Incompetent Cervix and Bedrest Day 1

Today is my first day on bed rest as a pregnant momma! Laying in bed, I am so thankful to just sit and contemplate how good God has been and is to me. Today, I experienced alot of firsts...first time to be a hospital patient (other than when I was born...lol), first time with an IV, first time to have anesthesia, first time to have surgery. Faced with all these firsts, my typical response would be to freak out and become really worried. BUT God is sooo good, I will not say I wasn't emotional, but the Lord carried me through the whole thing with grace and peace. So that I will not forget this day and the details which occurred, let me post a quick rundown:

We arrived at my doctors office at 9, only to be ushered in the financial office to experience sticker shock for the price of my little surgery. For this frugal girl who has only ever paid a $15 copay, I had to take a deep breath and thank God that He was in control and thank our church for providing us with insurance :) After that fun introduction, my sweet doctor patiently answered all my questions and reassured me of the procedure he would do. I thank the Lord for my doctor...he has been such a blessing!

After finishing at the doctors office, we went to the hospital across the street so that we could fill out enough papers to fill a book and prep for my first ever surgery. If you know me at all you know I hate needles, so all morning I mentally prepared myself for the IV...what I didn't prepare for was the antibiotic shot! Fortunately, I received that shot without the mishap of fainting, screaming, jerking or crying so I felt like a champ...hah! After the shot, I went to a changing area to change into the the most hilarious hospital gown around. Part paper, part fabric this unusual outfit did nothing for my growing figure, but it did it's job I suppose. After checking on the baby's heartbeat, I was wheeled away in style with the most hilarious nurse. She definitely put me at ease and i almost forgot I was having surgery at all...until Chris had to kiss me goodbye and I was wheeled into a prep room.

From this point on, I have to say the Lord took over. My nerves would normally be through the roof, but God was soooo good to me. I felt nothing but peace; even with the IV (which scared me the most). And props goes to my doctor! He knew I was nervous earlier about the surgery and he came in when the nurses were working on prepping me and held my hand and talked with me for about 15 minutes...just to reassure me! I am so thankful to be in such competent and capable hands. After the doctor left, I was wheeled in the "surgery room" (I have no idea what the technical name might be). I felt like I was on an episode of a medical tv series. It was cracking me up...looking up into all the masked faces and covered heads. As soon as I started to receive the anethesia I dropped off and can't tell you a thing until I woke up. All I know, is that the surgery was successful!!! Praise the Lord! I received a cerclage in two places of my cervix to help reinforce it and hopefully stabilize it to prevent further premature shrinking.

The moment I woke up, I asked the faces bending over me..."Is the baby okay?" They assured me that everything went great! And just to prove the baby was great...they found his heartbeat! He is an active fellow; let me tell you that! After laying in recovery and waking up fully for around an hour or so, I was able to see Chris and wheeled away for my last stop. I was taking back to the changing area. I had to prove that a could get up and use the restroom (thanks to the Diet Coke I drank in recovery...this wasn't too difficult). We heard the heartbeat one more time and around an hour later I was changed and wheeled back to the car!

I have to say that I feel so blessed as I lay here writing. I have had practically no pain at all. The most significant discomfort is a sore throat I have which is due to a tube that was inserted in my throat after the anesthesia was put in place. I am trying not to cough to much so that my core muscles aren't being used. I honestly thought, I would be much more sore, but it has been a blessing to rest easy without a lot of pain!

Chris was wonderful today. He stepped right in and has been taking care of me in every way possible! I am blessed to have him by my side, and our little boy will be sooo blessed to have him as a Daddy! This has been long, but I knew if I didn't get it all down I would forget!

Tonight, my heart resonates with one of my all-time favorite passages, Psalm 103:1-4:

Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.