life with lucas...and maliya!: SURPRISE!


Surprise! An actual blog entry. Imagine that! You have all been waiting patiently for a new entry for nearly 3 months! And what a 3 months it has been! Even though I'm quite sure everyone is well aware of our whooole story, I feel it's important to share for the sole purpose of having it documented for Lucas and Maliya when they are grown up. Well, and maybe if I get dementia some day. Then I can read about it. Haha. So, I'm sorry if this bores you since you know it all, and have already seen the pictures, but stay tuned, I'll catch to 'real time' eventually! Tuesday, May 24 started out like a regular day. Nathan was here and we had a usual morning. I had put the boys down for their nap and was cleaning up from lunch when I felt a 'gush'. I thought it was bizarre, and even questioned if I had peed my pants! I didn't think so, but it seemed like the only logical answer. I immediately started reading my pregnancy books and started to question whether or not it was amniotic fluid. Over the course of the afternoon, I toyed with the idea of going to the doctor, but as it didn't seem like any significant amount, so surely it was no big deal. By the time we'd eaten dinner, and Lucas was bathed and in bed, it was still bothering me not knowing what it was, so I decided to go to the hospital to get checked out. Pat stayed at home and tried to watch the hockey game (the Canucks were in the playoffs you know!), as a) he couldn't drive yet anyway (rememeber, he had only had surgery 6 weeks before!), and b) Lucas was in bed (and it's not recommended to leave your children home alone, even when they're sleeping). I told him it was probably nothing (which he already thought), and said I'd probably be back in an hour. I came home a month later. I was brought to the pre-admission examination room (it has a better name, I just cannot remember it for the life of me!) where I was hooked up to the fetal monitor, had my blood pressure and temperature taken, etc, etc. There had not been anymore fluid loss for several hours. Nearly two hours went by before a doctor came (the hockey game was finally over!) and did a test to determine whether or not it had been amniotic fluid. It was negative. At this point, they usually send you home....BUT, NRGH had just finished a trial of a product called Amnisure, and it is nearly 100% accurate in detecting amniotic fluid. Low and behold, it was positive. And that is when the waterworks started. I really thought I was being over precautious and would be sent home. No such luck. An obstetrician, Dr. Hunt, was called in and gave me all the facts. 80% of women whose water breaks, go into labour and deliver within 72 hours. Not something you want to hear when you are only 30 weeks pregnant. I was told I would need to be admitted and would very likely be sent to Vancouver, or Victoria in the morning. NRGH does not admit any babies under 32 weeks. And to top it all of, Pat was still very early in his recovery and didn't really need the added stress of hobbling after a wild 2 year old and have his wife in the hospital somewhere else! I phoned Pat (who had phoned while I was still waiting for the doctor, and still didn't know anything) to tell him the news and he was also stunned. It was a very scary, and long, night for Pat and I. Me in the hospital, him at home. In the morning, Dr. Hunt told me he would keep me in Nanaimo to wait things out. I would be shipped off if I was to go into labour. Over the course of the next few days, a few nurses would tell me that I was the talk of the nurses station, and all the pediatricians and other obstetricians would really rather I not be there, as they did not want to deal with such a high-risk pregnancy/premature baby. It is believed that Dr. Hunt really had our family situation in mind, and did not want to add more stress. He must've had some sort of a hunch that I would make it past the 32 week mark and could stay in Nanaimo, because I beat all odds and did it! The first few days were full of many, many tears. Being away from Lucas was the hardest thing I've ever done. Heck, I'd never even been away from him for more than a few hours, nevermind overnight! Pat would bring him to visit each and every morning and I'd cry each and every time they left. It was heartbreaking. At least I was able to hold it together until they left...most of the time. I didn't need to add anymore stress to Lucas by showing him how upset I was. During the first few days, after he woke from his nap and asking for "Momma???", and Pat would tell him where I was...he would fall to knees and break down in hysterical tears. Makes me cry every time I think about that.