A Hitch in Our Giddy-Up

We didn't see it coming, but the important thing is the expectant mother is fine and we think Blossom Clover is too, but the past 24 hours have been nerve wracking, to say the least.

The center of attention
and objet d'art.

I'll explain: Monday we took our usual leisurely communal breakfast on the 14th floor with our neighbors. We returned to our room and were making plans for an outing. Then I heard Hapny say, "Oh no!" ...or words to that effect and she showed me the appointment book for this week's visit to her OB. She had told me the appointment was for this Tuesday at 9:45, but now she discovered that the appointment was for Monday. It was already after 10 o'clock! Oh dear! She called Dr. Chan's clinic. They were about to call her. No problem, they said; just come soon as possible. So we scurried ourselves out to the main entrance of our residence and took a quick taxi to Mt. Elizabeth Novena Hospital and the adjacent clinic.

Nurse adjusts CTG monitor at Dr. Chan's clinic.

We arrived around 11. Team Hapny was soon escorted into a tiny room with exam table and a chair. Sofie sat on my lap and her mom was instructed to lie down. The nurse wrapped 2 belts over her protruding abdomen with conductive plates and wires attached to a cardiotocography (CTG) machine. It prints out a record of the baby's heart rate and records contractions of the uterus. Hapny was rather miserable on her back having to stay still and Sofie wiggled and squirmed as expected and was exhorted not to touch her mom's tummy. Eventually, Sofie climbed onto the table and repositioned herself carefully between her mom's legs so she could watch cartoons on the wall-mounted tv.

Sofie relaxes while Mama gets monitored.

Occasionally, one of the nurses or technicians would come in and check the machine and printout. At one point, the machine jammed and Hapny had to endure extra time in the torture chamber, as I referred to it. I jested that this was her punishment for overlooking her appointment time (and failing to show it to me). Eventually, she was unstrapped from the apparatus and allowed to sit up. Then we were ushered in to see Dr. Chan for an ultrasound and examination behind the partition. No problems there. Dr. Chan did, however, express concern about a deceleration of the fetal heartbeat during a contraction, an indication of possible distress. So, as a precaution, she wanted to admit Hapny to the hospital for at least three more CTG recordings of one hour each spaced through the rest of the day.

Waiting to be admitted for testing.

This was not part of The Plan. We spoke to Aron on the phone in Papua. I calmly explained the situation. No need to panic, but we all knew that if further testing showed continued dips in the reading that an emergency caesarian section would be imminent. At 36.6 weeks gestation, we were assured the baby would be able to do well at this stage. Yes, but....would we??? Hapny and I had discussed making preparations to include pre-packing for the hospital, and a list of reminders and instructions about where to find things she might need from her bedroom. We were going to have that session right after this appointment. Well...clearly we should have done it sooner!
We were delayed leaving Dr. Chan's office due to her office accountant wanting some settlement or resolution of payment, which entailed calls to insurance and an awaited fax. After what seemed like an eternity, but without the matter resolved, we were excused to walk next door to the hospital admitting office. By this time, it was after 2 o'clock and we were very hungry.

Signing papers in the hospital admitting office.

Admitting took a while because we also needed to sign forms relating to the delivery, which we had already planned to take care of that appointment day. Finally, Hapny was approved for admittance. As she was escorted to the labor and delivery section to a private room, Sofie and I went to the Chinese restaurant off the lobby to order 'take away' meals for the 3 of us. Soon we were upstairs in the room with Hapny who was already hooked up to the CTG monitor and forced to wait to eat her lunch. We could hear the heart sounds and noted every deceleration and acceleration anxiously.

Hapny in good spirits Monday and feeling okay.

Sofie and I ate and made plans to leave her mama to do a little shopping for a pool toy before heading home to spend the afternoon swimming and awaiting word from her mama. I took Sofie to my latest shopping discovery, United Square, a mall designed with kids in mind, a short walk from the hospital via underground tunnel. I took her to Toys R Us where we found the water cannon she had been jonesing for since seeing several kids in our complex playing with them.

Sofie hit the ball well despite never trying before.

The best feature of this mall is the kids play area in the middle of the lower level. Sofie did the obstacle course and with 5 swings of the bat, she got three solid hits. First time she ever tried that! Later she had a blast playing with the water toy. She even abided by my strict rule of no aiming at people under threat of repossession by me.

Sofie and her water blaster.

Meanwhile, the expectation held by Hapny and me was that after the early evening testing, she would be free to come home. That's not what happened. Dr. Chan wanted to keep Hapny in the hospital overnight, which was cause for much complaint and unhappiness. No visit from Dr. Chan and in the absence of any solid evidence for concern, we considered bolting. We didn't. Hapny won a concession with approval for Sofie to stay the night with her. That made me uncomfortable, given Sofie's "free spirit" so I stayed as well. Sofie shared the narrow bed with her mom and I rested...sort of...on the couch. Bright and early Tuesday, Sofie was moved out of the bed to allow for another round of CTG testing. Predictably, she was pretty grumpy about that. The hospital provided us breakfast trays, so we stayed with Hapny until after nine. Then Sofie and I left to pick up some groceries and come home. She was pretty content to draw and color with a little Disney channel on the side. We made tuna sandwiches and around 2 o'clock we got our swimsuits on and splashed in the pool for a while. There was nothing much to report from Hapny except her resolve NOT to spend another night in the hospital. I seconded that!

Waiting to get the word Tuesday that Hapny could leave the hospital.

Sofie and I returned to see her around 4 and then we waited together until after the last hour of CTG monitoring and the anticipated visit from Dr. Chan. Good news! Nothing negative to report, so Hapny was free to leave the hospital. Such joy and relief was written all over Hapny's face. The doctor did note, however, that one strong contraction had been recorded in the last session. I know. I saw the number spike. Hapny reported feeling nothing. Still, Dr. Chan advised her to be alert to signs and changes and be ready to go! Cruelly, we had to hang around the hospital a while longer waiting for the business office to officially discharge Hapny. It's always the money people who call the shots, isn't it? They wouldn't let her go without getting her credit card information. We made sure they promised not to run any charges without prior notice. This 24+ hour visit resulted in total charges over $1,500. Might have been more in the U.S. No matter. Hapny's insurance is supposed to cover it. The important thing, as I said at the beginning, is that nothing bad happened, just some inconvenience, but we do have some confidence again that Blossom Clover is thriving and getting bigger--slightly less than 6 pounds now.  Will Hapny make it three more weeks (due date June 26)? Let the betting begin!