Labor and Delivery

Tonight I spent two hours in the labor and delivery unit at the hospital. This evening started out like any other.. giving Hunter a bath, playing with him upstairs, etc. But tonight as we sat on the sofa watching Nemo, out of no where came a gush of fluid. I freaked out, ran downstairs, informed Eric of my situation (who only had a blank look on his face) and then went to change. Sure enough a minute went by and it happened again. After much debate (with myself) I called the doctor and was told to go to the hospital to be checked out.

I left Eric at home with Hunter and told him I would call if I needed him up there. I was determined that it wasn't anything to worry about and this was one of the joys of pregnancy. When I got there they were expecting my arrival and got me in my gorgeous gown (when are they going to change those ugly things??) and hooked me up to the monitors. Peyton was so active and her heartbeat was strong. The monitored only one contraction for the first 30 minutes I was there. Then the nurse told me she would do an exam to see if I was leaking fluid or if it was just mucus and then check my cervix. I know... lovely image.

The strip came back normal (no fluid leak) and then told me I was still 1 cm dilated. She said she would take a sample and look at it under a microscope to rule out other things. Everything came back normal and the doctor on call ordered my discharge papers.

One of my discharge papers was about signs of preterm labor. Sure enough one of the items listed was "gush of fluid". Um hello...thats what I was in there for! I look at the nurse and asked her how am I supposed to differentiate between what was happening now and what might happen in the next few weeks. She said that at this point, don't take any chances and make sure I get checked out if I experience any more issues. Grrrr.

I am relieved that everything came back okay and Peyton is still hanging in there. I know it is better to be safe than sorry but good grief can these issues happen any other day than on the weekends?? Hunter and I spend way too much time in the ER. I told Eric that at least we knew that we would be meeting our deductible with having this baby so we might as well be paying the hospital in increments. Ha.

It is crazy how different this pregnancy has been with Peyton. Besides the 8 weeks of nauseousness, I have had lower back pain, shortness of breath, and numbness/cramps in my legs. All for a good cause though!! :)

This sure was a wake up call that I still have lots to get together before Peyton gets here. At the same time I know I must also be taking it easy so the sooner I can get this stuff organized, the better. Four weeks to go.... wow!