Week 2

Sunday

Sunday was a good, relaxing day. My mother-in-law came to visit me after church and then Adam came up to visit at half time. (I know, priorities, right?) I was allowed to take a shower on Sunday so that was very exciting. I had to sit down and keep the door open so I could stay hooked up to the IV, but it was still a great shower. I put on some cozy jammies from home and got back in bed.

My parents took Sydney to see Elmo at the arena and then they all stopped to visit after that. My aunt and uncle also stopped to visit and brought me my favorite cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory....Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. It was a great treat!

Monday

Monday I got a visit from a girl who went thru a similar experience. Her water broke at 22 weeks and she was on hospital bed rest all the way until 30 weeks when she had her son. She made me a bookmark with the verse Isaiah 26:3. "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." She was very encouraging and I'm looking forward to more visits from her. :)

Tuesday

Tuesday I got a visit from my friend Julie & her daughter Allie. They brought me Little Caesars breadsticks (my request for the day.) Allie watched Barney while Julie and I chatted and the afternoon passed by very quickly. Adam and Sydney came up after work. That is my favorite time of the day. We all eat dinner together and hang out, just like at home. My parents came to pick her up around 9:30 and then Adam and I went to bed. Adam has been AMAZING. He sleeps at the hospital with me every night that he has to work. It is so nice having someone there. He never complains about the constant IV beeping, monitors going off, or nurses coming in every few hours and waking us up. I'm so thankful for such a great husband!

Wednesday

I made it to 23 weeks! The morning started off great. My Dr examined me and said my cervix is still closed and the cerclage is still holding nicely. He gave me "bathroom privileges," which means I can get up and walk to the bathroom anytime I need to. Very exciting news! Then, I had a nice visit in the morning from 3 friends that I've known my entire life.

After they left, the madness started. My Dr. called me on the phone in the afternoon and said that he and the hospital were not in agreement over my care and he wanted to discharge me and move me to a different hospital. You can call me for all the details, but basically the hospital was trying to order all kinds of additional things my Dr didn't want done, just so they could bill insurance for it. So, I was the gossip of the nurses station all day! My parents picked me up and drove me 20 minutes across town to another hospital where my room was waiting for me. I got all settled in, had a visit from my doctor (where he gave me the whole scoop) and then had dinner with Adam.

Wednesday night my friends Lisa, Jessica, and Bri came to visit and brought chips and salsa. I got to shower after they left and Adam spent the night here again. We got a good nights sleep and were able to sleep in until 10am!

Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I'm enjoying the day by myself today. I was able to catch up on all my e-mails and paperwork and watch some QVC. My brother and his family came to visit this afternoon and the rest of my family will be coming up after they eat their Thanksgiving dinner. I'm doing well and am in good spirits. This will be such a short period of my life and I have so many things to be thankful for. Hope you all have a great holiday and great weekend!

Sydney

Someone asked me to write about how Sydney is doing. Only my 2nd blog entry and already a request! Thank you Heather. Anyway, Sydney is doing amazing. She is staying with my parents on Sunday-Thursdays and then Adam takes her home on the weekends. She comes up to visit me almost everyday and brings me handmade cards and crafts that she makes with Grandma. She told Adam that she "Likes her new home" :) and she understands that Mommy is sick and has to stay at the hospital to keep her baby brother safe.

Last night we had a family movie night in the hospital. We watched Shrek 2 and ordered some awesome cheese curds and chicken tenders from room service. (You know, you can order free food whenever you want from here? It doesn't even have to be on the menu. You can just write down what you want, and it arrives 10 minutes later. Not too bad! One of the perks, of being a long-staying guest.)

Anyway, back to Sydney. She loves to help the nurses and knows her way around the hospital quite well already. She told us that, "After Sebastian is born, we will all go home and be the Surbers again." Precious. It definitely brightens my day getting to see her little smiling face.

Pray for my parents, as they are all ready getting tired. My Dad told me he knows why people have kids when they are young. She is a busy girl to keep up with! I know many of you have offered to babysit so we may be calling you sometime soon! Stay near the phone. :)

My new life

I thought I'd start this blog to document my journey and keep all of my family and friends up to date. First is a quick recap of week 1 in the hospital. One week down, 15 weeks to go!

I came in to the hospital on 11/13, (21 1/2 weeks pregnant) after some convincing from friends. I started leaking some fluid on 11/12, but didn't think too much of it since Dr. Google said it seemed somewhat normal. :) My friends however, thought it sounded like my water had broke and said I should come in. I arrived around 11pm Saturday night. After some tests, I was told my water had broken and my doctor would be in in the morning to see me.

Sunday morning, the Dr. checked me and my water was still in tact. I was dilated to 3cm though and the bag of water was hanging out (graphic, sorry) a few inches. He diagnosed me with an "Incompetent Cervix" and pieces of cervix tissue is what was actually coming out. He immediately prepared for a procedure known as an "emergency cerclage" or "rescue cerclage."

http://www.webmd.com/baby/cervical-cerclage-to-prevent-preterm-delivery

I had a spinal, but was awake. I laid with my head near the floor and my legs hanging from straps in the ceiling. He was able to push my bag of water back in and sew shut my cervix to 1/2 cm. He said it was the first successful time this procedure had been performed at this hospital. We were very thankful for a successful surgery, especially after hearing those odds!

The next few days were up and down. I was put on complete hospital bed rest. I continued to have some bleeding so they were concerned that the stitch had opened. The Dr checked me and the stitch was still in tact. The bleeding continued, but he didn't want to keep checking to disturb things further. He assumed that I was having contractions and that's what was irritating my cervix and causing the bleeding.

On Thursday, 11/18 the Dr started me on an IV of Magnesium Sulfate to stop the contractions. The side effects are rough. It makes you very sick and very hot. It is worth it though everyday we keep little Sebastian in there.

Friday, Adam and I had a visit from one of the doctors in the NICU, letting us know what we can expect when babies are born early. It was a lot of information, but I like feeling prepared for every possible outcome.

I'm still on the Magnesium Sulfate and tolerating it very well. I was told a lot of people are only on it for 24 hours or so and a lot of people can't handle it at all. I guess my body is used to toxic substances already from what I normally eat and drink. :)

Last night, I was moved to a much bigger, nicer room. It has a DVD/VCR combo player, much comfier bed, and a big whirlpool tub in the bathroom (so I've been told. I haven't been able to see the bathroom yet, but soon hopefully!)

Thank you to everyone who has visited, called, and sent cards and flowers. Most importantly, thank you for your prayers and keep them coming. My due date is March 23 and every day we get closer to that, the better for Sebastian. Love you all and thanks for all of the support.