Hang in There!

I know that it's been a while. Quite a bit has been going on in the past couple of days. Where do I begin?

I guess it could all start with the contractions that began last Thursday evening. They weren't too intense and were very sparatic, so I didn't pay much attention. When I woke Friday morning, though, they were getting more painful and irritating. I still didn't notice a pattern, but I did notice they were much more frequent. I called the doctor's office before I went into work, and they suggested that I get in there right away. Needless to say, I was starting to get nervous.

They hooked me up to the monitor for about an hour. As the paper shot out, I could see the waveform each time I felt a contraction. And since I was sitting alone in this room with a baby kicking me, knowing I was feeling contractions, I became even more nervous. Finally, the doctor came in and checked the monitor and asked me some questions about the pregnancy and family history.

They took me off the machine and performed an internal exam to check my progress. Fortunately, my cervix was not dilated at all and the contractions I have been feeling are called irritable uterine contractions. They tested me for a urinary tract infection (which came up negative), so there really is no reason behind all of this. Basically, this just means bedrest and lots of fluids.

Since they do consider me a risk for pre-term labor, though, I am now scheduled for the high-risk clinic every Tuesday from now on. It was a really scary experience at that time to think that this was "IT"! I am really not prepared mentally to have the baby in February, so as long as s/he can wait just a couple more weeks... pleeeeease.....