Hospital visit #1

Yesterday I felt off all day. I tried to lay down and rest a lot but no matter how much I did so, I would get up and feel like I needed to lay back down. I was also having fairly frequent Braxton-Hicks contractions which has become a normal thing with two babies stretching my uterus to capacity.

Shaun and I left for our small group at 7 PM and I started wondering if the contractions were coming at regular intervals. I started timing them as soon as we sat down at small group and for the next hour and a half I had contractions about every 8 minutes. They weren't painful but my doctor had instructed me to go ahead and get checked out at the hospital if I ever noticed them coming at regular intervals. I have never had a baby before so I figured it would be best to be safe than sorry. I have read too many stories of twin pregnancies going into preterm labor and the woman not realizing it because she had painless contractions or she just felt off and by then it was too late to stop them and the babies had to be born.

So, after small group we headed to the hospital. I was strapped to an external fetal monitor and spent the next 3 hours waiting to find out what was going on. As I rested and drank more water the contractions started to subside. The nurse called the person on call at my doctor's office who ordered a bunch of tests to rule out any infections, which can sometimes cause contractions and preterm labor. Everything came back negative so by midnight I was released to go home.

Right now I am sitting in bed writing this and will need to call my doctor when they open to get specific instructions about any precautions she will want me on. I feel better this morning and have had very few contractions. I will be better from now on about resting and letting my mom or Shaun do things for me. It's just hard with 2 four year olds who need things from me all day long. I hope and pray I won't end up on bedrest. How does someone with young children manage that? I really can't comprehend it.

For now I am just very thankful that it was a false alarm. Only 5 -6 more weeks of this take it easy business and hopefully I won't have any more hospital visits until delivery day!