This pregnancy has been much different than when I was pregnant with KIC, on many levels. One bit, in particular, that has been "fun", is the constant Braxton Hicks. For those unfamiliar, Braxton Hicks is a nice way of saying "you're having contractions but it's not doing anything other than causing you pain." Apparently, epidurals for Braxton Hicks has not been explored yet. Someone needs to get on that! But I digress.
Bean is a very active baby. More so than KIC EVER was. It would seem that with his activity level brings Braxton Hicks. This has been going on since about week 17, in varying degrees of intensity. I've learned, for the most part, to shrug them off and press on. Recently, though, my contractions were timeable. Every five minutes, I was experiencing the joy of a contraction. The more I moved, the faster, and harder, they came.
When one is pregnant, you are constantly admonished to call your doctor in the event anything out of the ordinary is going on. I called, told them about my contractions and was summarily sent to the hossabuilding, as KIC calls it. Since I was so far from my due date, regular contractions like that were definitely cause for concern, though I suspected it was still Braxton Hicks. I got hooked up to all kinds of fun monitors and gave the usual personal information. After what seemed like forever, I was seen by a doctor from my practice that I had not yet met. This is what went down:
Dr: So why are you in here?
Me: I had been having contractions every five minutes so they asked me to come in. They have (of course) slowed down since I got here.
Dr looking at the monitor and not seeing any contractions: Well, it could be one of two things. One, you're having pre term contractions or two, you're having pre term labor. The only way to determine which one it is is to do a cervical exam. If it's pre term contractions, you'll be able to go home for dinner tonight. If it's pre term labor, then we're looking at putting you on magnesium sulfate and starting steroid shots.
Side note: Magnesium sulfate was the thing I was most concerned about. That stuff has TERRIBLE side effects on the mother, though it does really good things for premature babies. Anything else, I could have handled.
Me: Okay, sounds good.
Dr: Okay, I'm going to do the exam now.
Me (experiencing one of the most painful contractions of the evening): Ooo, that kind of hurts.
Dr: Yep, you're legit. That's a pretty significant contraction.
Ummmmmmm, what?? Did you think I came here so I could get a good night's rest??? Good golly!
The exam found that I was having pre term contractions and not pre term labor. It seems that my uterus continues to be locked up tighter than Ft. Knox for now. I was sent home that evening and treated myself to a milkshake on the way home. My only care instructions are to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Because pregnant women don't spend enough time in the bathroom!!!
For now, I am happy that Bean gets to cook for awhile longer. In the meantime, if you see me walking down the hallway singing a certain MC Hammer song, well, you'll know why.
You're singing it now, aren't you?
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