Repeat Offender

Dear Sophia,*

The last couple days have been quite interesting, to say the least. For example, here's a post I had saved in draft form from either last night or the night before:

"Am I going into labor? I wish I could tell... I don't like being this uncomfortable. Will we see your sweet face soon?

Oh, the anxiety!"

Maybe it's a little dramatic... but you try being calm and collected when it feels like your body is seizing up and preparing to squeeze out a little body bigger than the hole it's coming out of. Plus, I was kinda in panic mode. Just a bit.

I didn't sleep well last night. It was difficult to get comfortable. In fact, the only time I actually started to feel very comfortable was a few minutes before Daddy and I got up. Our dog, Hannah, was standing by the door like she needed to go potty. Even though I'd just gotten comfortable (the right temperature, superior support, etc) I didn't want to wake Daddy up and I didn't want Hannah to use the carpet as her potty spot. So I ABANDONED my comfy spot to let her out... and she proceeded to stand at the top of the steps and sniff the air. Seriously? Seriously.

Anyway, today was the latest regular appointment with my obstetrician. Checked in. Went into the room. Asked how I was doing: "Alright." Blood pressure: Good. Contractions?: Yes. "Hmm." Ultrasound: HR 141. Off to Obstetrics. Room 184. Little cup in the bathroom.

NOW it gets new. A nurse named Lacey walked in to get me all hooked up. At first, she asked me to lay on my left side, at which point Daddy and I informed her if she was able to find you while I was on my left side she would be the first. Ultimately, I ended up on my back for the duration of the visit. The aim of monitoring me on these machines was to track if I was having contractions and if they were regular and progressing. Just after the nurse got me all hooked up, she looked surprised and asked if I'd felt the contraction I'd just had. I shook my head no, and told her I was already uncomfortable - I just hadn't noticed any increased discomfort. (It didn't stay that way, but I'll hit on that in a bit.)

For some reason, Daddy was in a little of a grumpy mood at the beginning of the visit to the O.B. unit. He said he felt like they were wasting our time and there was no reason for us to be staying there that long again... until he noticed I was having regular contractions. At that point, neither of us had eaten anything because 1) he doesn't like eating right after he gets up and 2) I still haven't been able to eat before around 2pm. Before the appointment, all I'd had was a couple mouthfuls of water which made my stomach turn. While we were sitting there, all I wanted was a large glass of water, but I couldn't have it because they weren't sure if I was going to go into active labor or not. Needless to say, I was uncomfortable in several different ways.

So anyway, I was having contractions, which ended up getting more intense and frequent while we were there. They got up to a minute and a half apart, with increasing intensity (read: they hurt more.) They simply monitored me for a while, while the doctor decided what he wanted to do. The nurse checked me for dilation, and said I was at 2-3cm. A few minutes later, the doctor came in and attacked my cervix once again, only this time I was already in pain and he was just adding to it. It felt like my body was a juice box, except my juice box was a little over-full, the aluminum straw spot was actually a chalk board, and he was both pushing and dragging his nails across it to get to the juice. Ugh. He was pushing so hard, his hand was shaking. My challenge during that moment was not jumping away from him while punching and/or scraping any piece of his body within reach.

Ultimately, they sent us home. We only live a few minutes from the hospital, so they said to come back if anything changed, my water broke, etc. If nothing happens over the weekend, we're supposed to go back on Monday and get checked out again.

Since the appointment, I've had spotting - no doubt because of the heedless attack on my cervix, continued contractions and decent baby movement. Oh, and I've eaten! Actually, that was initially short-lived because my body decided the ground beef from Taco Bell was a no-go, but we did finally get some food in me.

It's surreal thinking that I may give birth in the next few days. If you take it from the nurse, we won't make it to Monday. Ahh! As always, we shall see, and, as is ever true, we love you sweetheart. See you soon?

Sincerely,
Mommy.


*Disclaimer: I am still experiencing the contractions I will talk about in this entry. I assume no responsibility for confusing organization, or the lack thereof. Read at your own risk. ;)