Category Archives: Pregnancy

Happy Birthday to ??

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Sunday April 8, 2012 – HAPPY EASTER & HAPPY BIRTHDAY MILTON!  Yes, I said Happy Birthday Milton, NOT Baby Turner.  Somehow or another Baby Turner heard Happy Birthday and thought we were talking about him!

I was excited for Milton’s birthday but hate that we had the celebrate in a hospital.  I did go online earlier this week, though, and buy him a present. There are only a certain number of items he can use in a hospital setting so I ordered him a JAG pillow that he can use to get comfortable.  I woke him up at 12:30am to give it to him. Sunday morning we both wake up around 8:00am and decide to order birthday breakfast from Toast on Market. Yum! Milton leaves to pick it up and I decide to go on and get my baby monitoring done for the day.

It was only supposed to be a 20 minute monitoring.  I noticed though that I was feeling more contractions, which I also saw on the monitor.  I even called the nurse and asked her if I was having more contractions. About 20 minutes later the doctors (plural) come in and say I am getting moved back to labor and delivery since my contractions are increasing (luckily we had just finished eating breakfast).  We are rushed to pack up all of our things.  They ask me if I’ve toured the NICU unit yet. I get to the new room, they attach me to the monitor. They come in and do an ultrasound and tell me the baby is heads down which means I could have a vaginal birth. I realize that today could be the real thing and Milton and I both get a little nervous. Well, I was very nervous, yet also tried to stay calm. I

I was attached again to magnesium and put on a diet of only ice chips.  Not water or ice chips – just ice chips. I turn on the Newborn Channel on television so I can try to learn as much about labor and delivery as possible.

Luckily the contractions slowed down.  They stopped the magnesium after 12 hours. I wasn’t able to eat real food until the next day, but by then hospital food sounded really good.  It’s definitely not the way I envisioned spending Milton’s birthday, but luckily it was just a practice run through.

So Baby Turner is still baking.  Mother and Father Turner feel more relaxed and we are still aiming for at least 32 weeks!

An Unconcerned Society

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Now most of my time is spent in bed. But, I am able to get up to take a shower, use the bathroom, pour some water etc…. Yesterday, mid-afternoon, I got up and looked outside my scenic window which opens to the front of the hospital.  It was a Friday afternoon so I saw various people and cars moving around.  It was also a sunny day.I couldn’t tell you the temperature, though, because I haven’t been outside for a couple of days.

I was taken aback as I saw a man, laying between the curb and the sidewalk. I watched for a couple of minutes for someone to walk up and see if he was okay. But nobody did.  I watched at least 10 people walk right past him. Several of those people were hospital staff dressed in scrubs. Not one single person acknowledged him.

This disturbed me to a great extent.  I pressed my call button to have a nurse come in.  Although I was very worried about the man, I wasn’t trying to go into early labor by standing up for too long to keep looking out the window.  The nurse took a little longer than normal to come in my room.  By the time she came in and I told her what I saw, we looked out the window and the man was gone.

I don’t know if the man was homeless taking a nap. I don’t know if he was in need of medical attention and didn’t make it inside.  Regardless, why did not one person stop to make sure he was okay? As a society we have to do better.  Even if you don’t feel safe approaching the man yourself, ask some hospital staff to come out and make sure he’s okay. America, where’s our compassion and concern for others?!

Unhappy Camper

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Let’s just say today was not a good day for wonderful nursing service at University Hospital.  I usually am awakened by 6:00am for the baby monitor. But not today.  The first time someone came in the room was at 8:00am. It was someone from the lab and she was here to take my blood.  I asked what test she was doing and she said didn’t know.  She then asked if I had be fasting.  I told her I didn’t know I was supposed to be fasting, but that I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet.  She took some blood from my left arm and said “I’ll even take some extra blood in case they need it for something else.

Right after I ordered my breakfast.  An omelet and biscuit.  It always takes 45 minutes to get it so 45 minutes later there was a knock on the door and there it was.  I took the top off the plate and just as I was going to start eating, the nurse came in. Conversation:

Nurse: Did you drink anything yet?

Me: No, I’m getting ready to eat

Nurse: No, you were supposed to take your glucose test this morning.

Me: How was I supposed to know that?

Nurse: The night nurse mentioned it to me, but she told me not to bother you until 9:00am so I thought you knew about it.

