we were in a small room.  We began a scrap book, they had all of the material available there for us.  I haven’t been good at scrapbooking in the past but I am going to try to make this one great.  After the meeting, we went to see Olivia again before heading home.  She recognizes our voices and reacts to it.  It is wonderful to see that.  I also called my doctor’s office to get a note so I can go back to work.  It doesn’t make sense for me to sit home without my baby when I can take the rest of my maternity leave when she comes home.  The first nurse I spoke with was not at all willing to even give me an appointment until after 6 weeks.  I missed the second call since I was visiting Olivia.  I called and left a message to call me back the next day.

Sunday May 19, 2013 - Fun visit

Junior and I decided to have this day just for the two of us.  We decided to see Olivia for the 2pm touch time.  When we got there we met a new nurse we will call her nurse "S", she was the nurse of the day.  We hit it off very well, she is extremely nice, has a great sense of humor and is very informative.  I also like the way she talked about Olivia and how she handled her.  When it was touch time, we put on our sterilized gloves and waited for nurse S to do everything so we can touch her hand and foot again.  She put the wipe and pamper on the side and said “there you go,” and looked at me.  I was like “um, what?” lol, she thought I had changed her diaper before and took her temperature.  I told her I have not but I wanted to, I was just terrified of doing something wrong since she is so tiny.  So I was able to change Olivia’s diaper, it was tough trying to do that with my arms through those holes.  I didn’t do that great of a job haha, I was scared of putting it on too tight and messing up the wires on her belly button; Nurse S fixed it for me.  We had a very fun visit today.  Olivia moves a bit more each day, she stretches all the time and is just adorable.

Saturday May 18, 2013 – Visiting Olivia

This morning I received a call around 6:30 am, it was from Broward General.  I can already tell these calls will always freak me out.  The first thing the nurse said was “Olivia is okay” then she asked me for my code.  She gave me an update and wanted to let me know they had to give Olivia her first blood transfusion during the night.  Today we were going to visit Olivia for the 2 pm touch time but ran late so we didn’t make it until after.  Since Jose and Bielka were here we all went to visit.  Papy, Jose and Bielka got to meet Olivia for the first time. 

After the visit Junior and I went to church.  We were a bit early so we stopped by the book store; I saw a book named “Praying scriptures over your children.” I randomly opened it to check it out and it opened to the first page of the chapter on praying health and strength over your child.  I obviously need to buy this book, so I did.  We saw Pastor Joey and had a nice conversation with him before the service.  The message Pastor David shared was great, he mentioned all the great people of the church donating blood for Olivia.  The main point I got from the message was “you are stronger than you know.”  God obviously thinks Junior and I are extremely strong since he gave us this situation.  He will not give us more than we can handle, because of that, I know we will make it through and I know Olivia will make it through.  Emotionally, today was rough; I don’t know exactly why but I had a heavy heart. Tomorrow will be better.

Friday May 17, 2013 – Discharge day

I was going to be discharge this day, but before I left I needed to see the people in charge of birth certificates and Medicaid.  We woke up and wanted to get up to the NICU for touch time.  Luckily the doctor came in at 6:30 am to check on me so we were able to wake up and get ready to head upstairs.  We were able to touch Olivia’s little hand and foot.  Her skin is so sensitive so we can’t caress her or anything.  I’m too scared to touch her and do something wrong anyway.  We visited for a bit and headed back to my room so we could finish all of the paperwork and get discharged.  We would come back up to visit Olivia before we headed home.  While we were waiting, Pastor Joey from CBG came to visit.  When he introduced himself, my heart sank for a second, until I heard him say from Church by the Glades (I was on the bed and couldn’t see him).  We had a great conversation and we were so happy he took the time to come and see us.  While he was there the nurse came by with my discharge information.  That was around 10 am.  We mentioned to her that we still have to see the ladies about Medicaid and birth certificates.  They didn’t come over until 1:30 and they both came at the same time.  This was after many requests to find them.  We were getting hungry and I wanted to see Olivia again.  We were able to see Olivia around 2 and stayed for a bit.  Leaving the hospital without her was very hard.  It’s not natural, but it is the walk we have to take.  If God gave us this situation it is because He will bring us through it.  We got home that afternoon. Jose (my brother) called me and informed me he and his wife Bielka and daughter Sheila were driving down from Saint Augustine.  They arrived around 10 pm and we chatted for a bit.  We will catch up in the morning.  We called the NICU department before we went to bed to make sure everything was going well. 

