Day Five: Looking Good

At 7:15 this morning, I was awakened by a knock on my room door. "Mrs. Blum? the nurse asked. Ultrasound wants to see you at 7:30. I have your wheelchair out here in the hall to take you downstairs." That's the one bad thing about being an inpatient... Your appointments are before the office actually opens, so that the doctors can see you before their normal patient load for the day. And that means 7:30, whether you're up and ready or not. I quickly got dressed, brushed my teeth and put in my contacts. I ran a brush through my hair and put a thin headband on. I looked at myself in the mirror and realized the headband looked awful. It was like I was attempting to put whipped cream on a pile of shit. Oh dear. But at least I showered last night and shaved my legs. I was clean, but hardly presentable.

The ultrasound went very well. The baby looks great and is measuring around 3 pounds 5 ounces. There was also signs of improvement in terms of cervical length - it measured 3 cm as compared to the 2.7 cm measurement from Monday. Not a huge improvement, but it's an improvement, and I'll take that any day of the week! The doctors think I am showing good signs of stability, and for the first time in a week, I heard the words "going home." I am still scared to go home, although I know they are fully expecting me to be back in a week or two for the same preterm labor symptoms. That seems to be my pattern. They want me to stay here through the weekend to be sure the T-pump is still working successfully, and then on Monday, maybe I will be able to go home.

Hospital volunteers with an organization called Happy Tails came by my room this afternoon and introduced two furry friends - Gus, a 2-year-old daschund, and Samantha, a 5-year-old terrier. The dogs are very friendly and well trained. They visit patients as a way to brighten their days. Both Gus and Samantha hopped up on my bed and let me pet them for quite some time (the nurse changed my bed immediately after they left). I really enjoyed the visit, although part of me got a little depressed. I know their purpose is to bring some level of happiness to patients, but for me, it just served as a reminder that I am in a hospital, away from my own dog and family. I just hate hospitals, I guess.

Stefan, Bo and Bonnie have spent the past few days preparing the nursery. Bo and Stefan assemble and move the furniture, and Bonnie organizes everything. Yesterday, I shopped for all the baby necessities online. Let's just say Babies R Us and Amazon.com will no doubt make earnings estimates this quarter. But, I feel good knowing we have all we need, at least until I am able to get up and to a store again, which won't be until after Baby Boy arrives. I am sad that I am not a part of the nesting, but I am so appreciative that it is getting done. I can't wait to see it when I get home!