I've been feeling really off for a while and yesterday I had so much to do. We are moving, it is Christmas, ect ect. I felt a lot of pains in my belly all day but I chalked it up to Sullivan trying to flip back over (he is breech). Twice at Lowes I was asked if I was in labor.
The couple errands after Lowes, I started doubling over with pain which I still considered painful movement.
When I got home I started having horrible back pain with them and I was so out of breath that I would have to lay down. Then I started noticing the wave of a contraction. I had been so thirsty all day and had already consumed like 8 large glasses of water but I still drank more and laid down.
I really knew it was bad when I was watching 24 (my current obsession) and I couldn't even comprehend what was going on. I was still hurting so I put in the dreaded call to my midwives...aka I knew they were going to tell me to go to the ER. I did and they did.
The drive over there I started second guessing myself..."What if it is just movement? Am I going to be the idiot second time mother who can't even tell what a contraction is? What if we have to pay for a hospital visit and it was nothing..."
As soon as I signed in I knew it was the right decision. I started crying they hurt so bad and they were so regular. Every 2 minutes like clock work. When they checked me in the nursing putting the doppler on my belly exclaimed. "Wow that is a big contraction." I was relieved for a moment (relieved that coming in was the right decision) then I started to panic. Contraction after contraction for hours and hours. Two minutes apart. After a pill and some IV fluid they were just as strong. Then they started getting so strong that I was yelping in pain every time. That's when I thought that we might meet our son. For a fleeting moment I was thinking of the tiny baby clothes I hadn't washed, and the dirty house we were supposed to move out of on Tuesday. But quickly my thoughts went to the health of Sullivan. I knew he would be tiny, I knew he would have to come via C section (breech), I knew I wouldn't be able to hold him or nurse him right away. Then my thoughts went to Barclay. I wasn't ready to share him. I wasn't ready to be totally focused on a premie. Selfish but true.
I just kept whispering to Noah, "I cannot believe this. I cannot believe this. I didn't even think this was a possibility..." I had myself so convinced I would be late that I constantly expect to deliver in March.
Thankfully the contractions, bad as they were, did not change my cervix. They checked me three times (yikes!) and no change. So after 7 hours and still having regular somewhat uncomfortable contractions, they sent me home to rest.
I had them all night but it was more like I got seasick from the motion than from actually hurting.
So, I will be taking it easy and hoping that they stop soon.
Helen Joy, I know exactly how you feel from the dreaded phone call, to second guessing yourself, to wondering if things were going to happen sooner than expected. The same thing happened to me with Evie Grace. The midwife said that I had an irritable uterus and I just had to take it easy (not bedrest easy, but not my normal activity level). My contrations were so bad and so regular and so frequent that everyone, including every doctor and midwife that I saw was convinced that she was coming early (like months early)....she was two days late. Then I was worried that I wouldn't know when I was actually going into labor since my contractions were already the definition of hard labor...but my water broke, so I didn't have to worry.
ReplyDeleteIt's rough and it's scary, but you can do this. You are a strong woman and you are an excellent Momma! I'm not going to say not to worry because we both know that when you are contracting like that, that's an impossibility, but take it easy. Drink TONS of water, take your meds (if they gave you any), and rest your fears in our Lord's hands!
:-) Idk if it helps, but I went to the hospital and was sent home 3 times with Judah (my third). I was that momma that didn't know what labor was (lol). In my defense, his head was HUGE but it doesn't make me feel much better about it. After Raziel coming in 4 hours flat (45 mins at the hospital) I was terrified to have Judah in the car. Instead he was the troublesome child that we had to induce. Every child is different, but once you're in labo the 2nd and so on are SO much easier than that first baby. Now your body knows what its doing. Now you know what to do and expect. You know how its going to feel, and whats happening. You'll do great! And if you get sent home a few times, thats better than having little Sullivan in a car on the highway - especially if he's still breech.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your post and you used very beautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteRegards:
http://www.blackitsoft.com/inventory-pos-software.aspx