Week 32

Here we are...less than 2 months to Baby B's due date!

I'm loving the weather we have had this last week.  The temps drop down into the mid 50's at night and get up to the mid 70's during the afternoon!  We have had our windows opened all week.  I love to get curled up under the blankets and drift off to sleep.  If only it was easy to find a comfortable sleeping position these days...

Doug is almost finished harvesting at work.  His group has one more field to go, but that means he now gets to travel to other stations that are needing help.  Tuesday night, he stayed over night in Terre Haute before heading to help the Lebanon station Wednesday morning.  We (the kiddos and I) are hoping he will be home tomorrow afternoon/evening.

OK...back to Baby B.  Last Friday afternoon, I started to feel very uncomfortable while I was on my way to pick up Dallas at school (about 2:30 p.m.)  We came home, I got the kiddos a snack, turned on a PBS show, and lay down on the couch.  That did not help.  I was having this near constant stomach tightening.  I decided to try getting up and moving, so we all went outside to play with the kitties and swing.  Well, that didn't help either, plus it was pretty warm and humid that day, so after a half hour we came back inside.  I put in a movie for the kiddos and went to lay down in bed.  I did fall asleep for a short while and woke up when Doug got home around 5.  I started to get out of bed, thinking I was feeling better, and then changed my mind.  The pains were still there.  I then decided to call my doctor's office.

Of course, they were already closed for the day, so I was transferred to the after hours answering service.  I explained what was going on...lots of constant belly pain, (not coming and going like contractions), baby was still moving - which was increasing the pain, etc.  Luckily, my OB was the doctor on-call that evening, and she called me back a short while later.  She asked a couple questions, and said the best thing would be to come in and get hooked up to a monitor to check what was going on.

Thankfully, my friend Carla was able to take the kiddos while Doug and I headed to the hospital.  She also suggested I bring jammies and a change of clothes just in case they decided to keep me.  At first I thought, that's silly...but I'm glad she was thinking!  By the time we got to the hospital, the belly pains were starting to lessen, but there were moments that they would become more intense.  I was hooked  up to two different monitors - one to track Baby's heartbeat, and the other to track the contractions.  Yep, I was having contractions - at 31 weeks 1 day.  The first doctor that came in to check me, pointed at my stomach and said, "It's too early!  Stop it!"  We all laughed, if only it were that easy...

The doctor ordered blood work to check my gall bladder, liver, and something else (I can't remember).  They also checked for a urinary track infection.  Then my OB came to check on me.  The first round of tests came back normal, but as she was feeling my belly in between contractions, she found that the right side was very, very tender.  She believes I pulled a muscle, and the contractions were a reaction to it.  She also checked my cervix, and found that it was not responding to the contractions; therefore, I was not going into labor.  She still decided to start me on an IV and keep me over night.  The contractions were very irregular (5 to 10 minutes apart), and slight to moderate in intensity, but the tenderness of the muscle was causing me the most pain.

Doug left a little before 9 to go grab some food for us (we had not had supper at this point).  At first, I didn't think I was hungry, but I ended up eating all that he brought back!  Finally, around 10:30 or so, we decided to try and get some sleep.  Doug was able to get comfortable on the couch in the room, but each time I turned or moved or started to drift off to sleep, a nurse was coming in to readjust the monitor on the baby.  Somewhere between midnight and 2:30 a.m., I was actually able to get some sleep.  Then the nurse came in to check my vitals.  When I woke up, I felt 100 times better, and the nurse informed me that I had not had a contraction for about 20 minutes!  They had stopped.

By 5:30 a.m., both Doug and I were awake.  He needed some coffee, and I once again needed something to eat.  Doug was able to find the cafeteria, and brought some stuff back to the room for us.  The nurse came in around 7:30 for another blood draw and check, and my doctor came in to check on me around 8.  The blood work came back normal once again, and since the contractions had stopped and I was feeling much better, we were released.

I'm glad to say that I have not had any contractions since then, and I am feeling really good - even great.  Which is nice since Doug ended up having to leave out of town this week.  I had my two week check-up this morning, and everything looked great.  I was up a pound since my appointment two weeks ago, my blood pressure was down to 98/74, and Baby's heart rate was around 140.  I go back once again in 2 weeks.

Until next time...