L&D trips #3 and #4

I had picked December 6th in the unofficial baby pool that Mary Jo, Jessica, Courtney and I are having. This morning, I thought I was right on.

As you've read, I had my weekly prenatal appointment with my doctor on Thursday morning and was dilated a "fingertip"...I was fine for most of the day, a little uncomfortable, but ok. Thursday night I started to feel some good contractions and a lot of it was in my back, low down like pressure on my tail bone. The Terbutaline wasn't doing anything for me. I barely slept and tossed and turned all night. I called my clinic on Friday morning and they told me to go get checked out at Labor and Delivery.

I spent about an hour there before they told me to go home and wait it out. I was contracting, and had dilated to a 1+...but nothing else was going on. My doctor told them not to give me anything to knock out the contractions (like the shot form of Terb which they typically give at the hospital), but I was told I could take the pill-form of the Terb for my comfort. I tried taking it again later in the day, but it truly was/is not doing anything for me.

I felt like shizz all day on Friday...and last night I tried to fall asleep in bed, but ended up coming out to the living room to sleep on the couch around midnight. It was actually more comfortable than our bed. I know I'm not supposed to sleep on my back...but when I lay on my back at an incline with my torso leaning up against the corner of our sectional with my wedge pillow under my rear and two or three pillows behind my back, there is very little pressure on my hips and the babies are out of my rib cage...However, I saw 12:30, 1:45, 3:35 (that was my best stretch of sleep!), 4:20, 5:40, and 6:45. At 6:45 I was awoken by a sharp pain...I got up and went to the bathroom before heading up to Andy (I could hear Ethan singing in his bedroom too!)...I noticed a little bit of blood and then a lot of other stuff...yep, it was the glamorous "bloody show"...really, can't they give it a better name!!

The boys and I lounged in bed for a bit, I showered, and then called my Clinic right before 8. My doctor was on-call and told me to head over to L&D again. I finished packing my bag and Andy called Gamma to see if Ethie could come play at her house. We dropped him off at her house and headed over to the hospital.

On the monitors, I was contracting a lot and was seriously uncomfortable. When we first got there I was still dilated to a 1+ and was seriously bummed that nothing had happened from all the contracting the night before. From checking me, the nurse was suspicious that my water had broke, so they sent a test to the lab (with Ethan there was no question that had happened, but slow leaks also occur). She was pretty sure it had, but they have to verify with a lab test...if it was fluid, they would have kept me there. However, the test came back negative (and I wanted to cry). In the meantime, I had dilated to a 2+ (I'm also 60% effaced). Given the negative amniotic fluid result and the fact that I didn't dilate any more in the hour after I reached 2+, they told us to go home and wait it out..."wait it out"...my most hated phrase from now on.

I've been feeling really depressed today, more so than I have in the past week or two. I just don't know what to do with myself. I am so uncomfortable and it's been hard to go through these false starts the past few days. Also, I'm so confused about when to go back in...I'm supposed to go back in when my contractions get more intense and closer together...when I start to bleed more...or when my water breaks...But will I really be able to know...how bad do the contractions need to be, how much bleeding, what is a slow leak like?...It scares me that it's all up to me to be the one to make the call on when we go in again...noone else can help me identify the signs. It's very frustrating.

What I do know is that we will likely meet these guys soon...at least if this labor runs in the same fashion as Ethan's...however, the nurse told me today that she's seen people sit at even 5cm for a few weeks...NOT what I want to hear.

Andy's out tonight enjoying his last night out pre-babies...When I told him I'd picked Dec 6th in the baby pool, he joked that the 7th would really be more convenient for him since he had plans on the 6th. This morning, I thought I had unintentionally foiled those plans, but I'm glad he gets to have some fun before the craziness sets in. My last night "out" was the night before I found out I was pregnant in early May so I'm really ready to have a night out...guessing it will be next June or so!

Ethan is excited for the babies too. When I ask him who is in my belly, he kisses my belly and tells me who's in there. I told him the names last weekend and told him "Shhh, don't tell, it's a secret"...'course he's been running his mouth and I'm suspicious that some people may know already. I knew he might tell, but I really wanted to hear him say the names...and I was right...it's stinkin' cute!! But don't ask him...he'll tell you!!