No, I am not kidding; I will be 34 weeks pregnant on Friday and Emma is ready to go. Just like her mom, she is impatient. Why plan to do something in 6 weeks when you can do it now? Why be on time for a meeting when you can be early?
Fortunately, the doctors restrained the little munchkin and hopefully she will be staying put for a few more weeks to finish “cooking.” That is unless she decides to poke her finger through that 1 cm hole out of “curiosity”…I would not put it past her.
And for the record, it was not because I was “running;” I actually gave that up 3 weeks ago. I was going to write a long drawn out post about “the talk” that Gregory and I had regarding “temporarily putting the running on hold”. You know the very serious conversations in a marriage that might tilt the axis for a bit? The short of the long is that we both agreed that it would be better to keep my legs in their sockets (did you know that your hips stretch like gumbi once you hit 30 weeks?) and avoid peeing my shorts for a few weeks. So for all you running while pregnant nay-sayers, I WAS NOT RUNNING!!
I blame it on 2 things:
1. Swimming
2. Babies R’ Us
Now I have to actually go into the details of my wonderful 24 hour stay in the ER in order for me to prove my point. I have experienced “Braxton Hicks” contractions throughout the pregnancy; even at my 13 week ultrasound the technician pointed out one; so it was no surprise to me last week when I went in for my check-up that the doctor pointed out I was having some. Of course, I chalked that tight “abdominal” feeling to my stellar abdominal strength and fitness; at some point I had to face the reality that it was not true since I cannot sit up on my own anymore and Gregory has to help me roll over. One can dream though, right?
So, I had the very stern “orders” from the doctor: “NO MORE THAN 4 PER HOUR” while resting. Well, crap! I have been having these on and off for a while…I better pay attention.
Also, on a side note, I had been feeling a bit "off" for a few weeks prior, but when you are pregnant, everything is due to being “pregnant.” And, to be honest, when you have a personality like mine, there is no in-between "feeling" that you are sick. You are either "healthy" in terms that how you feel is manageable or you are "sick" as in stick a fork in me, I am done. I have learned through this experience, that I need to learn more about the "grey area"...kind of like that pain scale from 1-10 (in other words, numbers 2-9 actually do exist)...and I had better figure that out soon because they will not give me an epidural at 1 and it will be too late for an epidural at 10.
I digress...back to the action
So, Monday throughout the day, I felt the BH contractions a lot, and a lot stronger than usual. Time to call the doctor; we went through a few phone calls, resting, hydrating etc.. At 8pm the contractions got stronger and “regular”….time to go to the hospital.
We arrive at the hospital and they hook me up to the monitor; Emma is ticking along just fine and she HATES the little monitors on my belly. It actually was really funny to watch my belly shake as she tried to kick them off. As for the contractions, well there is this lovely drug that they use to “kill” them and they did. 34 weeks is a bit too early to have a baby if you don’t have to. They discovered I was 1 cm dilated and infected (lovely, I know). Bacterial infections are known to cause early labor/contractions, so I was discharged at 1 am with some antibiotics and my contractions were under control. I didn’t feel so hot, but attributed that to the medication…..
That was until we got home and I spent the night worshiping the white throne. At 5 am back to the hospital for an IV.
At 6 am, they knew there was something else wrong as my contractions were back. More medicine…
Don’t worry, Emma was fine…I don’t think anything phases this kid. She was having a grand ole time in my belly; still pissed off at the monitors though.
An abdominal ultrasound (which, by the way, the technician said I have a “big” baby for those of you who think I am too small…my liver is now located behind my boob), more tests, more drugs, more checks and 16 hours later we have concluded that I am still holding at 1 cm, I am still “infected” but in more ways than one. I mean, I know I like to do things “all out” but I think this is the icing on the cake!! Count it: bacterial vaginitis, a urinary tract infection and a kidney infection! And those were what caused the contractions…SO NO, IT WAS NOT BECAUSE I RAN UP TO 30 weeks!!
Thankfully, I am at home now with lots of drugs to keep things under control and keep the bun in the oven.
Oh, and in case I forgot to mention, Emma is just fine…I think she finds all the action entertaining.
However, I do have a theory behind all this madness; infections happen to the body when you are “exposed” and “stressed.”
How did I become “exposed”?? I blame it on the pool. I knew that the deep dreaded feeling coming from my gut when I look at the swimming pool wasn’t just because I loathed the thing. My body was telling my there were “bugs” in the water….ok, ok, I might be a bit overdramatic right now, but if I am this sick, I am going to use any excuse not to get back in the water. Additionally, I have past history to back it up…this is my 4th “infection” down there…and all of them occurred sometime after getting in the pool (doesn’t matter if it was one day or ahem…3 weeks after swimming). It has nothing to do with my hormone levels or peeing in any bush/porta potty I can find while running. But, we already covered the fact that none of this was due to running, so let’s stick to the important fact: swimming is BAD…BAD…BAD….
Reason # 2: STRESS
BABIES R US=STRESS!!!
Over the weekend, Gregory and I had to make one final stop at Babies R Us to pick up a few things. I don’t think I need to elaborate here and I will let the story speak itself through pictures….
The gate to hell....
Gregory is so excited to be in such a "supportive" and "comforting" environment for parents-to-be.
And..if you love the place as much as I do, they are hiring! Who wouldn't want to wear one of those lovely purple shirts...(If you are not catching my sarcasm here, please read back to previous posts)
Gregory took a walk throught the stroller section again...he is lucky they don't have his picture posted on the wall warning employees not to let him touch a stroller.
This is my "Why the hell do you need a plastic cover for the changing pad when the changing pad already has a waterproof cover...." The answer is: because Babies R Us can make 5 extra dollars by trying to sell it to insecure parents-to-be. I love this place....we went with the cheapest cover with NO plastic.
The aftermath....and this is when I think the contractions began.....
1 comments:
Haha! Love the blog posts... I don't know how I'll handle the suspense since you probably won't be about to post about the birth until long after its said and done. Emma sounds like a real trooper just liker her Mom!! Sorry to hear you had some trouble but that's great that you are both doing well again. Good luck!! (btw - I think its great that you were running!)
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