Adventures!

I'm not really sure how detailed to be on all of our adventures this weekend so I'll just type until I get sick of it... On Friday I started having stomach pains which is sadly pretty normal for me. I didn't think much of it until they suddenly changed and I could no longer help members at America First without completely messing up the transaction. All I could think about was the pain in my stomach so I finally broke down and decided it would be worth going to a clinic to have them check me out.

After many many tears and the clinic turning away a pregnant lady Nate and I finally decided to go to the ER. I felt really stupid being there because I always picture it being for only people who are on the verge of dying any moment but at the same time I could no longer walk without wanting to barf from the pain. I was in so much pain that I basically just laid down wherever there was a brief moment of waiting. My pain would go from a 9 to a 3 just by laying down so it was worth people judging me on the gross hospital floor.

I learned that being pregnant in a hospital means that NOTHING comes before the baby. The ER wouldn't even touch me until labor and delivery had checked me out and made sure everything was okay with the pregnancy. I ended up in labor and delivery for 4 1/2 hours and never even found out why I was having pain... it was a bit odd and relieving to know that they care as much about my unborn child as I do :)

So the adventures of L&D started with a really kind nurse (Karren) hooking me up to a heart beat monitor and contraction monitor. Luckily Kendrick has had a strong heart from day one because Karren said it is usually really hard to hear the heartbeat on the hookup that they had at only 28 weeks. (His heart was heard almost the entire time we were there without a single problem).

Well, naturally my braxton hicks (contractions) started up as usual and freaked everyone out. I tried to tell them that I have been having braxton hicks for a couple of months but I don't think they took me seriously. My stomach pain was on the bottom of the list of importance while they can test after test to try and see why I was having contractions. I was a really confused about why they were worrying so much when it was so obvious to me that my pain had nothing to do with a contraction. I don't think I really understood how many I was having until Karren told me that I was having more contractions than another lady whose water broke at 2 and had been in the hospital all day. I even had some that were only 2 minutes apart and I guess the worry was that they didn't want me to deliver that night. Honestly they are so normal to me that I have to consciously think about it to tell if I am having one.

Well they finally got the bright idea to hydrate me because I hadn't had anything to eat or drink in hours. Once I had a liter of fluid in me the contractions settled down enough for them to feel comfortable enough to send me home. I was given some Maalox that helped with my stomach pain and told to get a bland diet and call on Monday to see what I should do next.

I still had stomach pain throughout the weekend but nothing in comparison to the pain I felt on Friday. I called my midwife today and told her about the weekend and she wanted to see me again today. She did a couple more tests, and checked Kendrick to make sure he wasn't breached (he wasn't :) ) I now have a list of things that I get to do over the next couple of weeks while they keep monitoring my contractions and stomach pain. Luckily I get to see a gastroenterologist tomorrow so the adventures are still in the beginning stages.

I don't mind the extra midwife visits, ultrasounds, and hearing Kendrick's heartbeat but I DON'T want to deliver early. I think some of the nurses wanted to make bets on when I would deliver after I left the hospital and I hope that the latest date wins!