A Peek at Labor and Delivery...

Well - It's official! Not only is Brookie apparently training to become the world's most famous soccer player, but she is SO active that she had me in the hospital yesterday!

It all started Monday night... This baby was rolling, swimming, jumping, skipping, karate chopping, and any other type of movement that you can think of inside of my belly! I know she's still so small, but the power in this girl's kicks is unbelievable! It was so bad that I actually complained to Zig that I wished she would just "calm down for a little while!" He had a conversation with her through my belly and told her to "take it easy on Mommy," but by the time the evening was over, my stomach was actually sore! I chalked it up as aches and pains and got a good night's sleep.

When I woke up on Tuesday morning, I was still really sore - but now it was more like cramps and back pains. It kinda felt like my period was on it's way...sore stomach, lots of pressure, and pain through my back. Even though the ultrasound tech at Womb with a View told me to expect back pain because my placenta is in the rear of my uterus, the pains in my stomach started to worry me.
I called Zig and told him what I was feeling and we both just decided that I should stay aware of what I was feeling and call the doctor if it got any worse.

Well, by about 11:00 yesterday morning, the soreness changed to sharp pains in my stomach and the back pain intensified drastically. I called into Dr. Grill's office and told them that although I was sure it was nothing, it had me worried - what should I do? They sent me home! I was told to go home, lay on my left side, and drink lots of fluids. If the pain wasn't gone in one hour, I was to call them back.
After two hours of laying down, 3 glasses of water, and a quick nap, the pain hadn't gotten any better, so I called back into the office. They sent me immediately to Labor and Delivery at the hospital! They were worried that it might be pre-term labor and they took every precaution necessary to make sure I was alright.

Zig came right home from work and drove me to the hospital, where they took us right to a delivery suite and got me and Brookie hooked up to monitors. After 2 hours of tests, they were convinced that I was NOT having contractions and that Brooke was fine. They explained that since I am already having back pain, and that she is as active as she is, that what I'm feeling is called Round Ligament pain. I've read a lot about this in my time on Baby Center, but I never expected it to hurt as much as it did!
The bad news - after Dr. Grill examined me and found that my cervix was still completely closed (YAY!) - he told me that I will probably experience this pain for the majority of the pregnancy! Great!! With the position of my placenta and her moving so much all the time - I'm basically in for a long few months!

Dr. Grill's suggestion - take the rest of the year off! I told him to 'Go Fly a Kite!'
Then, he tried suggesting that I take at least a week off to let my body get used to the aches and pains... But that didn't work for me either!

I woke up this morning feeling fine! All of the rest from yesterday was enough to get me through today. Dr. Grill said that each day will be different. There will some days that I feel fine and other days that I can hardly get out of bed... He gave me a doctor's excuse to take time off as I see fit - and my bosses at school have been great about it. They told me to "listen to my body" and take as much time as I needed to take care of myself and the baby.

My plan is to leave sub plans every day - just incase I wake up the next morning in pain. I don't want to miss any more time than I absolutely have to and I certainly don't want my kids to finish the school year without me... But I'll take each new day as it comes and hope for very little aches and pains.

The only PLUS to this scary experience - getting our first peek at Labor and Delivery! Zig and I both commented on how nice it was and how welcoming and comfortable it will be when we return there to actually bring Brookie into the world! It almost takes some of the fear out of going to the hospital to have a baby! Now we know what to expect...we just hope to NOT SEE IT AGAIN until September!

So, as the little THUMPER continues to kick away right this second, I'm reminded that I'll soon have my hands full with this little one - and that, even though I'm very anxious to see her, I'd like her to wait just a few more months to make her appearance into the world!