Thursday, August 21, 2008

Back again
All day today I had felt "off". I was crampy, tired, slow-moving. I just didn't feel right & it reminded me of how I felt when I was in early labor with Logan. I didn't do anything about it, going about my business, keeping appointments & doing some shopping.

Later in the evening, I had to go to an emergency board meeting for The Club. Remember Playgroup Nazi? Well, she was back to her old antics & we were trying to figure out how to terminate her membership. We had to revise our Code of Conduct to include phrases like "All members must treat each other with courtesy & respect", "NO foul language at activities" & common sense things that all adults should automatically do. How sad is that!? On my way over there, my contractions were getting worse. During the meeting, I was propped up on the couch with a pillow under my knees & drinking water. Some of the contractions got strong enough to make we worry & my friends could see how uncomfortable I was by the look on my face. We all started to get worried.

I called my OB (or the triage nurse because it was after hours) while we timed the contractions. Each of them were a minute long & 5 minutes apart. The nurses were so busy that I had to leave a message. After much discussion about what to do, we finally decided that I would drive home & massage friends would follow me to make sure I was OK. I got home & waited for the nurse to call me back. I knew I wasn't in active labor, but possibly early labor (which could last for a couple of days if it was anything like it was with Logan). The nurse called back & said that I had to go to labor & delivery no matter what because I was still only 36 weeks along & considered pre-term.

We packed Logan up in the middle of the night, again, & took him over to photographer friends house for another sleep over. This time while still a little upset, was not as traumatic for him like the first time.

We got labor & delivery with the contractions still going & the ER staff commenting on how small my belly was. We got set up in a labor suite (we were in triage last time & the suites are really nice), got hooked up to the monitors & waited for the on-call Doctor to see how things were progressing. The contractions were registering on the monitor, but I wasn't dilating - which was a good thing, sort of. Even though I'm having contractions that are uncomfortable & at the spaced time that requires a trip to labor & delivery, I'm not supposed to go back until either my water breaks or until the contractions are strong enough to make me stop breathing & talking. Just like with Logan.

So, now I continue to have strong, uncomfortable contractions every 5 minutes or so & I have to just deal with it until I'm practically dying for my epidural. They are strong enough to wake me up in the middle of the night, too. Craziness.

Logan, however, had a great time at his sleepover. He & Little M stayed up chatting & playing with some toys & dressing up. Little M eventually got tired & left her room to ask photographer friend to talk to him because he wouldn't stop & go to sleep. That is hilarious! So, the next time I go to labor & delivery, when it's the REAL thing, I am not the least bit worried about how Logan will do if we have to drop him off in the middle of the night (again), which I'm almost certain will happen.

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