a few photos from our Sunday

Well... this was certainly not how I envisioned my Sunday morning! I started feeling contractions Saturday night around 7:30 pm, and around 10:00 they became more regular - about four minutes apart. I tried to ignore them and hoped they would stop if I fell asleep, around 11:00 pm. At 4:00 am, I woke up and they were coming every three minutes and I was pretty uncomfortable. My midwife had just told me at my appointment on Friday that if I had more than 5-6 in an hour that she wanted to know. If I didn't have an abnormal placenta (one of the risks is preterm labor), I probably would have ignored it (whether right or wrong), but I didn't want to wait too long or miss any signs. So I went to the bathroom, woke up Eric, and then called my midwife, and she told me to come in. The contractions were not painful, but I knew Braxton Hicks were not supposed to be at regular intervals so I was getting worried. Luckily Eric's mom was staying with us, so we didn't have to worry about finding someone to watch Rooney.

Our drive to the hospital was very quiet. It felt similar to when I was in labor with Rooney because it was so dark and the roads were quiet, but this time I wasn't in pain and we were both praying we would not be meeting our baby that day. At one point I said, "I'm not sure if I want them to tell me that I'm crazy, or that I'm not crazy," and Eric said, "I hope they tell you you're crazy."

We got to the hospital around 5:20 am (we got lost, so if nothing else this was a good trial run of our route), and they hooked me up to the monitors. Baby's heart rate was great at 150 bpm, and they were definitely picking up my contractions on the monitor. They were coming every four minutes on our drive and about every five or six minutes once we got to the hospital. My midwife was concerned (I'm only 27 weeks and 3 days), so they ordered a couple tests: One to see if my water had broken (I had leaked a tiny bit of fluid about 10 days prior), and a fetal fibronectin to see if my body would try to go into labor in the next two weeks. I was also started on an IV, checked (I was 1/2 cm dilated, which they said was not uncommon since I've had a kid before) and had an ultrasound to check my cervical length. Oh, and I also did a urine sample to check for a UTI, which can cause preterm labor.

All the tests and preterm labor indicators came back negative (PRAISE THE LORD), and the contractions eventually slowed. If the tests had come back positive, I would have likely been put on tributerol (a steroid) to stop my contractions. Instead, after three hours in triage I was sent home to rest and drink lots of water (100 oz/day). The contractions completely stopped around 1:00 pm. I will have an extra appointment this week to discuss how I'm feeling and a make plan going forward (possible bed rest if contractions continue...).

The cause may have been dehydration, or perhaps I just have an irritable uterus. I am not sure if this is related to my abnormal placenta or not. If anything was confirmed, it's that I love love love my midwives! I had great care from three nurses, two midwives (who were also consulting the doctors at the hospital for second opinions), and a perinatal radiologist.

It feels like we've had one thing after another with this pregnancy. I will be celebrating even more now each Thursday when I turn a new week. Praying he stays inside for at least 10 more!

UPDATE: My midwives called me later in the week and said I had a bladder infection, which most likely was the cause of the contractions. Definitely need to up my water intake!