Me: Nobody has told me anything.

She walks out of the room and I sit there waiting to see what is going on.  Someone else from the lab comes in and asks what all has happened.  She says to hold on so she can see what all happened.  The nurse comes back in and says I’ll still need to take the test.  I ask her to take my breakfast away so I won’t have to look at it. I let her know that when miscommunications like this happen, medical malpractice suits happened. At 9:10am a new lab lady comes in for me to drink the glucose liquid.  At 9:30am, the nurse (along with the charge nurse) come in to put me on the baby monitor for an hour.  At 10:20am, the lab people come and take my blood AGAIN, this time in the other arm.  About 20 minutes later they take me off the baby monitor.

At 5 minutes before 11, both my breakfast and the doctors come in the room.  Although generally happy and smiling, today I tell the doctors that today has not been a good day.  I mention the fact that there was a miscommunication between all of the staff and the staff and myself and this is not acceptable.  This is how medical accidents happen.  They all apologized and many people took various parts of blame.

They left and I ate my breakfast for lunch.  I sure do miss being at home.

You Are Not the Father

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Although thus far I’ve been limited to two 20 minute wheelchair privileges a day, I was given an extended pass to be wheeled down into the basement for their 2 hour New Mothers class.  It was from 6:30-8:30pm and Milton attended with me.  It was the last session in their six week series and we didn’t know what they would be discussing.  As we wheeled our way down to room with able-bodied pregnant women, we were handed a baby doll (that looked nothing like us).  1) It was a baby girl 2) She had blue eyes 3) she had blonde hair.  Milton obviously is not the father, and either am I.

Topic of the day: Infant Massage.  Yes you read that correctly, we learned different techniques on how to massage our bundle of boy.  We learned the heart technique along with milk the cow and the airplane.  We can even help the baby get rid of gas.  I would have much rather learned how to change a diaper, suggestions for breastfeeding etc… but Milton and I left with a certificate of completion in Infant Massage.

Coolest Easter Ever!!!

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I was chilin’ in my bed (surprise, surprise) and a guy walked in with a Staples box.  I know I didn’t order any office supplies.  I saw the return label was from my cousin Lyn.  HOORAY!  I didn’t know what was in the box, but decided to wait until Milton came here until I opened it.

Later that night, Milton pulled out the box and said, “You’re gonna love this!”  Out of the box came a monkey Easter Basket with some bath products and jelly beans.  If you know me, you know I love monkeys.  My smile was so wide!  All of my family lives outside of Louisville (and outside of KY)  so I loved knowing that they were still thinking of me from afar.  Thank you so much Lyn, Rene, Myke and Aunt Juanita!

Little did they know, but in my youth and even as an adult, my mother usually made me an Easter basket. Both of my parents are deceased and won’t be here for Baby Turner’s birth, so this monkey Easter basket is a way to have a little piece of my mother in the room!

Also, I have a great smelling room!  Vicky Spencer brought some lillies, Matrid left some beautiful orange flowers, Ms. Helfrich gave me some pink tulips and I received the alter flowers from church.  I definitely feel loved and that warms my heart!

Hairy Communion

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Milton and I had a great weekend together, mainly because we were able to spend quality time together. I still hate that he has to run around so much doing errands for the both of us but he says one reason he got married is to be the provider and protector.

I was hoping to have some sense of normalcy while in the hospital and today some of those things happened.  It started with a phone call from Chenica.  Chenica is my AMAZING hair stylist that I’ve had for several years.  Many of my friends now go to her also.  I knew doing my hair everyday was not something that I could maintain, especially with my hair being pressed flat against a pillow. I reached out to her to see if she could help and on Monday afternoon she stopped by.  I washed and conditioned it.  Then she blowdried it and put it back in twists.  The nurse and cleaning lady (both African American) came in while she was doing it and commented on how much hair I have.  Although my hair probably looked very wild while she was blowdrying it, the finished product has made life easier.

Around the same time, Lucinda, the rector at my church, St. Matthews Episcopal, came to visit.  She brought not only conversation, but communion.  I had been down that I would be missing Palm Sunday and Easter, so I loved that communion could be brought to me. My church has a very special place in my heart.  My mother and I faithfully attended every Sunday and many yearly traditions that I look forward to each year are based in that church.  Although my mother has passed away, it’s been great to now share those experiences with Milton!