I Suck At Breaking Water

It seems rather fitting in a way. After a few days of torrential downpour, the sun came out today. Also breaking the water... my wife. I suck at breaking water. Unfortunately Karen... not so much.

Today, Karen had one of her many appointments with the doctors. Being 33 weeks pregnant, Karen has had many appointments with the doctors. It just so happens that today's appointment was a big one in terms of being pregnant.

As I was driving Karen to her doctor's appointment, Karen mentioned how she thought her water just broke after the train ride home. Naturally, I was quite alarmed, in part because the baby is still not full term yet. And so with reckless abandon, I drove as quick as I could to the doctor's office.

While at the doctor's office, Karen noticed more fluid. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity in which there may have been panic and anxiety over the birth of our child, the doctor came in to examine Karen. Sure enough, the doctor confirmed that indeed Karen's water broke. (For anyone curious, there is this neat test: it's a pink cotton swab... that apparently turns black when mixed with amniotic fluid. I thought that was simply amazing.)

Needless to say, the doctor told us to go home, pack some clothes, and head to the hospital because the baby is arriving soon. I may have let my guard down a little as I excitedly told Karen that we're having a baby! Up until that point, I have been a little guarded in my feelings because I did not want to get my hopes up. After all, I was pretty ecstatic when Karen was pregnant with our first child (Braden) who unfortunately was born extremely premature and passed away after living only a week.

I did not want to jinx things and have the same outcome. Hence, I tried not to get too excited about the baby this time around. As it was, I may have jinxed things last night. Last night, I got to feel the baby move around.

For awhile, Karen has been trying to have me feel the baby move. Every time the baby would move, Karen would tell me and I would place my hand on Karen's belly. Unfortunately, every time I placed my hand on her belly, the baby never moved again. I naturally assumed the baby did not like me.

Last night, however, Karen had joked that the reason why the baby did not move around when I had my hand on her belly was because the baby knew that I was not going to let our child have a video game console until later in life. In response, I caressed Karen's belly and told the baby that if he or she moved while my hand was on Karen's belly that I would rethink the whole video game console idea. Perhaps I could knock a year or two off of my age restriction. Sure enough, the baby moved... twice.

Anyway, with Karen's water breaking, I wonder in the back of my mind if the baby really wants that video game console and just can't wait to play with it. Sure, it sounds ridiculous, but when you're told that the baby is coming early... not many things make a whole lot of sense.

Needless to say, Karen and I arrived at South Shore Hospital. Karen was admitted... and we are still currently awaiting for the arrival of the baby. Knowing that there are so many things that we have still yet to do in terms of preparing our house for the baby is extremely daunting. Again, in an effort to not get our hopes up too much, we had delayed getting a lot of the necessary items required in bringing a baby home... and even taking care of a baby in general.

Our hesitation was due to possibly repeating our experience with Braden. This should go without saying: the experience with Braden was by no means totally awful. It was great to meet my son, if even only for a week. It's the incredible high of being a parent followed by the quick plummeting lows of seeing your child pass away that wrench your heart. As it was, Karen and I are canceling birthing classes again... like before with Braden... because the baby is apparently going to be born before the class. I guess we are just not meant to take a birthing class.

Despite the anxiety and panic of repeating our experience with Braden, it was nice to see some familiar faces while at the hospital. One of the nurses (Patty) came in to personally visit us, as did the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit doctor from before when we had Braden. (For anyone curious, our baby... when born after 33 weeks... will end up in the NICU and will most likely stay there until he or she is able to do certain "normal" tasks.) It was definitely calming to see them again.

Anyway, right now Karen and the baby are doing well. Karen was given a steroid shot to help the baby's lung development. Hopefully, the baby will wait a little longer before arriving so that the second steroid shot can be administered tomorrow and take effect. Prior to the steroid shot, the doctors removed the cerclage from Karen's cervix. The doctor must have thought I was crazy because I was intrigued and wanted to see the actual removal of the cerclage. (For anyone curious, I did not watch the removal. I opted to help Karen during the removal instead. And interestingly enough... the cerclage... not as big as I imagined it to be.)

Aside from that, Karen is simply resting and being monitored by the doctors. I am hoping she can get a lot of rest. Of course, I was hoping that she got a lot of rest weeks ago, but that apparently never happened. Hopefully things will turn out okay this time around. The doctors seem to think so. In fact, they have said that on paper the baby looks great. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much.