Um... you might not want to eat that

There are about 3 times as many ceiling tiles in the antepartum 'luxury' suite I scored as there are in the postpartum rooms. There is also a gorgeous view of the interchange, room for a twin blow-up mattress AND a whirlpool tub (that never got delivered b/c it was ordered the day Mya's water broke) and a mini-fridge that holds two V8 Splash bottles and assorted other sources of calories. I spent a blessed 24 nights in that room and a blissfully short 2 nights in postpartum, well 3 if you count the 2 hours of sleep I got the night they delivered. Which I don't. Sometimes I wish I was back in my antesuite. I got to see my babies every morning via a portable ultrasound with a monitor borrowed from Doogie Howser himself, my meals were delivered directly to my bedside, I got clean sheets every day...well at least on the days that my favorite (or one of) nurse Christi was working "you eat in your bed, you need new sheets", my laundry was delivered weekly by my dear husband all nicely folded and crammed in a backpack. Babies, even uncooperative ones, are so much easier to care for when they are tucked up in your belly. They all eat at the same time, they don't cry, if they cant sleep, well what can you do? They also don't need bililights and blood work and tube feedings and breathing support.

My stay almost ended on day 13 when my morning ultrasound stretched into an hour without movements or practiced breathing from Miss Mya. When the doc on that weekend told me to put down the french toast I was eating and spit out what was in my mouth I was pretty sure she meant business. Maybe she is sleeping, babies sleep. I will eat some candy and you can come back and try again. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if she hadn't returned from speaking to my doctor to give Mya one more chance to prove she was not in distress and we had delivered that day. At 30 weeks while we were not completely out of the woods for E&C, we had certainly passed some of their more dangerous milestones. Our timeline for them went something like 24: viable, but just barely and where you don't want to go, 28: lets at least get you there, 32: " a miracle", 34: "an act of God". But for Mya the timeline was anybody's guess. She had spent 4 weeks at 9 ounces and most of that without any amniotic fluid, so it was hard to say how long was long enough. 31 weeks and 5 days, while just shy of a miracle, was exactly long enough.