Introductions

Let me introduce you to the other pregnant women on my unit.

Amber - she's the long timer around here, with a stay of 5.5 weeks. This Friday she will deliver her twin girls via c-section. She gives us all hope that we might survive that long, meet our gestational goals, and get out of here. She is here because her babies share one sack and placenta. Her husband and 6 year old son live up near Chicago.

Shana - still a girl herself. She celebrated her 18th birthday here at the hospital a few weeks back. She says that the hardest part of all of this is being away from home - it is her first time away from her mom and brother. She sleeps with the door open at night because she is afraid of being alone. She is here because she is in preterm labor. Her family all live 2 hours away, so she doesn't get many visitors.

June - arrived 2 days ago. She is in the roughest spot of all of us. Her twins are only 28.5 weeks gestation. Before her water broke this week, she had already endure 2.5 months of bedrest and invitro surgery due to twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. She has a 4 year old daughter and a 2 year old son like me.

Dawn - arrived yesterday. She went in for her regular appointment at 28 weeks, only to discover that she was in preterm labor and be checked into the hospital. Her husband and 2 year old daughter live an hour away. The twin girls she is carrying are her nieces, not her daughters.

As the two newest arrivals settle in, I find myself to be experienced at this - giving advice on cafeteria food, finding storage space in our rooms, and negotiating with the doctors. And I see myself in their teary eyes and overwhelmed faces.

For me, the tears and fears have faded. My heart still pounds when I have a bleed and don't yet know if it is small like my past bleeds, or big enough to rush me to surgery. But in between I'm kind of getting used to my new strange life.

And I'm glad that I can help other women know that they are not alone in their strange new lives. I hope that I can also be living proof that they too can survive here. And one day maybe I, like Amber, will meet my gestational goal and get out of here too.

But maybe I'll take some new friendships with me.