tammyandtom.com

Tammy will get her IV connection removed and will then get dressed. Then we are out of this joint!
As she says: “I’m free!”

Hasta-la-see-you-later!

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So the nurse fumbles around putting on the external fetal monitor “pucks” and says “don’t move…” and you breathe and lose the heartbeat. The fix is usually easy. Have the dad run over there when she steps out and have him put more of the goo on the heartbeat puck. They usually don’t clean and reapply the goo between sessions. So, there is not enough. Goo the mother up to cover the puck well. Then, mom can shift around and get comfy without losing the heartbeat. I type while listening to little Zoe!

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I’m just now learnig this stuff as I have no real hospital experience.
At this hospital, shift changes happen every 12 hours. We get a new nurse at that time. We had learned that the following time after a shift change, you will NOT be attended to. Your machines will alert, water will run out (if the spouse is not in the room), medicine will not come and the patient will be miserable. I recommend that you make sure to hit the call button one half of an hour before the scheduled shift change. Get water filled, get your meds, and have the specimin catcher emptied. Do everything that you need because for the two hours after shift change, you will be ALONE and wanting/needing things.

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I leave for a couple of hours and all is disheveled. Ice water is empty. Fetal monitor is alerting visually because the heart rate monitor didn’t have enough goop on the puck. The fetal monitor was also alerting audibly because it was out of paper. Breakfast was carbohydrate central for a person that has gestational diabetes? Again? What the heck? The urine specimin catcher was full with two specimins! Never checked or emptied. It is supposed to be checked every time. I had to empty it again because as I arrive, Tammy has to pee. The stupid thing can’t hold three!

All in the ten minutes that I arrive. All is calm and corrected… For now…

The doctor came by and mentioned the possibility of Tammy getting out at 10ish tonight. We will see. We have noticed that different people say different things. There will be a shift change at 19:00 anyway and things might change. Who knows? The doctor said that if the baby wants to come now, they will not stop it since they gave her all of the medicine to help her along. In that case, we will go to another hospital that has a NICU.

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I brought a fajita meal for Tammy. I visited and watched plenty of needles going in her. I’m way pooped now and heading home. I’ll return in the morning.

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Tip for dads and family members in this post.
When the child’s mother has you turn down the air conditioning to -1000 degrees, seek this contraption depicted in the attached image. It is a bed for the new born. It is just sitting quietly in the corner. If the dad has lost feeling in his extremedies, run to this thing and place your hands under the neck. It is warm. It sits at 25% warming while doing nothing in the corner. It is sufficient to return feeling to your hands and allow you to use them for something else! Run to the machine! Just a tip from your uncle Tom. I just found this out. Only thirty-something hours in to it.

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Dr. Reid came in to check on us today. We usually see her on our checkups. In talking with her, apparently, we are going to be here until Wednesday or Thursday at the earliest. Sheesh, we thought that we were going to get out tomorrow. At least tammy has her laptop so she can work.

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The Fetal Monitoring Machinerey

I have been here long enough to assess the electronic machinery that is monitoring Tammy. I have also been watching and asking questions. I thought someone might appreciate my findings on the external fetal monitoring machinery in the hospital. All that I describe is based on the included picture in this blog post.

Ok, the business end of all of this crud is the big white box with paper coming out of it about center screen (I don’t know the proper name but I will refer to it as the “fetal monitor”). The computer and display is for recording data, displaying data and viewing messages.

Fetal Monitor

This is the main unit. It records data on the graphing paper as seen in the picture. It gives probe updates on what it seems to be .5 second intervals. On the little amber display, you can see many things. On the top left is the baby’s heart rate and there is a little heart icon to the right of the value. Pay attention to this as the icon shows that it is getting a signal. If you aren’t getting the little heart icon, you should just move the baby monitor “puck” until you get a good reading. The baby might have even moved and you lose the reading. We have found that it is up to the parents to keep this in tune as the nurses just don’t have time. A little practice and it is no big deal. The top right shows the contraction strength (It has a medical name but I just call it strength. Realize that the numeric value does not indicate overall contraction pain, it is relative). Just below that, you can see the mother’s blood pressure and heart rate if it is being monitored.

Dads note: You can adjust the volume with the two buttons directly to the right of the amber display. This way, you can hear the baby’s heartbeat and hiccups!

