Going Home...Kind of ?

Well, we were discharged from the hospital yesterday. I had to have my breakfast, lunch & get monitored for contractions just one last time before they let me leave. I had one small contraction, but I had to use the bathroom SO badly. Having a full bladder causes contractions...I was not aware they were going to put me on the NST machine otherwise I would've used the restroom. Oh well, just had a small one. I'm allowed to have 3 in an hour. So, we're doing well.

My Mom came to the hospital to sit with me & then bring me home once I was allowed to leave. We had the room all packed up & I was just waiting as patiently as I could. 4 days in the hospital I was getting a bit antsy to get home to my husband, puppy & my own bed. So, we got packed, but I was missing a shoe, they found my other shoe still in my old room, then the nurse never took out my IV in my arm, & then I left my pillow in my room....I guess I really didn't want to leave. The nursing staff at RMH are absolutely wonderful & have been so good to me. They have answered all the questions we had & have made me feel very comfortable.

We were out of the hospital, got into my Mom's VW Bug & headed to my house. The Alere Healthcare nurse, Karin was meeting us at my house to hook up the new wireless monitor for my contractions. We were getting a lesson on how to use the system, when to use it, how often to use it & what to expect from their nurses. It all went well except for the part where the monitor wouldn't work anywhere in our house. Nate & I live in the "gray" area of their coverage. So, our only option was to find someone's house who has good coverage until they can get AT&T out to our home to install a phone line. The monitor we have converts from wireless to analog (phone). We have never had a phone line in our home & thought it would be great if the wireless one worked so we didn't have to worry about a phone line. The insurance company is taking care of AT&T installing the line & paying for it too :-)

Since the monitor didn't work we had them check how the service was at my parent's house...they are in the "best" coverage area. If that didn't work we were going to try Nate's parents house & use their phone line. Well, my parent's house worked so off we went. I was home for an hour at least & not in the hospital. My Mom hooked up the monitor & we tested it on my belly. Everything worked great. Once we monitor for an hour the system reports to their nurses at Alere. The nurses have 1 hour to call me & let me know what is going on. Last night I had one contraction. This morning I had 1 contraction w/ some irritability. I am allowed to have 3 contractions within an hour. If I have 4 or more within an hour they will have me give myself a boost of my meds, terbutaline sulfate or head to the hospital. I monitor myself 2 times a day...once in the morning & once at night.

This whole thing is a lot of work & a bit frustrating especially when I feel fine, I'm in good health & I know plenty of people that have had & are having pregnancies that are a breeze. We keep telling ourselves that God is preparing us to be good parents. The little things won't matter to us, we already appreciate our baby more than someone who hasn't had to worry about every little thing & we'll be able to handle things better because we've gone through all of this. Nate & I have become a great team through this pregnancy. I'm so proud of him for being such a wonderful husband & he's already a fantastic daddy. This whole experience has taught us to have patience, that planning things is a complete joke, & to ask the doctor whatever is on your mind & get answers. We have done a lot of waiting & we are tired of it, we want answers, so now we are getting tough :-)

Thank you everyone for your love, support & prayers. We are so fortunate to have family & friends around to help us out & be there for us. Thanks to our Mom's aka Grandma's for all your help...Grandma Helgerson got us groceries & Grammie Deb did our laundry. It's not easy for Nate to allow people to help, but he's getting better at letting them help, because they love us & want to do whatever they can. We are also very lucky that my work is so wonderful through all of this. I am still getting paid to be on bed rest. I'm getting long term disability pay of 66% salary & my job is still there after my maternity leave is done. It's been very convenient that my Doctor is also my Boss :-)

As always we will keep you posted on any updates. Our next appointment with the doctor is Monday @ 10:15...we are having another FFN swab done to check for any signs of preterm labor within 2 weeks, an ultrasound to check the cervical length & an NST to monitor for contractions. We have a long appointment & we'll have them every week until we allow Jordan to enter this world :-)

Love xoxoxoxo,
The Helgerson's