The Story of Aidan and Cole

The Last Days in the Womb -- Part 2

Sunday, June 13, 2004

I have difficulty remembering what happened on this day. Probably much of the same from the previous days. It all ran together for me. I know that Cory brought some movies from home and we watched them. One we watched was Bill Cosby's stand up "Bill Cosby Himself." Cosby says a lot about parenting and childbirth in his stand up comedy. If you have not seen this video and you are a parent, I suggest you see it. I can't wait for the "brain dead people" days of raising children.

One eventful thing did happen on Sunday. My doctor came by that afternoon and gave me the rundown on what she was expecting. She did say that we are waiting for something really bad to happen to me. My group of doctors consults with a high-risk specialist at the University of Tennessee Hospital. That doc recommended to mine that she send me over there for an amnio. This test would determine if the babies' lungs were developed enough for delivery. If they were, then we could look at scheduling a C-section when they received the results. She said maybe Tuesday or Thursday we would be able to have the surgery.

I was relieved to hear that something would be done. I was clearly not going to get any better until the babies were born. I was not having labor contractions, and they were just hanging out in my uterus, hearts beating away.

Monday, June 14, 2004: 7 am to 5 pm

A nurse came in that morning and had me sign a pass to go to the other hospital. I felt like a prisoner. They weren't sure if I would be able to go with a family member driving me or in an ambulance. They decided to let my mom drive me. Coleen came with us.

The ride was short and it was nice to get out and see the world again. I walked to the doctor's office myself, filled out the paperwork, and sat there and waited.

I started to get hot and lightheaded. They had some small couches in the waiting room so mom and Coleen moved me to the couch. Coleen fanned me with the newspaper and mom put cold, wet paper towels on my forehead. Mom asked the receptionist how much longer it would be before I was seen. Soon after that, they took me to the ultrasound room.

I was dreading this test. I did not like to think about having a long needle inserted in my belly. I did not like to think about the needle possibly poking my baby.

They did the ultrasound and measured them. From their measurements, the babies were both at least 6 pounds. The doctor came in and kept trying to look for a pocket of fluid. He said that there was not a lot of amniotic fluid in me. I don't see how there was room for anything in there! Before he even did the test he said that if it were up to him, I would deliver today. He said this just by looking at me.

They did the test and I kept my eyes closed. It didn't hurt much, but it is certainly not something I would choose to do again. They then sent me to do another non-stress test and hooked me up to the monitors. This office had nice cushy recliners to sit in for the test. Of course my BP was high. The doctor came in and chatted with the nurses. One of them asked him if the fluid drawn "looked" mature. He said no not really but he would be happy with a 40. I don't know what that meant, but he told me that he would recommend delivery even if they were borderline mature. He is a great doctor.

I made it back to the hospital. My doctor came in about 3:30 pm and said that she would let me know about the results. She came back about 4:45 pm and gave me the thumbs up sign. At this time, mom, Coleen and my mother in law were in the room. My doctor said, "Ok how about we schedule to have these babies tonight?" I said, "Tonight?!" Apparently, they had a full schedule the next day and she didn't want to wait. She had one section and two deliveries ahead of me, and then it would be my turn.

Let the pre-op whirlwind begin. We were going to have babies that night!