Baby
We are at the Klinikum in Bamberg waiting on the labor to start. Tab had a normal doctor's appointment yesterday. Her blood pressure was slightly higher than normal; not in the danger range, but higher. The doctor drew blood and said that he was going to test for pre-eclampsia. If the tests indicated that it was progressing in that way, he would call the next day and we could discuss inducing. We left there and came to the hospital to pre-register. After filling out the paperwork, the doctor that will be doing the delivery did an exam and said that it did look like it was progressing in that way. He said that the baby was perfectly fine, and that Tab was perfectly fine. The only catch is that if the BP started to climb much more, it could turn into what happened with Alaina. He said that he would rather induce now while everyone is healthy as opposed to when there was a problem. Once again, a checkup turned into Tab not leaving the hospital before delivering.
I took Alaina back home, got a car seat, packed bags, cleaned out the baby's room (it still had empty boxes from moving), and cleaned the rest of the house. Tab figured that he was going to come early and had already cleaned EVERYTHING. I just had to pick up random things. I dropped Alaina off with someone from work and came back to the hospital.
** While I was leaving with Alaina, Tab was drinking her cocktail they provided to induce labor. When the doctor told us that it was a cocktail and what was in it, we thought he was kidding. Nope. It was about 32oz of champagne, presseco, fruit juice, and some oil of the labor-inducing kind. It even had an umbrella. As the doctor put it, it doesn't make anyone drunk, but it makes everyone happy. **
I get back and nothing is happening. She is upstairs in her room. Until she starts with the whole baby thing, she is in a double room with some random other person. in this case, it is a german lady recovering from a c-section with a newborn girl. The baby was born yesterday. No sleep for anyone in that room. We were told that if the cocktail works, it usually kicks in in the middle of the night. Since Tab doesn't have a cell phone and neither of us want to give the hospital 20 Euros for the privilege of using the room's phone, I really didn't want to leave the hospital until she went into labor. I ended up going to sleep in the car in the parking garage. I came back in as the sun came up and observed that there had been no progress. Tab was still grumpy from sharing a room with a lady who doesn't speak her language and who doesn't seem to know how to care for her baby. Since she didn't have any progress, they gave her a dose of Cytotec after breakfast and told her to come back at 1330 for monitoring. After that (with no significant changes), they said that they would give another dose at 1600. If that does nothing, they're hooking up the IV drip at 1900. We think that if it were such a big deal yesterday that they induce right then, that they would have actually done it instead of trying the little things first.
Aside from that, we'll have internet and a house phone on 6OCT. Logan's room is done with the exception of a crib. We have a big snake-like pillow so he can safely sleep in the room with us for the first few days anyway.
The hospital doesn't have a very big footprint, but it is 13 stories. Tab's room is on the top one. There's a hotel and a bookstore downstairs. There's a cafeteria with pretty good food. My lunch today was stuffed and grilled zucchini with rice covered in a paprika gravy. The patients' food is good too and there is a whole lot of it. Tab's lunch was pork with onion and mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, salad, a pastry, fruit, apple juice, sparkling water, and a candy bar. Her breakfast was beer bread and rolls, cheese with ham in it, butter, strawberry marmalade, coffee, cereal, and milk. A couple of doors down there is a breakfast room with meats and cheeses, fruits, breads, coffee and tea, cereal, pastries, and a few other things. It is open to the women and their families. Though the phone card is 20 Euros, internet use for a day is 5. That's what we're using right now. for 15 we could have it for a week, but we're not planning on being here that long. She is intending to go home as soon as she is allowed to. They will keep them for up to three days after delivery. I don't think she wants to be here for one.
Assuming that the baby comes before the next 21 hours and 28 minutes is up, I'll post it on here. If not, we'll call when everything has died down. I did go and get a camera. Pictures will be uploaded.
I took Alaina back home, got a car seat, packed bags, cleaned out the baby's room (it still had empty boxes from moving), and cleaned the rest of the house. Tab figured that he was going to come early and had already cleaned EVERYTHING. I just had to pick up random things. I dropped Alaina off with someone from work and came back to the hospital.
** While I was leaving with Alaina, Tab was drinking her cocktail they provided to induce labor. When the doctor told us that it was a cocktail and what was in it, we thought he was kidding. Nope. It was about 32oz of champagne, presseco, fruit juice, and some oil of the labor-inducing kind. It even had an umbrella. As the doctor put it, it doesn't make anyone drunk, but it makes everyone happy. **
I get back and nothing is happening. She is upstairs in her room. Until she starts with the whole baby thing, she is in a double room with some random other person. in this case, it is a german lady recovering from a c-section with a newborn girl. The baby was born yesterday. No sleep for anyone in that room. We were told that if the cocktail works, it usually kicks in in the middle of the night. Since Tab doesn't have a cell phone and neither of us want to give the hospital 20 Euros for the privilege of using the room's phone, I really didn't want to leave the hospital until she went into labor. I ended up going to sleep in the car in the parking garage. I came back in as the sun came up and observed that there had been no progress. Tab was still grumpy from sharing a room with a lady who doesn't speak her language and who doesn't seem to know how to care for her baby. Since she didn't have any progress, they gave her a dose of Cytotec after breakfast and told her to come back at 1330 for monitoring. After that (with no significant changes), they said that they would give another dose at 1600. If that does nothing, they're hooking up the IV drip at 1900. We think that if it were such a big deal yesterday that they induce right then, that they would have actually done it instead of trying the little things first.
Aside from that, we'll have internet and a house phone on 6OCT. Logan's room is done with the exception of a crib. We have a big snake-like pillow so he can safely sleep in the room with us for the first few days anyway.
The hospital doesn't have a very big footprint, but it is 13 stories. Tab's room is on the top one. There's a hotel and a bookstore downstairs. There's a cafeteria with pretty good food. My lunch today was stuffed and grilled zucchini with rice covered in a paprika gravy. The patients' food is good too and there is a whole lot of it. Tab's lunch was pork with onion and mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, salad, a pastry, fruit, apple juice, sparkling water, and a candy bar. Her breakfast was beer bread and rolls, cheese with ham in it, butter, strawberry marmalade, coffee, cereal, and milk. A couple of doors down there is a breakfast room with meats and cheeses, fruits, breads, coffee and tea, cereal, pastries, and a few other things. It is open to the women and their families. Though the phone card is 20 Euros, internet use for a day is 5. That's what we're using right now. for 15 we could have it for a week, but we're not planning on being here that long. She is intending to go home as soon as she is allowed to. They will keep them for up to three days after delivery. I don't think she wants to be here for one.
Assuming that the baby comes before the next 21 hours and 28 minutes is up, I'll post it on here. If not, we'll call when everything has died down. I did go and get a camera. Pictures will be uploaded.