Last night was quite the long one for both Sam and his brother Jim. As you know, Sam was leaving for Moline airport to pick him up and I thought I'd just have to hold off on labor for 2-3 hours. Well, luckily, nothing baby-related happened, but it turned out that Sam was gone for close to 9 hours!!! With delays due to storms and tornado watches and aircraft malfunctions, Jim didn't land in Moline until 4am, close to 6 hours later than scheduled. On top of that, a section of I-80 was closed due to flooding and the detour around it added about 45-50 minutes to travel time. Also, Sam said it was pouring rain the whole way there. What a welcome to Iowa for Jim! Needless to say, both Sam and Jim are taking naps this afternoon!
This morning was my 37 & 1/2 week OB appointment. Before I got to the clinic, I noticed that the flooding around Iowa City has gotten considerably worse. First of all, I discovered that only one bridge that connects us to the hospital remains open. With all traffic going on that one bridge, it took almost twice as long for me to get to the hospital. This is not something I want to find out when a quick labor seems likely.
I did make it to the appointment just in time. I was hoping I was 8 cm dilated and would get admitted, but that didn't quite happen. I was 5 cm dilated, which prompted my OB to admit me for observation on a monitor for contractions. After 2 hrs on the monitor, I had dilated a little more to 6 cm and had several yet irregular contractions, none of which I felt. Apparently, this wasn't enough for induction. I think the problem for my Ob is that I'm not at the proverbial 39 weeks. So, unhappily, I got discharged with the directions to return if my water breaks or I feel any contractions (like the ones I couldn't feel?!?!).
What makes this most nerve-racking is the flooding issue. It helps that my next door neighbor Mark is an OB and works with my OB with research and such. My OB actually told me that when I do find myself in active labor, drive to the hospital with Mark in the car with me. He also told Mark to bring home some sterile gloves and supplies - just in case. EXCUSE ME! I'd much rather have the baby at the hospital and not in my Subaru or my home! I guess I should rest assured that there is professional help so close to my home, but seriously! I'm sure if I gave birth on our bed, that would most definitely become another form of natural birth control for us!
Flooding-wise: they are forecasting that the river levels will rise another 4-5 feet by Monday. I think that much more water would most likely flood that last bridge for us! If that closes, the ride to the hospital could take as long as 30 minutes - which, by the way, is how long it took Natalie to come once we reached the hospital last time!
So, Tylenol anyone?
