Hello Nashua

Well I've settled into Nashua at SNHMC. They have given me the penthouse suite here. It's the largest room in the ward reserved for long term patients. So I will continue my bed rest routine until this child is born. I've made it to 28 weeks and now the short term goal is for 30 weeks. Everyday I stay pregnant is approximately three days less in ICU.

I had another routine ultra sound today to check to growth progress of the baby as well as the fluid levels. He is about 2 pounds and 13 ounces. A couple ounces short of 3 pounds. He's grown about an 1/2 pound in 13 days. He is still big for this age development which is great. All the organs and the measurements look good. The doctors here are very pleased with his development. My fluid measurement today was 7.8 AFI which was slightly lower than 2 weeks ago. The transport and the evaluations jostled the baby enough to cause me to leak a little faster yesterday and today. I expect that to slow down again now that things have quieted down. Today's number is low, but isn't critically low. Even though the baby doesn't need fluid right now to grow, having as much fluid as i do will help strengthen his lungs. He will use the fluid to practice breathing and swallowing. This is why babies get the hiccups. Most of the fluid is produced by the baby. Since it looks like I keep an amount around 8 AFI when the baby's head isn't subjected to a lot of movement, we are assuming his kidneys are doing what they are suppose to be doing. Yeah! Keep making that baby pee.

(Note from Ben: AFI is Amniotic Fluid Index. It is calculated by dividing the uterus into 4 quadrants. With ultrasound measure the largest side of each pocket of fluid. Add up all the quadrants and you have the AFI.)

Rachel has come to visit me the last two afternoons and it's been great. She is happy to see me and doesn't seem too nervous about being in the room anymore. We've been taking turns tracing hands and feet onto paper with colored pencils. She gets quite a kick out of "tracing" my feet; her tracings rivals the foot size of Big Foot. I can tell Ben's stress level has been relieved now that he see me everyday and get here in under 30 minutes if I need him too. Oh, the food is better here too, I just wish I could have taken the bed from Dartmouth.

28 Weeks and Back in Nashua

I've made it and in my new room. I've got the penthouse suite here. I believe it's the biggest room in the ward and they reserve it for cases that are here long term. It's just as busy here in SNHMC as at Dartmouth. I've been here 6 hours and I know at least 2 babies have been born. Over the weekend Dartmouth was releasing routine mothers after 24 hours of giving birth to free up beds. Most stay 2 days before going home. It's been a busy month for new babies.

I feel pretty good. I'm very tired, which I expected after the excitement of today. So far my vitals and the baby's are stable. Hopefully I can stay pregnant for another 5 to 6 weeks and then I can be free to move about life.

Cleared for departure on runway 89S

Nashua has a bed and is willing to take the case. DHMC has signed off on the transport, Insurance company says okay. Sharron is expecting to be en route by 10:00am today, she should be settled in by 1:00. I took most of Sharron's stuff down to Amherst yesterday so she is all set to roll with one bag. I don't have to drive all the way up and back just for stuff. We'll post more when we have it.

Waiting for a Bed

We just heard that Nashua will be happy to take me back on Tuesday if there is a bed available. The insurance company also is cooperating in this move. DHMC will call in the morning to see if a bed is available. If not tomorrow then we try again each day until I can go.

The baby and I are still doing great. Despite the stress and lack of sleep yesterday, both of us are still very stable. He is moving around and with the lack of fluid in my tummy, I can tell easier if a hand, foot, or bum is pushing against my skin. I've seemed to have gotten over the stomach upset from last week. My energy level and wanting to eat has improved quite a bit. Now if only I had something other than hospital food to eat.

Of course we will keep everyone informed about the move and get the new info out as we get it.

A long night.

Sharron had a roommate for most of the three weeks she has been here. They both had very similar situations (She was a few weeks farther along). After about a week in they each got their own room, but that only lasted a day and they were back together. Dartmouth has been extremely busy with many nights having a couple of rooms double occupancy.

Late last night the roommate went into labor. We only have dribs and drabs of information but from what we can tell mother and baby are doing well. It took the team a couple of hours to shuffle everyone around before they could move her to a birthing room. Needless to say Sharron had a very long and emotional night. A happy visit from Rachel and nap later Sharron is feeling better. Sharron has moved to the bed near the window (Hurray sunlight :-). Note to those who have the phone number it has changed.

Tomorrow promises to be an interesting day. The doctors are threatening to start talking to Nashua about a transfer again. Tuesday is the earliest she would move, but it will be a nice conversation to have. I have already spoken with the NICU folks in Nashua. The main thing we loose by transferring is the instant access to a pediatric surgery team that we have now. We will have to weigh the risk of complications requiring surgery/transfer with the benefit of being 90 minutes closer to home. Between gas prices, travel time and the possibility that Sharron could go on like this for another 6 weeks it is starting to sounds like a no-brainier to me.

3 Weeks!!! Who Hooooo!

Wednesday I passed the 3 week mark in our journey. There really isn't anything new with my condition or the baby's. I'm still suffering from some form of GI track upset which irritates my uterus. I have not had anymore contractions which is a small comfort. The baby still looks good on the monitoring system and continues to have major parties when I feel my worst. We are taking this one day at a time.

Administrivia

A few people have mentioned trouble posting comments. I have tweaked some of the settings so that should now be working better now. Let me know if you have any problems.

Ben

And before anyone posts a comment asking if Administrivia is a word... Princeton thinks so here