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Sunday, July 05, 2009

A Stop at L&D

For family who might be reading this... relax. All is good.

But here's the story.

Friday night, I was super uncomfortable. I had generalized pain through my uterus, accompanied by stabbing pains every 5 to 8 minutes. And I was trying everything to try to stop it. Water, lying on my left side, breathing, tried to go to the washroom (thinking I might be constipated), etc. Nothing was working. But there was no hardening of the uterus so I knew darn well it wasn't Braxton Hicks contractions or (God forbid) real ones.

By 2:30 a.m., hubby was coming to bed and found me still awake and clearly in pain. He said, "Call the hospital and see what they say." So at 3 a.m., I did. And after giving them the details, they said, "Yeah, you need to come in to be checked." We got dressed.

We went in and over the course of about 2 or 3 hours, I had a urine test, they monitored Petit's heartrate, my (lack of) contractions, and I had a cervical check... or two; both digitally and with a speculum. Yeah, um, can you say PRESSURE anyone? Holy hell.

The pain subsided by about 6 a.m. or so, and when we finally got out of there by 6:30 I just wanted to collapse in bed. There was no real resolution per se, but I was told not to hesitate to come again if I felt it start up.

We did find out the following:
Petit is head down already. Something I suspected from the placement of kicks and thwaps, but it's confirmed.
Petit's heartrate is fine. That combined with the fact that I had no pain when the doc palpitated my abdomen and stomach tells them that the placenta is doing it's job. There are no issues with placental abruption or lack of oxygen.
There were no traces of protein or sugar in my urine.
The cervix is long and closed. Good to know.
My blood pressure was a touch high. I figure white coat syndrome (as always!) and/or the pain that I had been in for 4 hours or so by the time they took it.
Petit was moving something fierce in the wee hours of the morning. With the sheet up so my belly was exposed, hubby could SEE the movements as the baby kicked. He'd never seen that before, so it was a first for us.

Since Friday, I still feel tender and sore. Like you would feel after vomiting for a long time and your belly is just tender and sensitive. So I'm keeping an eye on that and hoping it subsides.

As for the vet, I got the following suggestions:
Use lotions and creams on myself that I'll use on the baby so the cats can get used to the smell now.
Bring home a blanket or two that the baby's been using in the hospital so the cats can become familiar with the baby's scent.
Make sure we have some extra treats on hand for the cats for the first week that the baby comes home. Baby comes into the house, give the cats a treat. Baby cries, give the cats a treat. Baby takes their spot on my lap, give the cats a treat. The theory? "Ah, so this crying, squealing thing = treats for us. This is good!"

And the kitties are perfectly healthy. Not keen on the car ride to the vet (one puked on the other, the second upped the ante by pooping in the cage!) but they survived. And luckily, so did we.

4 comments:

ColourYourWorld said...

Sorry you have been in pain but glad all is ok and Petit is doing wonderfully.

Angie said...

Scary, but I'm glad everything is okay and Petit is doing well!

Mary said...

I am very greatful the you put that disclaimer at the beginning of this post. Makes it so much easier for those of us who are want a be family. Also I have a fully working washing machine right across the street should something go wrong. And lastly thank you so much for the laugh about the ride to the vet for the kitties. I'm sure cleaning up wasn't the least bit funny but I laughed.

Aurelia said...

The cat ideas never worked for us, they just freaked out at the smell of the baby and me and avoided the baby like crazy for a year or so, then he pulled their tails, and they ran and hid for several more years. (but give it a shot!)

The pain? I'm thinking pelvic ligaments and cervix. Which slowly slowly over time will begin to open up and yes, will hurt like that sometimes. You'll know for sure when it's impossible to walk without your pelvic bone killing you.

Sounds awful, but if it's nice a slow over several weeks, you will have a better labour. (If you have a pregnancy massage therapist or a pregancy physio ask about certain stretches to help feel better. They work!)