The one thing I really remember from Katie's pregnancy is how hard this trimester can be. Almost all the time I'm wondering: is that something to worry about? Is that a contraction? Do I call the doctor? Do I go to the hospital? Do I ignore it? It all becomes very very frustrating and overwhelming - especially if you deal with pre-term labor.
I feel like I'm a bit caught in the middle right now between taking care of Katie and taking care of my baby. Last night, I had a lot of contractions over about an hour and a half. They were strong, they were painful, and they were regular and getting closer. After starting out at 7 minutes apart, they eventually made their way down to 2 minutes before I finally took a pill. The pill stopped them pretty quickly, so that's good. Now what? The doctor had said to let her know if something changed - they got stronger, more regular, etc.;however, Brian was at that appointment with me. I interpreted that as, the next day during regular hours, update me. He interpreted it as, at your next appointment, just let me know.
On top of that frustration (which we argued severely about), there's the issue of the FFT. If I do call, it's likely that I would have to go in for the FFT and it sounds like that test has a really high likelihood of a false positive. In fact, everything I'm reading on it says it's far better at predicting who will not give birth in the next two weeks than predicting who will. Don't get me wrong, it would be awesome to get a negative and know I'm pretty well free and clear for two week, but what if that positive shows up? Then I'm on bed rest. I don't have enough sick time to cover the rest of the semester and I wouldn't be able to do anything with Katie - no Halloween, no pumpkin farm, no dance lessons, no going to the park - nothing. How do I choose between making sure Jellybean is ok and making sure Katie still has a mom who can do things with her for the next six weeks?
Obviously, the contractions stopped, which is good; however, what if they started any dilation or changes? Once dilation starts, the chance of your water breaking increases - and that's what cause Katie to come early.
So that's where I am right now. Do I call or not? Do I chance a positive and bed rest? I don't know. I just don't know.
I am a big fan of modern medicine, so I always error on the side of calling the doctor. So, I say "call the doctor" and the doctor will tell you if it's nothing to worry about. I don't think you need to call the doctor in the middle of the night if the pill worked, but definitely call the next day.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine how hard it would be to be on bedrest for a second pregnancy, since I only have one child, but we want you and Jellybean to be safe.
Just my thoughts--feel free to ignore.
I called this morning and now I'm waiting on a response. I'll keep you posted :)
ReplyDeleteUgh. What an awful position to be in. Please do let us know- I'm thinking lots of un-labouring thoughts for you!
ReplyDeleteNo call back today. Trying to figure out what to do now.
ReplyDeleteHello from ICLW :) We're due at nearly the same time-- I'm 30w4d today! I'm having twins, though, so I'll likely go earlier than the end of November.
ReplyDeleteI've been having BH like CRAZY, but no "real" contractions that hurt. I'd definitely call your doctor-- the worst that happens is they say "Hey, that's no big deal." They're not going to get mad at you for calling! I call all the time, so I understand the ambivalence because no one wants to be "that patient," but my doctor's office is really understanding and always puts my mind at ease.