A Trip to Labor & Delivery and Hurricane Irene Part I

Well, the last week and a half has been a bit rough for us up in Little Rhody.

It all started a week ago Friday, when everyone along the eastern seaboard

was gearing up for the arrival of Hurricane Irene.

Just like everyone else, we ventured out to get our bottled water and D batteries.

After four stops, I finally loaded up some water and lots of good snacks,

but never did find the batteries...or the peanut butter for that matter.

The stores were insane.

We were as prepared as we were going to be.

Saturday was supposed to be a gorgeous day, the notorious "calm before the storm"

so we planned on putting away all the patio furniture and freeing the yard

of anything that could potentially go through a window.

Saturday morning we woke up to a sunny day

that was quickly turned upside down when I went to the bathroom

and noticed a small amount of spotting {bleeding.}

Now being a nurse and having read my share of pregnancy books already,

I know this is fairly common and can happen for a variety of reasons.

It is usually nothing to worry about unless the bleeding is heavy or persistent 

and accompanied by abdominal pain, neither of which were the case here.

But still, slight panic set in.

Especially because of my blood type, which is Rh negative.

{A little side note...when a mother has Rh negative blood, and the father's blood is positive, 

the baby can inherit the positive factor from the father, 

and problems can arise if the baby's blood mixes with the mothers.}

I decided to call the doctor, just to put my mind at ease.

My doctor is the one who happened to be on call that weekend, thank goodness.

She wanted me to come in to get checked out and get my Rhogam shot.

{Rhogam is an immune globulin, and is what they give to Rh negative mothers, usually around 28 weeks to prevent sensitization to other blood types.}

So my Saturday afternoon was spent in the labor and delivery unit, 

a place I certainly wasn't expecting to see until my little tour prior to the baby being born.

I went in and was greeted by some nice nurses who were expecting me.

I put on a hospital gown, had my blood pressure checked, and was hooked up to a fetal doppler.

It was definitely weird being the patient!

I got to hear our little girl's heart beating away

and her little kicks as if to say, "what is going on here!?"

It was the most active she has ever been.

Very reassuring.

Shortly after my doctor came in and checked everything out. 

I then had some blood drawn and waited for my Rhogam to arrive. 

Four hours later...

I had my shot, had my dozen or so questions answered, and was on my way home.

Without going into too much detail, everything is a-ok. 

Baby looked good, and mama is fine too.

Nothing to worry about, thank God!

I've had a fairly "easy" pregnancy thus far, 

so this was definitely scary for me.

It's so amazing that even though this little one is still inside me and growing,

I want to protect her with every little sense of my being.

After a stressful day, the hubs and I capped the night off on a sweet note.

S'mores cookies.

Make these, I promise you will not regret it.

Recipe found here.

Sunday morning we woke up with no power,

in the midst of Tropical Storm Irene.

More to come tomorrow!