Let's start from the beginning….
I've been having Braxton Hicks off and on for the past couple of months, but nothing super regular until a few weeks ago. But we just stay so busy I haven't really been paying attention to just how many contractions I was having. I knew I was having probably 5-10 good ones a day, so I brought it up to my doctor at my 31 week appointment. He told me it was normal for me to have BH earlier than my last pregnancy due to following a busy toddler around and it's my second pregnancy so my body has already done this. However, he checked me just to make sure I wasn't dilating or anything---and I wasn't, but my cervix was already soft. It wasn't anything to freak out about, but he told me I needed to start taking it WAY easier (which is super hard for me in general, let alone add in taking care of a toddler too). So, this last week I really tried to be conscious of not lifting Holt unless I had to, not vacuuming, limiting my activity, etc.
Last Thursday afternoon, we headed to Conway to take some maternity pictures with my aunt. It was so much fun and Holt had a blast since we took them outside! Friday morning, we took Holt to get his 2nd haircut at Pigtails & Crewcuts (a kid's salon) and it was an AMAZING experience! He got to sit in a little airplane and he got to snack on Nilla Wafers and they blew bubbles so he wouldn't cry. And the end result was fantastic--he looks so handsome! And so much older! Anyways, after all that, my mom and my grandma and I went fabric shopping for the bumper in Evie's crib. We expected it to take a couple of hours BUT we found everything we needed within 45 minutes. That right there was the Lord's provision because He knew what was about to go down. Once we picked out the fabric, I was supposed to get my haircut, but my precious hairdresser's little girl got the stomach bug, so I just went and had someone wash and style my hair instead. While I was there, I had 6 contractions within an hour. I knew the rule of thumb this early in the 3rd trimester is if you have 4 in an hour then call your doctor. My doctor's office was already closed for the day, so we called Dr. Cole in Conway (my mom used to work for him as his nurse) and let him know what was going on. He advised I go home and take Benadryl to stop contractions, lay down, and monitor he contractions for 2 hours. I took Benadryl about 2:30pm and then laid down until about 4pm.
When I got up, contractions started coming every 2-3 minutes. By 4:45pm I had been having at least 10 contractions so we called Dr. Cole again and he told us to go up to Labor and Delivery and let them check everything out. We got there about 5:15pm and they hooked me up to the monitors and had me put on the gown and everything. Evie's heart rate looked great and she seemed to handle the contractions beautifully (even though she made it known she did not like being squeezed all the time--girl was moving all over!). Even laying down, I was continuing to have contractions but they spaced out to about 5-7 minutes. The nurse (Sally) ran a couple of tests: 1) to check and see if I had a UTI because that can cause contractions 2) Fetal Fibronectin test---basically it tests a protein that lets them know if I'm currently in active labor or if I'll go into labor within the next 2 weeks
She also checked me to see if the contractions had been doing anything…and they were. She told me I had dilated to a 1. They decided to let us wait there another hour so we could wait on the test results and also so they could check me again at the end of the hour to see if I was progressing anymore. At my next check there was no change (thank goodness) and the Fetal Fibronectin had come back negative (yay!). I continued to have contractions the whole time we were there, but I felt so much better knowing I wasn't in active labor and that Evie was doing ok. Finally, the UTI test came back negative and we saw the doctor on call (Dr. Gullic). He told me I could go home, but to be sure and call my doctor on Monday to let him know what all was going on and that he may put me on medication to stop the contractions and/or bed rest.
So, all weekend I've just been resting and the contractions have gotten better. As long as I'm sitting or laying down, contractions are very few and far between. As soon as I stand up and go anywhere, I usually get a contraction. I called my doctor first thing this morning (and of course he is on vacation because it's Spring Break) but the doctor on call wanted me to come in and have an ultrasound to check my cervix. My cervix is not shortening or effacing at all, but you could see where I have dilated a little bit. PLUS, we found out Evie has now turned breech! That stinker! She has been head down the entire pregnancy and now all of a sudden she has flipped. So we will see if and when she flips back. I have an appointment scheduled with my doctor on Thursday morning, so I'll update more then!
We also got to see Evie's sweet little face at our ultrasound (no complaints here!) and we both think she is going to look JUST like her big brother! I just wanted to kiss all over those cheeks!
Let me take a sec to brag on my husband a bit too---he has completely taken over….Holt, the house, AND still working full time. He hasn't uttered one complaint and has been so sweet and supportive of me just resting and taking care of myself and Evie. This could be a long 5-6 weeks for him, so please pray for extra strength and endurance. I am so blessed to be married to him!
How far along: 32 weeks
Sleep: Still sleeping wonderfully. I know this is a huge blessing to be sleeping so good throughout pregnancy--not everyone is so lucky.
Food cravings: Oh donuts. Let's just assume I could eat a donut at any second of the day. Pretty crazy it's been my one kind of constant craving this time.
Movement: The past few days especially she has been moving like crazy! And it's to the point now my stomach "rolls" with her movement and looks like a little alien is trying to break out. It is so cool because my stomach never did that with Holt since I had an anterior placenta! I could watch it for hours just in complete awe.
Rings: I put my rings back on! After 5 months, it's kind of weird to have them back on but it is so nice! So far, no blisters so I'm hoping I don't have to take them back off.
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