Friday, December 5, 2008

Scary story with a Happy ending

*Disclaimer--although this post starts with words like "pain" "worried" and "pre-term labor" and involves a trip to the hospital, everything is absolutely fine with me, Kendra and Grant*

Well, not long after I reported my fun of the Third Trimester Blues, I started noticing some things that started gradually but eventually got bad enough that I was in pain and worried. The Sunday before Thanksgiving, there was one spot on my left side towards the bottom of my belly that was really uncomfortable and although I had already felt it, Sunday it was much worse. After we got home from church it stopped being just uncomfortable and started being painful and I found myself sitting down double-over and breathing hard to find some relief while Grant frantically clicked through Google search results to see if he could find some piece of information that would be useful in helping me. We tried Tylenol, which seemed to take the edge off for a little while but when the pain came back in full force an hour later, we decided to stop messing around and call the doctor.

I was very surprised when my doctor's partner picked up so late on a Sunday evening (I caught him doing paperwork) but I spoke to him about what was going on and he said that it didn't sound like I was having contractions (because the pain was localized in one spot and lasting a long time), but told me to come into the hospital just in case and they'd put me on a fetal monitor and check everything out.
He said especially since it was my first baby. I kind of think that means, "Since you've never done this before and have no idea what you're doing or what's really going on, we'll make sure it's all okay."

Did we mention that if you drive south on the street we live on, after half a mile the road literally turns into the entrance to the parking lot of the hospital where I'll be delivering? Naaaice.

And, everything was fine. I was starting to feel foolish once they did put the monitor on me because by that point there wasn't any pain at all. Actually...it was kind of nice because a doctor came in and did an ultrasound so we got to see our baby again and everything is looking great and she's growing just beautifully--even starting to measure a little earlier than her first due date and she is for sure a Kendra Kay and not an Elliot Landon. They had us wait for an hour to test me for a UTI, which came out clear. We spent the time cuddled on the hospital bed listening to our baby's heartbeat. It was really neat to point out to Grant that whenever the beat was interrupted by what sounded like static, that it was the baby moving and I could feel it. He was really surprised to hear how much she moves around! I was a little too, because I can't feel absolutely everything she does.

But, the test came out clear and we were back home and in bed by the usual time. The experience was actually an overall pleasant one because we got to see the rooms in the maternity ward and they're really nice--they do the labor and delivery all in the same room. They just pull away the bottom half of the bed when it's time for the mother to start pushing--and there's a TV with a DVD player/VCR and a stereo, even a mini-fridge and everything. We were really impressed. We just snuggled and listened to our baby for an hour. I almost actually fell asleep.

However, the best part about it was we found the miracle cure for what ails me.

It's so simple, it's ridiculous.



WATER!

I've long since known and personally experienced that there are a few basic rules to taking good care of yourself.

*Get plenty of rest.
*Get proper nutrition.
*Get ample exercise.
*Drink plenty of water.

I've been pretty good about having all of those in check, especially over the last few months but we've kicked the water up a notch and have noticed dramatic results. I replaced my five or six 3/4 pint glasses with 7 or 8 3/4 quart glasses a day and ooooohhh my. We measured it out to make sure I'm not actually drinking too much, but when we asked the doctor she said I did the best thing by starting with water and taking Tylenol and that in the future I should just drink "as much as you can stand". So we took it to heart. Apparently although pregnant women should be getting at least 2.5 liters of water a day, pushing 1.5 gallons doesn't do you any harm.

Hardly! Right now the only thing that's bothersome about pregnancy for me is maneuvering my big belly. Literally. I feel awesome. I think I was already doing pretty well because I had the other things in check (I know we make fun of the number of supplements I take but I really do think they're making a difference), but now that this hydration thing is in check there is absolutely nothing stopping me!

I mean, I still waddle and even more with each passing day. There are times I literally catch myself with a strut that resembles that of Warwick Davis. There's also the simple logistics of having a pregnant belly--I still ask Grant to pick things up off the floor for me when he's around. And when I wake up in the mornings my lower back is usually pretty stiff, but I just get up and start waddling around and it loosens right up after 10 minutes and doesn't bother me at all for the rest of the day. Of course, there is still the frequent trips to the bathroom but that is a price I very, very gladly pay for the freedom from almost all other discomfort. No pain of any kind unless I'm not getting enough water and then all I have to do and guzzle a big glass and with in a few minutes...nothing. And since my belly is constantly so full of water my insatiable appetite has all but disappeared! It's a grand and glorious thing.

So, even though we were a little worried when the doctor said, "Come in" we are feeling soooo very blessed we did! Gosh, I can't imagine whining about that pain in my side for three whole months!

She's still not due for more than two months, so there's plenty of time for other things to pop up and give me grief but I'm enjoying this while it lasts!

6 comments:

Danielle said...

Do not feel foolish. I was having mild braxton-hicks ctx with Justin at 35 weeks and I kept thinking they'd go away. HOURS later I finally went in to get checked, only to find out I was 5 cm. Justin was born that night and spent 12 days in the NICU. Glad you went in! Better safe than sorry!

And that's awesome that you're so close to the hospital! Convenient!

(P.S. Are you taking red raspberry leaf tea?)

Amanda said...

I'm so glad things turned out alright. Take care of yourself in the icky Chicago winter!

Seth said...

I'm glad you guys called the doctor and went in and that everything is ok.

I was just thinking while I read this post about how vastly superior a real doctor's knowledge is to mine. I don't know what I would have said if you had called me and asked what I thought, but there is this thing called "the medical student's curse" where every med student jumps straight to the really rare and horrible outcomes right away. As an example, Simeon didn't poop for a little while when he was a newborn and right away I was convinced he had this horrible disease called Hirshsprung's Disease.

The last thing I ever expect when hearing a case or a complaint is that everything is normal which is actually the case 90% of the time. :) We don't study "normal". That comes from experience--of which I have almost nothing.

Anyway, sounds like you had a nice little excitement. Thats always good to spice up your week!

If you want a good laugh, you can ask me sometime all the things that were running through my head as I read your post.

Love you guys! Have fun in your last 2 months! There is a super happy ending to the 9 month story.

Kristina said...

We are so glad that everything turned out to be okay. Better safe than sorry :P It is also great that you live so close to the hospital. We lived on the same street as Labor and Delivery and only about 2 blocks away. Makes the whole getting to the hospital thing one thing that you don't have to stress about as much.

Ashley said...

Yeah, the close hospital thing is especially nice when you live in Chicago and are due in February...I'm so paranoid there is going to be a huge storm AS I go into labor. But even if we did have to call an ambulance, it could get the half mile down the road and back in time to let me have my baby in the right place. :)

The Fernandez Family said...

Hey grant and Ashley. Grant, I know you guys are huge health gurus and research fanatics...I think I didn't realize how close Ashley was to me in her pregnancy term and I was wondering if you guys had done any research on immunization shots? I put a long post about it on our family blog and have gotten a few responses, but I was wondering what you guys thought on the matter before I take the post down, I hope that's not strange to ask =S Our blog site is dpfernandezfamily.blogspot.com
and Ashley I know I don't know you =S but feel free to share your insight!