We needed a new bed. Our old platform bed wasn't going to make it any longer. Chris finally realized it was important when he saw me struggling to roll out of bed every morning at 4 am to pee. It was also time to down size so we'd have room for the baby's crib since we don't want to turn the second bedroom into a nursery yet.
Our new bedroom furniture got delivered this afternoon. Chris and I spent the entire morning taking down the old furniture and moving. I ended up helping lift a headboard bookcase that he couldn't handle alone.
Around 11 am I started getting sharp cramps. I worked a little longer and then gave up to rest on couch. I drank 2 bottles of water and started working on my a third.
Around 4 pm, DH told me to call my OB since the cramps weren't letting up. My own doctor wasn't on call so I spoke to another. That doctor said if it was bad enough that I called him, then I needed to go to the ER. I really wasn't expecting that. I thought my OB would just reassure me and give me some guidelines to follow if it got worse or didn't improve. I don't run to the doctor over every little thing and going to the ER was the last thing I wanted to do!
During the 30 minute drive I had 5 of the really sharp cramps. I had a couple more while we went through security and check in. I ended up being sent to L&D. That totally freaked me out. It felt so strange to walk through those doors into L&D triage. This isn't supposed to be happening until October! I felt like an imposter on that floor.
They had me drink 32 more ounces of water. The nurse had a hard time finding the heart beat with the fetal monitor because the baby is so small. She finally had to get the doppler out to locate him. Then she strapped me up to the fetal heart monitor and did a NST (non stress test). They can't do a ffn test to see if preterm labor is likely to start soon until after 24 weeks. By that time I wasn't having any more intense cramps. They were just minor twinges. The NST strip just showed one contraction and some uterine irritability. My urine analysis came back okay as did the other tests.
They sent me home with the elastic strips that they use to hold the monitors on my belly. Whenever I come back (whether for another check or for the birth), I'm supposed to bring them along! They also gave me a sheet on preterm labor which basically said to do what I did. You're supposed to lay down on your side, drink 2-3 glasses of water, and call if you don't feel better in an hour. Well, I had waited 5 hours at home but I didn't rest the entire time. She told me not to feel bad for coming in, that it's better safe than sorry. I still feel kind of bad. If I had just waited another hour resting completely, the cramps would have gone away.
So, I'm supposed to take it easy, stay hydrated, and only supervise any more work on our bedroom. I follow up with the perinatologist (pregnancy high risk specialist) on Wednesday.
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