Thursday May 16, 2013 – Seeing Olivia

This morning the doctor came by to check on me before I went to the NICU to visit Olivia.  My mother was on her way to visit me so I called her to let her know what happened.  Once she came we went up to see Olivia.  It was hard to see her hooked up on all of the wires and in the incubator but I was so happy to see her alive.  She is absolutely beautiful, she looks much like her daddy.  She does have my nose J, we were given bracelets that allow us into the NICU department and we cannot take it off until we take Olivia home.  No one is allowed to visit her unless they are with either myself or Junior.  You have to be paged into 3 doors in order to get into the NICU department.  The nurse taking care of her gave us a lot of information about what they do and what was going on.  One of the important things she told me was about the “touch times”.  This is when they open the incubator and switch all of her wires to other parts of her body.  In addition, they change her little diaper and check her blood gas to see if they need to make adjustments to any of the fluids or medications.  During this time, we are able to put on sanitized gloves and touch her hands or feet. 

Eventually, Junior and I will be able to participate in the process by taking the temperature and changing her diaper.  I felt so comfortable with everyone I met in the NICU department.  This is such a relief for me, knowing my baby is in good hands.  You have to be a special person to work in the NICU department and those individuals are definitely special.  When we were in my hospital room the person in charge of birth certificates came in.  At first we were not going to give Olivia a middle name.  However with this situation, we wanted to give her a middle name that meant strength.  We informed her of this, and she said we can get the information started and she would come back tomorrow to complete it.  She also had a baby name book that she lent me.  We searched for different names and the first ones that came up were not for her.  We didn’t have a middle name by the end of the day. 

Wednesday May 15, 2013 – Olivia’s birthday

Throughout this day I was getting contractions but it was about an hour or more apart.  Junior had class this night so he went for half of the class.  In the evening, the contractions went from every hour to every few minutes.  We did not call Junior to let him know because we knew he was already on his way and we did not want to distract him while he drove down.  The pain was extremely intense, I honestly felt like I had to use the bathroom.  When he arrived, Chucky let him know what was going on and how Olivia was ready to make her grand entrance.  Junior was extremely good with me and the contractions, he was able to keep me focused and helped me with my breathing.  We have not taken any Lamaze classes, we actually were just looking into beginning the classes soon. I was moving around way to much during the contractions and was terrified I was going to do something wrong and make things worse. I asked for the epidural because I was so scared to move wrong or do something that would compromise Olivia. 

She got there and gave me the epidural, not even 10 minutes later Olivia was born.  She was born at 11:15 pm at one pound and two ounces.  Since she was so small she did not cry.  Junior asked the doctors what was happening, the NICU doctor said she was alive and they were taking her to the NICU, we would be able to see her in about an hour and a half.  I was unable to go up with him because they were still trying to put my information together to transfer me upstairs.  He was able to see her and met me in my new room, it was a shared room and there was no place for him to sleep.  By the time I got upstairs it 12:30 am, we decided to pay for a private room so Junior could spend the nights. 

Tuesday May 14, 2013 - Bad news

The ultrasound technician came in early this morning and began the exam, my water was still intact and full; although, they believe I have a high leak.  In addition, she noted that the baby was breeched (feet towards the bottom).  When she began the transvaginal ultrasound she was concerned because as soon as she put it in she saw the baby and did not want to go any further.  She took all the information she needed and mentioned the doctor would be in to talk to me.  The doctor came in and told me the baby was really close and the cervix was dilated 2.8 centimeters.  When he examined me, he felt that the membrane was sticking out which was a bad thing.  He mentioned they will try not to examine me anymore because it can make it worse each time I get examined.  He put me on magnesium which relaxes the smooth muscles.  This should help in case I were to have contractions, because the contractions could rupture the membrane and cause my water to break which is not something we want.  He also informed me that I was not improving so I was back on full bed rest.  Following that, he told me all of the percentages of successful births at this stage.  Less than 24 week babies have a 30% chance of survival.  In addition, since she is breeched they would have to do a c-section but the kind where they cut my belly open from the top to bottom.  This means any future pregnancies would have to be delivered the same way and each time my uterus would get weaker and each pregnancy would be a higher risk.  All of this happened before 8 am, and Junior was on his way to work. 

