Ted and I had an interesting night last night. We got in the car to go to a friends' house...we were taking them dinner since they just had a baby. Armed with a big pot of taco soup, cheese, chips, and avacados, we braved the wet and traffic-filled roads. The traffic was absolutely crazy on Friday night. I don't know why except that it had been raining all day. Perhaps there had been several wrecks on 75...for whatever reason, the cars were going at a crawling pase, which threatened our already late arrival. I could feel the stress rising in my blood. This week had not been an easy one for me. I had allowed errands, late night work meetings, Christmas parties, traffic, and anxiety to rob me of peace. I hadn't stopped running around since Monday morning, and I could feel the walls closing in on me as I knew my life was only getting busier.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the anxiety, and the cramp that had been attacking my belly. Just then, I remembered bending over at the Christmas card kiosk, about an hour earlier, with the same painful cramp. Matter of fact, I had felt it at the grocery store too. Cramps are normal with pregnancy, but I was pretty sure that they shouldn't be lasting that long. I told Ted and he immediately pulled out his cell phone and called the doctor. "Don't bother her at this time of night! I'm sure it will go away." Thankfully, he didn't listen to me. The doctor told me to go to the hospital and because of the traffic, Ted and I were literally a second away from the turn.
The nurses strapped monitors across my belly and noticed that I had been having contractions. They timed them at 6 minutes apart. Yikes! That isn't a good sign at 26 weeks. The contractions began to increase to 2 minutes apart, which made us all uncomfortable. I felt like I was having a bad period. Ted kept asking me what channel I wanted to watch on the T.V., and all I could think about was trying to breath. They checked my cervix and discovered that it had not dilated at all...which was really promising. The nurses were also encouraged that my cramps were really isolated and I had no spotting (sorry if I am getting graphic...feel free to scroll down to the conclusion). They told us that they were concerned but not alarmed...nobody really knew how to predict what was going to happen. Ted and I just grabbed hands and prayed for the safety of our baby. Even though we were both a little frightened, we knew and trusted that nothing would happen to the baby outside of God's perfect plan.
I spent the night at the hospital so they could keep an eye on me. It was super sweet to watch Ted turn into a servant-hearted and concerned husband. He ran to the house to get my personal things, came back and neatly placed everything around the room. My houseshoes on the floor, my water, cranberry juice, chapstick and cell phone by the bed, my tooth paste by the sink...he even brought my stuffed dog and positioned my pillows just right...I felt like a little girl getting tucked in. I have the greatest husband, and I am constantly reminded of what a gift it is to share life with him. I begged him to go home since the nurse was giving me a sleep aid anyway.
The morning brought encouraging news as my contractions had stopped. They gave me a couple of steriod shots, to jumpstart the baby's lung development (just in case). I was sent home on strict bed rest...but just for a few days until I see my doctor on Monday. Looks like I'll be eating lots of Taco soup...sorry Estee!!
The one thing I have told people that I could NEVER do is bed rest...isn't God funny? He always challenges my perspectives. A friend of mine reminded me the other day, as we were talking about delivery, that every woman needs to go into that experience with loose expectations. Even though this may not boil down exactly as I expected, God is in control and His ways are always better than mine. B-Kaps, one day I hope you read this, and I hope you know that all of my friends and family prayed for your safe arrival! You are precious to us, already!!
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