A LITTLE SCARY

Well we had a little bit a scare over the weekend. Last Thursday Brad and I went for an evening walk with Finley - I know this sounds so quaint but really our aim is to get Finley to spend her last bit of energy before bedtime. After about 15 minutes of walking I started getting a stomach ache and had to sit down for a while. When I finally made it home I had to lay on the couch for the rest of the night. When I went to bed I was feeling a little better but at 5 am I woke up with intense cramping that after about 45 minutes I figured out was actually contractions about 15 minutes apart. I was able to sleep off and on but by 7 am Finley was awake and the contractions were not getting better, in fact they felt a lot closer together. But I couldn't really tell since beyond the contractions my stomach was so cramped. So after talking to my doctor's nurse we were on our way to the hospital by 9:30 am. They hooked me up to monitor the contractions and Baby Dos and it turns out I was having contractions 2-4 minutes apart. The first piece of good news was that Baby Dos was totally fine and was not stressed out by the contractions. The second piece of good news is that I wasn't dilated at all. So I was not in labor. Hooray! 35 weeks is a little too early. So after almost 7 hours I was given a shot to stop the contractions and sent home.

I took it easy Saturday morning and tried drinking as much water as possible but by late Saturday morning I was feeling sick again. I laid down to read a book while Brad worked on a paper and Finley had quiet time with Tangled.  A little thereafter I soon started to feel contractions come on strong and painful. Way worse than the day before. So after an hour and half we were back in the hospital again. The ride to the hospital was super painful and I could barely breath through the pain. When I was wheeled up to Labor and Delivery the nurses all greeted me with, "You're back!? Are they worse this time?" So after spending forever trying to keep Baby Dos on the monitor (she flipped away anytime they got a good placement) they gave me the shot again. Which didn't stop the contractions. So after some more monitoring they gave me an oral drug. It seemed to do the trick and they sent me home with the instructions to take the medication every 4 hours around the clock. They told me to get more instruction from my doctor Monday morning but to take it easy and drink lots of water.  Luckily Baby Dos seems to be totally unfazed by all of this, they don't see any stress from her, or any problems otherwise. Which is truly a huge relief. So all the pain is really just with me.

So on Monday my doctor sent me for an ultrasound to make sure Baby Dos wasn't breech (she wasn't) and she told me to keep taking the medication for another week. The side affects of the medication seem to have waned so today I'm almost feeling good again. I'm still drinking gallons of water and staying off my feet when possible. Another blessing is that my doctor didn't order me to go on bed rest. So we'll see what happens next week once I'm off the medication because they can't do much to stop labor after 36 weeks. 

The whole experience has reminded me to slow down and enjoy these last few weeks with just Finley and also.... make Brad finish packing the house. I think the stress and the hot weather just got me a bit dehydrated and my body started to revolt.

Long long story short - Baby Dos didn't make an extra early appearance but there is a good chance this baby will come before June 1st. But never say never. I could just have painful contractions off and on for the next three and 1/2 weeks. Three cheers for modern medicine!

Thanks to everyone for the concern and offers of help. As of right now we are doing pretty well.

This little monkey had a hard weekend stuck in a tiny hospital room without much but Dad and his Iphone as entertainment. But she did get two trips to McDonalds for her favorite "fren fries." She didn't seem concerned about seeing me in the hospital hooked up to a machine so that's good news for when the baby comes - not that she'll be there during the delivery but I was still a little nervous about her visiting afterward.