Everything continued to be stable in the hospital so I was finally allowed to go home on Saturday morning, December 1st. The Friday before I was discharged, Dr. Reich came by to check on me and she spent about 45 minutes answering all of my questions. She sent me home on strict bed rest and I was confused about what that meant. Basically it means that I'm to be laying down or propped up on pillows for as much time as possible. I can get up to go to the bathroom, I can take a shower, and I can make myself a snack or a sandwich but I'm not allowed to stand up for more than 15 minutes at a time and I'm to keep my walking to a minimum. Basically, I can hang out on the couch or in bed or I can go to the doctor's office. I obviously can't lift Oliver (in fact, I can't lift anything over ten pounds) and I can't drive. And I am to come back to the hospital if I have fresh bleeding, if I start to have regular contractions, or if there is a decrease in Henry's movement.
She told me it was very likely I would go full term if I followed the bed rest instructions and that if my placenta moves up and Henry turns around before I go into labor that I will be allowed to try for a vaginal delivery (I had thought maybe this whole experience meant I was an automatic c-section). She also said that most women experience more bleeding. I'm trying not to obsess over that piece of information but it's nice to know because if it does happen again, I think knowing it was likely to happen again will keep me calmer. She also said that she got more results from my bloodwork and now thinks that what happened was bleeding from the edge of my placenta as opposed to a placental abruption. Basically she ran a test to see if there was any mixing of my blood and his and it came back negative. If there had been a placental abruption that test should have shown some mixing. So, that's good news. I asked her for advice on diet so that I could avoid gaining a billion pounds on bed rest.
The thing that struck me the most during our conversation was how surprised she seemed to be by how well Henry and I were doing. I hadn't been having contractions (they stopped on Wednesday), I had had no fresh bleeding and we were very stable. Seeing how surprised she was with how quickly things had turned around made me realize how very lucky we are - lucky the bleeding stopped, lucky Henry is so strong, and lucky to be going home at all.
Since I've been home I've been trying to get used to my new restrictions. The thought of being on bed rest for the next three months is terrifying so I'm trying to take it one day at a time. I keep reminding myself that being on bed rest until March when he's due is the best case scenario and should be what I'm hoping for, not what I'm dreading. I'm worried about how hard my bed rest is going to be on Brian - so much is going to fall on his shoulders now - but he's been amazing. My parents have helped out and his mom came down to spend this week with us which has been such a help! She's taking O to school and picking him up and cooking for us and giving Brian a break which is so nice.
I've been cleared to work from home by the doctor which is a relief since it's the Christmas season. Plus, it helps pass the days. So, I get up in the morning, do as much work as I can, and then spend the afternoon waiting for Oliver and Brian to get home.
I left the hospital almost two weeks ago and have been back to the doctor twice since then. The first visit was short. She measured me and listened to Henry's heartbeat and asked a few questions. I was measuring right on track and Henry sounded great. I went back this week for a longer appointment. I had an ultrasound to check my placenta again (it's moved but not enough. We'll check again in four weeks) and took my 1-hour gestational diabetes test (I failed and had to take the three hour yesterday. Still waiting on those results). I met with the doctor and she seems really happy with how well I'm doing so we are going to see each other every two weeks instead of every week. I complained that she was taking away my one outing and she told me I could go see a movie if I wanted to. I don't know if I will because I feel guilty about being able to do that but not go to work.
So, all things considered, we are doing well. Trying to keep busy and passing one day at a time. I'm 28 weeks now and so grateful to have reached this point.
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