Erica’s Blog

Well, the docs decided to keep Nicole in the hospital b/c she’s got mild preeclampsia.  The mild part is a good thing.  Though it’s a hassle, the “in the hospital” part is, too. She and Miss Mahalia will be monitored 24/7, so they’ll be fine.  She’s 31 weeks now, and they’re not going to let  her go past  36 weeks, so she’s looking at a month or so in the hospital.  (For those of you who haven’t been pregnant and think in months instead of weeks, that means she’ll have the baby at least a month early.)  This is considered premature, but not a problem.  By 36 weeks, a baby’s lungs are fullly developed, and the baby is pretty much just getting bigger, so she should be fine.  Also, for black women the risk of stillbirth goes up at 38 weeks and goes through the roof at 40 weeks (full term), so for her to deliver at 36 weeks is also a safeguard against that.

So, now they do the balancing act of weighing Nicole’s health and Mahalia’s health.  They want to keep Mahalia inside till as close to 36 weeks as they can w/o endangering Nicole.  This is why she needs to be in the hospital.  Meanwhile we, her friends, try to keep her from fretting.  She & Q were supposed to move to a larger apartment in their complex within a few weeks, so her parents are coming to town to help out, and we’ll all band together to get them packed and moved.  Q can’t take any time off work b/c he’s starting a brand new job as the head football coach for a local high school — the perfect job for him.  He’s running back and forth between work and the apartment, sleeping at the hospital in Nicole’s room.  From what I hear, he’s pretty freaked out and worried about her.  Hopefully, Hubby will be able to reassure him.

I can’t deal with going to the hospital to visit her — and I know Nicole will understand — but I’m helping by letting people know what she might appreciate while she’s in there, based on what appreciated and wished for when I was in the hospital before Paul was born.  Bobcat is probably going to go visit her tomorrow, so I gave her a bag of magazines, a couple of spiritual books, and a little something to help her remember that, even though it’s a drag to be in the hospital on bed rest, it’s worth it b/c she’ll come out of there with a baby, namely Miss Mahalia’s Baby Surprise Jacket (the pink blanket will get sent along in a couple of days, as soon as I finish the border and wash it):