LBN2 Update

What has been the main goal with Bryan home? To have him meet his son!

11 Days Until Bryan's Departure
Friday we went into the hospital and had an amniocentesis.  Jack was at Robbie and Matthew's house with a packed bag, much like the hospital bag in my trunk.

A painfully large needle was inserted into my belly and 3 huge tubes of amniotic fluid were taken. The point of this procedure? To check the maturity of LBN2's lungs. If all was clear, I would stay at the hospital and be induced. Bryan and I waited anxiously while they ran the test. Dr. Oldham was called into surgery so the nurse delivered the disappointing news; she spouted off some numbers that went in one ear and out the other ... but what really mattered was that the lungs weren't mature enough. I did my best to hold back my tears.

Bryan and I left the hospital and went out to lunch. I clenched my way through some contractions - which was normal after having an amniocentesis. We came home and I laid on the couch. Depressed. If the lungs weren't mature we had two options:

1. Let nature takes its course.
2. Induce on July 10 - Bryan's departure day. 

But I needed two things: Bryan to be here and the baby to be healthy.

My phone rang. I ignored it. Later, I listened to the message and it was Dr. Oldham calling to check up on me. He told me to call him back. For what? For him to tell me again we couldn't induce? No thanks.

I had to get out of my funk. I am sure Bryan didn't want to watch me lie on the couch all day. We decided to have some friends over that night, headed to Walmart for some grub and get out of the house. My phone rang while we were in the chip isle. It was Dr. Oldham, again.

Reluctantly, I answered.

He told me he was really surprised that the test came back negative. He was sure we were going to bring another Neal into the world on June 29. But he also explained that he sent the tests off for more definitive answers. The analogy he gave me: It was like an at home pregnancy test. In-house tests, if positive, were definitely positive. However, with  my numbers, there was a chance a negative could still be positive. But they had to send the samples off to be sure. So we made an appointment for Monday morning - my 38 week check up. He'll have the results by then.

My hopes were semi-up.

8 Days Until Bryan's Departure
Bryan and I headed back to see Dr. Oldham. Bags still packed - hopeful and prepared. But not too optimistic. LBN2's heart rate was great, I had had some contractions that morning, so Dr. Oldham put me on the monitor to check.

False alarm.

Other bad news? Dr. O should have had the results by Saturday, but they weren't in yet. Therefore, we didn't know if my negative was positive nor could we make a game plan. But, I was 3 cm dilated, so there was still a chance I could go into labor on my own. Dr. O said he would call as soon as he knew something and we'd make our plan.  I left the office depressed again.

Bryan and I headed to lunch and walked around the mall. My phone rang - and I missed it. It was one of Dr. O's nurses. Surely since she was calling, the tests came back negative. I didn't even want to call her back. I just wanted to go home and go to sleep. Her and I played phone tag. Once home, I got a hold of her.

The tests came back positive and Dr. O wants to induce on Thursday.  My response? PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!

Holy crap. Best news ever. I seriously thought Bryan came all this way and he'd leave with me still pregnant and it would be 8 months before he met his son. Nothing was going our way. Nothing.

So on July 5, with 5 days until Bryan leaves, we'll head to the hospital to evict this baby! We'll probably spend 3 days in the hospital, leaving 2 days to spend as a family. It will be a short and bittersweet, but totally worth it.