I decided to wait until he was at work before calling him; I did not want to call him while he was driving.  I asked him to come back to the hospital.  When he got there, Chucky explained everything the doctor shared because I was too sensitive.  This was such an emotional moment for us.  It is very tough to even think about it as I write this.  We spent the rest of day just resting and trying not to stress out.  I was still having contractions throughout the day and we all were monitoring them.  It seemed to be very random; it would go from one every hour, then a few were 15 minutes apart.  The nurse also had me hooked up to the contraction monitor to keep tract of it as well.  Later that evening, the night doctor came in to discuss what we would do if I had to deliver given that the baby was breeched.  I asked if he could check again because she could have turned around by now.  He looked at me like I was silly and said that is highly unlikely since my water broke.  I informed him that my water did not break that they believe I have a high leak.  He appeased me and got the ultrasound machine, when he checked Olivia was head down and in the ready position; thank God she was. 

Monday May 13, 2013 – Things looked bright

When speaking to the Perinatologist, he seemed very nonchalant about my entire situation.  It seemed as if I wasn’t as bad as they made it.  He mentioned he was going to keep me for 24 hours and do an ultrasound tomorrow morning just to double check everything and I should be home by Wednesday, if I was to be on bed rest at home would be up to my OB.  I was so excited with this news; I did not want to be cooped up in a hospital for 3 months.  He also took me off of complete bed rest and allowed me to use the rest room on my own. The nurse even mentioned he was going to discharge me today but wanted to keep me just to be safe.  Junior spent Monday night at home so he could rest. The recliner at the hospital was not comfortable to sleep in.  Chucky spent the night with me and mentioned that I moved around a lot and was in pain. 

Sunday May 12, 2013 – Mother’s day

Sunday morning my OB came back to check on me.  In addition, the Perinatologist suggested I transfer to Broward General (BG) because they have a level 4 NICU.  It is easier to transfer the baby in utero then out.  They wanted to be sure the baby was at BG in case I went into labor.  They also explained that my cervix was dilated and that I did not have enough cervix to do a cerclage which they normally do in these types of situations.  They set up the transfer information and the ambulance was on its way to pick me up.  Junior was going to stop by the house first to pick up some clothes and things for the hospital.  We made it to BG and I was told I would get a new ultrasound on Monday morning to check things out.  Throughout the day I was getting various text messages wishing me a happy first mother’s day.  These made me feel weird because of the entire situation and how I was not sure what was really going to happen.  While in the hospital, I met the OB and was told I would meet the Perinatologist in the morning.  My nurse throughout the day was very attentive and had a great personality.  The OB this day was hilarious; he made me feel very comfortable and gave me information about the situation, he said I was still dilated but explained that my cervix has 2 sections, so it was the inside of the cervix that was dilated, however, the lining between the inside and outside is almost non existing.  He also explained that what I have is called an “incompetent cervix,” the cervix is too weak to hold the weight of the baby. For my next pregnancies, I will have to get a cerclage at 12 to 14 weeks pregnant.  Junior wants me to bring my cervix to school so it can become competent J.  They’ve had me on an IV drip for fluids this whole time. 

They also began giving me penicillin to help fight infection in case I go into labor.  THIS SUCKED, oh my goodness did it BURN my entire hand and wrist while it was entering my body.  I would get this medication every 6 hours!  That evening, while I was eating a salad that was brought to me (I’m not even going to get into the entire hospital food situation) I felt a burning in the IV site.  The nurse had just come in and did something with the IV’s so I assumed it was time to get my penicillin again.  But the burning felt worse, I looked at my hand and it was swollen like a big ball, I page the nurse and informed them I needed help right away. The nurse walked in looked at my hand and her eyes got big.  She said my hand was infiltrated and we would have to start another IV.  She gave me ice for my hand but that made it feel worse because it felt so heavy on top of my hand.  I lifted my hand over my head so the blood could rush down my arm.  It took over an hour for my hand to look like a hand again.  She put the IV in my left hand but by the wrist which was a bit uncomfortable.  We spent the rest of the day at the hospital.

