Unexpected Events

To say that we have really been gearing up and getting ready for baby Charlotte to make her entrance into the world after the New Year would be an understatement.  I've put the finishing touches on the nursery, including my friend finding this awesome rug that works perfectly with the colors we already had, bought diapers in bulk and purchased new Dr. Brown's bottles etc.  I've had several people laugh at me and comment on my OCD but it doesn't really bother me, better to be safe than sorry, right?

I was pretty pumped to find out that in Germany I would be able to schedule a repeat c-section at 38 weeks instead of 39 like in the States.  When you are 30.5 weeks pregnant things start to become significantly more uncomfortable with each passing day and a week early sounds like a dream come true.

I saw my doctor two weeks ago and Charlotte looked great weighing in at 3.5 pounds already!  WHAT?  I started to freak out a little that I might give birth the first 18 pound child ever on earth.  What would I do with such a giant baby??  She better not come out too big for all those precious gowns I've been stock piling!  After fretting for a few days and basically getting over my fear of a huge baby, imagine my surprise when I woke up yesterday morning, got up to pee for the 8th time that night, and felt my water immediately break.

This couldn't be right.  All I could think over and over was that I was only 30 weeks and this is way too early.  After I decided that this was not something that could be ignored I was able to rouse Deaner awake after only a short conversation about how I was not trying to tell him "his clock was broken" but that in fact, my "water had broken" and yes we did need to go ahead and get up.  This shot him into action.  A quick call to my doctor confirmed that I needed to go by ambulance to the hospital immediately.  A little dramatic for me, and I would have preferred the paramedics not track mud inside and all over my rugs, but what. ever.  Evans was shipped to the neighbors and we were off to the ER.

To make a very long story shorter, it was confirmed that my water did break.  Not the news we were hoping for but Charlotte was looking good.  The docs explained that we have several goals over the next few weeks.  Thankfully my cervix is still closed and I was not having contractions.  They immediately started the steroid shots to help develop her lungs so she can breath on her own when she does decide to come.  Keeping her inside for the next 72 hours will allow those drugs to take full effect.  The next goal is to stay infection free until 34 weeks when they will deliver her no matter what.  This gets tricky since my water has already broken so I'm on an antibiotic drip for the duration.  They said there is a small chance that the membrane will repair itself and my fluids will replenish.  I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I personally don't think that is likely.  I am also not a medical professional.

So, here I am.  Lying in a hospital bed.  Peeing in a pot because I'm not even allowed to get up to use the bathroom.  Missing my hair appointment this afternoon and fantasizing about how my hair will look when my highlights grow out to my ears.  This thought is second only to how bad my hair must currently look after not being washed for two days and just how much worse it will look it is going to look if they seriously don't let me shower for a week.  I honestly can't imagine anything worse.  Except the prospect of being here for three weeks with hospital food for three meals, crappy wi-fi, and no husband or son.  Sigh.  Things are rough right now.  The silver lining is that Charlotte is still a little piggy and weighed in yesterday at over four pounds, so if she does decide to grace us with her presence sooner rather than later, she at least will be a decent size for a 10 week premature baby.  I'm still hoping to hold out until 34 weeks AND keep my sanity but............we will see.  I should have plenty of time on my hands to blog and I'm taking any and all book suggestions right now.  I may set a record for reading more in 2013 than ever before!  Keep us in your prayers!