We are Inducing!

Well, Ivan and I had a very eventful day today. We first went and met with a Labor & Delivery Nurse at the hospital who gave us a crash course in childbirth. Then we met with the Chaplain for the NICU to discuss having Sofia Baptized and about the social services available to us at the hospital. They have a Ronald McDonald house there, but I felt guilty staying there since we have a home locally. I felt that their are so many parents here from out of town to be with their children and I didn't want them to have to go find a hotel just because Ivan and I wanted to stay there and take up a room. But, the Chaplain explained that there is 2 different Ronald McDonald Houses downtown and there was one actually there in the hospital only for local parents with critical babies. So, Ivan and I qualify to stay there. This is good cause it saves us a 30 minute trip to the hospital and we are there if something goes bad with Sofia. It also allows us to escape for a little while to relax or nap, but still be there. I am pretty happy with this.

We then met with one of the Neonatologist, actually she is the head of the Medical Department. She answered a lot of questions I had about the NICU and what exactly would be done once Sofia is born. We will not be able to even see her for about 3 hours maybe longer depending on her condition. So, the first day may take us a while to update since we won't know too much ourselves, so please be patient with us. Then, she did ask that we schedule an induction so that everyone that needs to be there from the NICU team can be there. I was totally fine with this. So, they asked us when we would want to do it. I told them the earliest Monday so we could spend Easter with our Family. Next all I had to do was talk to my OB about this.

So, we then went to my weekly OB appointment. Found out that I still have not starting dilating! So, my doc said why wait till Monday to induce, lets do it tomorrow or even tonight! I couldn't believe this! He then said that he likes to do inductions on Thursdays and so Ivan and I had to decide if we wanted to do it tomorrow or next Thursday. We, well, Ivan and the doc, were really leaning towards tomorrow. Then after a few minutes I just lost it! I am not ready to have her tomorrow, I mean if she came on her own, okay, but I didn't want to make that decision. Sofia has such a tough fight ahead of her and I want her to stay safe for a little longer. I also won't get to actually hold her for quite some time and so I want to hold her inside for as long as I can. So, we have decided to start my induction next Thursday night. It is going to be a 2-day induction so that they can make sure that I am progressing okay and we can try and prevent a c-section. So, the doc thinks Sofia will probably be born on Saturday, April 22. Now there is still the chance that Sofia may come on her own before then, but we will let you all know. Ivan and I are pretty excited and anxious now, but still scared for our baby girl.

They are very strict with the visitations in the NICU, and you can't see her without being escorted by Ivan or I. So, please make sure that if you would like to meet Sofia that you call and let us know when so we can plan for it. The hours are also very weird so I will post those for you soon. We will both have our cell phones with us, but they are not allowed on in the NICU. So, just leave us messages and we will get to them as soon as we can. If you need our numbers send me an email or post a comment and I will get them to you.

I do still have 2 more appointments before then and so I will update when we get any new info.

Once again, I want to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for our Sofia. She is going to need all the prayers she can get. Take care and God Bless

Love, Catherine