May 11, 2013 – Something isn’t right!

This day began just like any other Saturday.  I woke up early and began getting ready to head to the studio to work out.  When I went to the bathroom I noticed some brown spotting.  I didn’t think anything of it because I know that means “old” blood so I continued to the gym.  Junior was not going to work out until 10:30 so he stayed home.  When I got to the studio, Gary drove up after me.  Knowing that he only comes to workout with Junior I asked if Junior was supposed to come early.  So I called Junior and he started getting ready and headed to the gym as well.  I went into the studio and started chatting with Lubov (friend/trainer).  I’m always early so I was the first one there.  Before I began my warm up I decided to use the rest room.  This is where it all began… I noticed very light pink spotting when I used the rest room.  At first I thought, ‘okay, well it’s very little so I may just see where it goes through the day before I worry.’  Then I decided to get a second opinion, I asked Lu her thoughts and she said I should call my doctor to get her opinion.  So I did, I called my mid-wife Marin who asked me a series of questions and then told me to head to the ER to be safe.  I went back into the studio and grabbed my bag and headed out.  Everyone was looking at me and asked where I was going; it is not like me to just randomly leave a workout.  Since I didn’t want to freak anyone out I just said I had to check on something and I had to go. 

I called Junior and asked him to head to the ER instead of the studio.  Then I realized I didn’t bring my wallet with me; so he had to head back home to get my wallet.  I went into Coral Springs ER and checked in. I informed them I didn’t have any identification but that my husband was on his way with the information.  They had my information in the system from 2002 when I went into the ER with a broken nose so all they needed was my updated name and address.  So they took me up to labor and delivery since I was exactly 23 weeks pregnant at this time.  By the time I was upstairs, Junior made it to the hospital and met me in the room where they were checking the baby’s heart rate for about 30 minutes.  Everything sounded good with the heart rate so I was feeling good. 

Next step was to see the ultrasound technician.  They rolled me around in a wheelchair and would not let me walk, this is protocol so I just went along.  While the technician was doing the regular ultrasound she said everything looked good, my bag was still intact and I was full of fluids.  She was extremely nice and we had a good conversation.  Everyone at this hospital was actually very nice and helpful.  She then proceeded to do the transvaginal ultrasound.  The conversation became a bit less chatty and she wasn’t giving me as many updates.  She stepped out to give my information to the nurses, it was then time for me to switch rooms again.  They did not put me on the wheelchair again, they asked me to stay in the bed and they rolled me to the room.  This is the point where I began to realize something was amiss.  Why would I have to be rolled in the same bed to another room?  I then had to switch beds and they lined them up and asked me to move over SLOWLY… The nurse informed me that she contacted my doctor’s office and the OB was on her way in.  When she arrived she informed me that my cervix was dilated 2 to 3 centimeters.  She said I will need to be on bed rest at the hospital for a while.  She also introduced me to a Perinatologist.  He recommended I get shots of steroids now to help develop Olivia’s lungs in case I go into labor, it will help her chances.  

At this time, I realized I should start contacting my family to let them know what is going on.  I didn’t want to do this at first because I thought this was something small and I would update them once I left the hospital.  Mamy was supposed to head to North Carolina to see Fredo, but because of the situation she came back to Florida.  So I was in the hospital on complete bed rest.  This means I don’t leave the bed at all.  I was introduced to the lovely bedpan… I thought to myself, I don’t know if I will be able to do this.  But talk about love, I already knew Junior loved me, but with this situation our relationship has hit an entire new level.  I mean it has to when you are cleaning someone’s bedpan :-/.  I had a few visitors Saturday night which was nice, sitting in the hospital can be very boring.  We spend the night at Coral Springs hospital.