More tips for moms who are becoming inpatient:
- Order extra food, drinks, snacks, whatever from "room service"
- Paper plates; napkins; plastic forks, knives, and spoons- this hospital has a microwave in their "refreshment room" where they have an ice machine, coffee maker, and things like that for visitors. People have made me food and if I have it reheated or order extra snacks from the cafeteria, I need something to eat it with!
- Some people had mentioned in their blogs about bringing sponge crates or extra things for their bed, which I didn't bother with, even though we have them at home. But the nurse told me the other day that they had ordered me an air mattress for my bed, and I took her up on the offer to put it on. Even though I'm not on bedrest, the amount of time I spend being monitored and sitting in certain positions, has really altered the shape of the mattress and my back was KILLING me. Last night was my first night on the air mattress, and while it's harder to move around on, it really helps.
My Schedule of Monitoring:
7:30- Wake up, breakfast, tech comes in and does blood pressure and temperature check
Around 8- a sonogram tech from the Prenatal Diagnostic Center in the hospital comes for me with a wheelchair to have dopplers done EVERYDAY, on Tuesdays and Friday she will also do the biophysical profile, and every 2 weeks on a Tuesday, a growth scan; on the weekends a transporter comes for me and takes me to radiology for the dopplers and they call the diagnostic lab doctor to confirm results
When I Come Back (anywhere between 9 to 10, depending on the day)- fetal heart rate strips for 1 hour in my room
Every single day I have had my doctor come in and talk to me about how things are going and how I am feeling; on the weekends, the on-call doctor from my doctor's practice will come in
3:30/4:00- fetal heart rate strips again for 1 hour in my room
8:30/9:00 (depending on the nurse)- 2 hour fetal heart rate strips
Around 11 pm- tech comes in and check blood pressure and temperature
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Advice I'd Have For Others (so far)
There are some basic things I learned from other momo moms about what to bring:
-towels/ shampoo/ soap/ make-up
-pillows/ blankets/ some bring sheets
-pictures and things to remind you of home
-lap top/ kindle/ ipad/ ipod/ etc
-books/ magazines
-crafts
-other things to keep you busy
... And these are all perfect ideas! I didn't bring my own sheets because they change them everyday anyway, but I brought all my own pillows, blankets, and towels.
Other things the nurses have told me:
- ask to change your room around to meet your needs. I didn't do this because I'm happy with the way the room is, but I know if you are on bedrest, you might want to move the bed near the window, or closer to the tv, or wherever
- one of the techs told me to make sure my pillows/sheets/towels were not white or off-white because if something were to happen, and they rushed me out; and then the techs had to come in here to clean up my room, they might mistake my things for hospital things and put them with the laundry
- bring in a tub/container to keep food in (to keep fresh and in case of ants)
-aluminum foil on containers to keep leftover food in- my room has a small refrigerator and then there is a larger one outside of my room i can keep leftover food in
- tell people who visit to bring food; flowers are nice, but pregnant women need more than hospital food!
- I don't mind this, but one nurse also told me to encourage people to come visit during the week, that way you are not bombarded with a line of people waiting to get in on the weekends, making you exhausted- just to be lonely all week long. I've been happy to have anyone come visit, anytime!
- ask your nurses/ techs questions! Don't be afraid to ask for something, or just if you don't understand something, that is what they are there for. My techs have actually asked me why I never call them, and they reminded me that it's their job to do things for me and they don't mind doing them.
- along with bringing make-up/ hair dryer/ nice clothes- get up and get dressed everyday, make yourself feel good- put on your make-up (I don't, but I put on perfume and do my hair) and it takes up time! Sometimes I keep on pajama pants and an old t-shirt for my dopplers and first round of monitoring just because it makes my belly more accessible and my other shirts clean from the goo, but then I often change into maternity clothes. The hospital I am in has a boutique for inpatients where you can get your hair colored, cut, styled, and get manicures and pedicures; but I have my lovely sister coming tonight to give me a pedicure! So if someone is willing, take up offers to make yourself feel good and keep your spirits up!
- I had a physical therapist come in to ask if I wanted to learn some exercises, even though I'm not on bed rest. I took her up on the offer, just to keep my blood flowing and joints moving. She also gave me a calendar to mark off my exercises and days- which again, takes up time!
That's all I can think of for now! But I will update as I go along!
* Update from 3/8/12- If anyone is monitored like I was, you honestly may not be able to do anything while you are being monitored. I had to help hold my boys on, because they moved around so much. So I had no free hands to read, color, do anything but watch tv once in awhile- IF THAT. Because I would also watch their numbers to make sure I was getting a good read on them. Good luck to all!
-towels/ shampoo/ soap/ make-up
-pillows/ blankets/ some bring sheets
-pictures and things to remind you of home
-lap top/ kindle/ ipad/ ipod/ etc
-books/ magazines
-crafts
-other things to keep you busy
... And these are all perfect ideas! I didn't bring my own sheets because they change them everyday anyway, but I brought all my own pillows, blankets, and towels.
Other things the nurses have told me:
- ask to change your room around to meet your needs. I didn't do this because I'm happy with the way the room is, but I know if you are on bedrest, you might want to move the bed near the window, or closer to the tv, or wherever
- one of the techs told me to make sure my pillows/sheets/towels were not white or off-white because if something were to happen, and they rushed me out; and then the techs had to come in here to clean up my room, they might mistake my things for hospital things and put them with the laundry
- bring in a tub/container to keep food in (to keep fresh and in case of ants)
-aluminum foil on containers to keep leftover food in- my room has a small refrigerator and then there is a larger one outside of my room i can keep leftover food in
- tell people who visit to bring food; flowers are nice, but pregnant women need more than hospital food!
- I don't mind this, but one nurse also told me to encourage people to come visit during the week, that way you are not bombarded with a line of people waiting to get in on the weekends, making you exhausted- just to be lonely all week long. I've been happy to have anyone come visit, anytime!
- ask your nurses/ techs questions! Don't be afraid to ask for something, or just if you don't understand something, that is what they are there for. My techs have actually asked me why I never call them, and they reminded me that it's their job to do things for me and they don't mind doing them.
- along with bringing make-up/ hair dryer/ nice clothes- get up and get dressed everyday, make yourself feel good- put on your make-up (I don't, but I put on perfume and do my hair) and it takes up time! Sometimes I keep on pajama pants and an old t-shirt for my dopplers and first round of monitoring just because it makes my belly more accessible and my other shirts clean from the goo, but then I often change into maternity clothes. The hospital I am in has a boutique for inpatients where you can get your hair colored, cut, styled, and get manicures and pedicures; but I have my lovely sister coming tonight to give me a pedicure! So if someone is willing, take up offers to make yourself feel good and keep your spirits up!
- I had a physical therapist come in to ask if I wanted to learn some exercises, even though I'm not on bed rest. I took her up on the offer, just to keep my blood flowing and joints moving. She also gave me a calendar to mark off my exercises and days- which again, takes up time!
That's all I can think of for now! But I will update as I go along!
* Update from 3/8/12- If anyone is monitored like I was, you honestly may not be able to do anything while you are being monitored. I had to help hold my boys on, because they moved around so much. So I had no free hands to read, color, do anything but watch tv once in awhile- IF THAT. Because I would also watch their numbers to make sure I was getting a good read on them. Good luck to all!
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