The 2nd Hospital Visit of this 9 Hour Period.

I arrived back at the Maternity Assessment Clinic thankful that there had been a staff change and that I wasn't staring at the face of someone who had admitted me 9 hours earlier. Chris dropped me off and headed to work for an hour, confident he'd swing by and pick me up after that. We had joked on the way about how one day our lives might not look like this. That his nights won't be spent hunched in hospital chairs. One day.

It was a short wait but enough time for me to eavesdrop on the staff working the front desk. I listened as one staff member explained to a guy she was training up about one of their less-than-likeable midwives. Let's call her J. I heard all about how everyone knew to avoid J when she wasn't having a good day.

Before long I was greeted by a woman who introduced herself as 'J'. The infamous J. And she was as cold as ice. Nevertheless she took my blood pressure, pulse and temperature and took me back to the same bed I'd been in the night before. At least it made me easy to find when Chris arrived.

As I waited for a doctor to get out of theatre so they could see me I had plenty to keep me occupied. Through the curtains I listened as women came in, their waters broken, and were hooked up to baby heart rate monitors. The sounds of their babies' heartbeats were ever-present as I laid there wondering if mine was ok.

The doctor was very thorough. I had another speculum exam and another pH test of the fluid I was leaking. With knees spread and a speculum shoved firmly up inside me, the doctor asked me to cough. Excuse me? I coughed the most half-hearted cough I could muster. Turns out she was watching my cervix to see if any fluid came out when I coughed. The things you learn! After the 5 minute wait time, the test was negative. The fluid wasn't amniotic.

I weed in a cup, watched the baby wriggle on an ultrasound and then, after a chat with the higher powers, it was decided I would be admitted for observation.

Around midday I sent Chris on his way. We had both slept only around 3 hours the night before and his glazed eyes screamed for sleep. After he finally ate, walked the dog, hung the washing out and packed a bag of supplies for me, he got to nap. Briefly. Before turning around and coming back to the hospital to be by my side. This boy I tell 'ya.

I was brought upstairs to what I very quickly realised was a room for new mums. The room though was all to myself, ensuite included! Around the walls were posters about how to not drop your baby on its head and QR codes that took you to breastfeeding classes. There was a sink for bathing babies and a little pile of towels, blankets, baby wash and other 'new parent' essentials. Which is all well and good except when you're lying there wondering if you'll ever have a healthy newborn in your arms to avoid dropping on its head in the first place.