For our 32 week entry, I am skipping the Q&A and just going to update whoever is reading this on what happened this week….
I wouldn’t say anything HAPPENED really, and everyone is okay. I am perfectly fine, Corbin is perfectly fine, and Conner is perfectly fine (although he is now on watch).
This last week, on Wednesday night, I started feeling LOUSY. I felt sick, like I was not quite over my cold, and my stomach was really bothering me. I was eating fine, normal appetite, but had more aches and pains than usual. My lower back was hurting pretty badly, and my belly ached with round ligament pains and frequent tightening (Braxton Hicks contractions). I wouldn’t say I was in extreme pain, but definitely uncomfortable. Corbin was moving like crazy though, so all was well! I continued to drink plenty of water, and I even got around to washing and drying a couple of loads of baby laundry…. Yayyyy nesting! Hooray for tiny shorts and baby socks and the smell of clean onesies!
I woke up quite a bit on Wednesday night, with some round ligament pains, some Braxton Hicks, and some bathroom breaks. On Thursday, I got up and went to work as usual, but this day was a little different. My back was in SO MUCH PAIN, still very low, and was coming in a throbbing, wrap-around kind of way. By late morning, pain was coming in waves and reaching my front, and soon, I was having noticeable contractions. They weren’t just a quick tightening feeling, or even a constant tightening in my uterus…. These were a wave of tightening, peaking to a few seconds of pain, and then fading out. I was talking fine, walking fine, and going about my workload just fine. It occurred to me late morning that I might be having true contractions. After all, we have heard all about Braxton Hicks, read all about labor pains and personal experiences with true labor contractions, and I could very well be in the range of “baby might be coming soon” time.
So I timed my contractions. And I continued to work, I continued to get up, take breaks, walk frequently, adjust my positions, take bathroom breaks… nothing interrupted a contraction. Without fail, they came every five minutes, peaked, and then faded away. They were painful, but not unbearable, and they never really worsened. I called my doctor’s office and informed them of what I was feeling and asked if I could come in that day instead of the following Tuesday evening for my routine appointment. I explained my symptoms, and that the contractions were NOT getting stronger or closer together, but they were consistent and they did hurt a little. The nurse said it was up to me… I could come in now, or I could come in later that day. I was very hesitant to leave work early, as I was feeling pretty decent overall, didn’t feel the urgency to rush in, and I am still in my probational period with my new job. Meanwhile, my boss was monitoring me, talking to me about her own personal experiences with false labor, kept asking me how I was doing, etc. She has been SUCH an amazing boss to me since I started my new job. She is a mother of four, and she’s a professional and very cool woman to work for, but also a sweet and compassionate person to have in the workplace. She has been supportive of my pregnancy and often asks about Corbin. I can’t say enough nice things about her! Oh and her name is Julie.
Anyways…. Julie was keeping an eye on me and was very much okay with me rushing out if I needed to. When I finally DID decide to leave work in the afternoon, she asked that I text her later with an update. So I left.
And did I go straight to my doctor? Nope. I went home. I packed a bag SUPER quickly (JUST IN CASE), and I showered (JUST IN CASE). I kept thinking “just in case” all day. Googling pictures of babies born at 32 ½ weeks “just in case”. Telling Conner every little update, “just in case”….and he responded with some anxiety and nervousness, “just in case” this was the real thing. He was panicking, and urgently asking me to leave work and go in.
My mom (and Conner) decided that driving myself was not a good idea, so she picked me up from our apartment, overnight bag in hand, and we went to my doctor’s office. I knew there was no rush. Even THEY didn’t rush me once I was there….. I waited about an hour to be seen (which is standard at the end of the day for his office, but ALWAYS worth the wait). The front desk nurses and staff were watching me and talking to me, and everything was fine. Still having contractions every five minutes, still lasting a minute long, still not super painful.
Dr. Poliakin had me in one of his standard rooms, asked me what was going on, then without batting an eye, without seeming surprised in any way, he set me up in the ultrasound room and calmly explained what happens next….
They did a fetal fibronectin test, which basically is a quick swab to send over to the lab, who tests it for some type of fetal cells to be present. To sum up, if the results are positive, there is a 60% chance I could go into labor in the next two weeks. If it is negative, then there is a 90% chance that I will NOT go into labor in the next two weeks. We didn’t know results at the time, but it eventually came back the following morning with a big fat negative. (*Woohoo!*) After they did that test, he did an ultrasound to check my cervix. The best way to describe what I saw is to write down what I told my mom when I came out. I laid my hand out flat, and said, “Here is my cervix.” Then with my other hand, made a fist and punched it onto my outstretched palm and said, “Here is his head.” If Corbin’s head was any closer to my cervix, it would be through it. He has dropped even more, and he’s still ready to go. Great news! And the better news…. My cervix was closed, and thick, and firm. Gross right? But thin, soft, mushy, or open would be bad at this point. Well, not bad, but it is definitely a good sign that I am 0% effaced and 0cm dilated, and it proved that these contractions that I am feeling are just practice labor… false labor… Braxton Hicks… whatever I want to call them (try, “annoying”!). They are nothing to be alarmed about. So I asked Dr. Poliakin, “Then what am I watching for? Your Bacardi 151 rule does not apply now…” He told me a few appointments ago to watch for contractions that last a minute or longer, are five minutes apart, and that frequency for at least one hour…. THEN I can call him, go to his office, or go to the hospital, depending on what time of the day it is. He smiled at me and simply said, “Just come in when your water breaks then.” He dubbed me as one of the lucky ones who gets painful BH’s. Awesome.
Many positives came from this though…. No early baby (great!), the exit door is looking like it’s almost locked closed (awesome!), Corbin is still head-down and engaged (yay!), and I do not have anything weird going on that would require me to be on bed rest (thank you!!!!). Also, I have lost one pound since my last appointment. I was surprised that I hadn’t gained, as this is supposedly the last big weight gain for Corbin.
The Braxton Hicks continued every five minutes, for a minute long each time, until Saturday night.
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