When the mom needs to get up to go potty, take the blood pressure cuff off of the arm if it is on her. Then unplug the two leads on the bottom left of the fetal monitor. It is simple, just pull them out. The accepted technique is to throw these two cables around the mother’s neck while taking the “journey”. You will have to wheel the IV stand/machinery along with you to the potty (after unplugging it from power - don’t worry, it runs on battery while you are walking along). When you get back, just plug the things back in and you are good to go. Don’t misunderstand me, it is a real pain trying to get up and just use the restroom. I make it sound pleasant but it takes 10 minutes and it is a cable nightmare just to release 600cc’s of urine! Every time!

Computer Display

There are two visible graphs. Each thick vertical line indicates one minute. The thin lines in-between indicate 10 seconds each. That is the time scale and is quickly recognizable. Below the graphs, you can find averages and also the blood pressure and mother’s heart rate if it is being monitored.

The top graph has two red lines that indicate the maximum heart rate (180) and minimum heart rate (90). A normal baby should fall between those two values. We have noticed that the value fluctuates wildly as the baby is awake and is pretty flat when the baby sleeps. If you have little blank spots on the graph, try manipulating the probe that is on the mother’s belly. The baby may have moved or the mother may have bumped it. Again, it is up to the parents to assist a bit in this department.

The bottom graph is the contraction graph. That, again, is my naming scheme. You can view contractions on that graph. In our case, the value is not that high. It is still a contraction. There are no contractions visible on the included picture. We are in the hospital to stop the contractions . To count the contractions, measure from the beginning of the contraction to the beginning of the next contraction. It is really easy to read since the display shows the last 7 minutes on the screen.

Dad’s note: Looking at the computer display, at the very top slightly to the right of center, there is a cyan colored button with white text. It either says “To: 7″ or “To: 14″. That is the viewable scale on the screen. If you hit “To: 14″, it will show the past 14 minutes. It toggles back and forth. Nifty.

The computer display also pops up alerts with other mother’s graphs on it. It alerts when there is no signal or there is a value out of range. All rooms get the alert so where ever the nurse is, he/she will be able to respond appropriately. It is kind of fun seeing other people’s graphs popping up.

I hope this helps a little bit. Normally, I try not to exceed my limits by messing with stuff. I just mention things that I learn that are things expected of the parents. It just took me longer to find out on my own.

–Tom B.

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I brought a 3D picture of Zoe to hang in Tammy’s hospital room. Alicia, our nurse today, said that Zoe looks like the daddy! Yay! :). I have a big grin! I also did a little dance. Let’s hope Zoe gets dancing from some unknown third party! Maybe from Auntie Sissy. If Zoe dances like her mom or dad, we will all be in trouble…

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She has been having “cramps” since Wednesday. Since this is our first child, we don’t know anything about what is going on. Sunday, the cramps were pretty constant and baby movement has been slow since Wednesday . We decided to call the doctor and see what she recommends. The doctor asked us to come to the hospital. We went there and thought it would be in-and-out. We were far from being correct. Apparently, the feeling that Tammy is experiencing is a contraction! They are keeping Tammy for 48 hours!

She has been getting Magnesium Sulfate to stop the contractions. In case the contractions do not subside, they have been administering antibiotics and she is also receiving steroid shots. The antibiotics are preventative since she has not received the Strep-B test yet. The steroid is for a speedier development of the baby’s lungs in case Zoe wants to come out early. The steroid shots are delivered every 12 hours for a total of 4 shots. That will insure that she is kept in the hospital for 48 hours.

We started in a standard 2 bed room. It was fine since we got it alone. Later, another young lady was moving to the room also and the nurse got is in the post-birth room. It’s nice! I slept on the bed in the picture. The computer monitor is displaying Zoe’s heartbeat at the top and Tammy’s contractions on the bottom. If you look close at the bottom graph, you can see a contraction in the center of the display. I just brought dinner (late) to Tammy as the kitchen at the hospital was closed. I get burgers for her and she just eats the meat as she cannot have sugar or carbohydrates. She also got a side of the apple slices (no caramel sauce).

So far, she still has contractions but she is feeling fine. Zoe is doing great (we have another ultrasound video…) I have already brought her laptop so she can work from bed. She should be receiving her steroid shot right now (07:00) as it is time. I am home checking on the dogs and taking a shower. I also have to pick up supplies for her.

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