False Alarm

So it's been a long weekend around here. Kevin and the kids headed up to Wyoming for the Garrett Reunion on Friday morning. I didn't go since I'm 2 weeks from my due date, and I just had a feeling that I better stay close to home.

Well, Saturday morning at 4:00 am, I went to use the restroom, and thought that my water had broken. There was just extra trickling. (Sorry if this is TMI.) I had finished "going", then more water would trickle out with a contraction.

Anywhoo, my adrenaline immediately started going, and I called Kevin saying I think my water had broken, but I wasn't sure. He was a 3 1/2-4 hour drive away. I didn't know if it was the real thing, so I told him to wait until I talked to the Dr, or went into the hospital, then we would decide what to do.

So I called my Doctor, who said to just to go straight to the hospital if I think my water had broken. I called my mom, she came over, and drove me to the hospital. We got there around 5:00am. They checked me in, got the monitors on my belly, and I was contracting every 2 minutes consistently. The contractions were pretty strong, but they didn't really hurt.

I called Kevin and he said he was already on his way. I asked why he decided to leave before I found out if it was really labor, and he just said he'd rather just get here as soon as he could. He took the kids from the tent to his brother's trailer, and they offered to watch the kids for us. By this time I was sure I was in Labor because of the consistent contractions, so I thought it was a good idea that he came home.

They checked my cervix, and I was only dilated to a 1, and she said my cervix was still pretty thick. They tested the fluid with one of those test strips, and said it was negative. It was not amniotic fluid. So they did another test with a cotton swab, and we waited for the results.

I was so excited and nervous. I thought, this is it! His birthday will be July 9, 2011. He'll be lying in that little baby bed later tonight. I looked around the hospital room and imagined what it would be like in a few hours when I'd be pushing him out.

I've never gone into Labor on my own before, so I was excited and happy that my body was finally doing it! I was induced at 41 weeks with Bailee, 42 weeks with Trinidee, and 39 weeks (because I was tired of going over), with Ryker. I'm only 38 weeks with this one, so I was pleasantly surprised that this was happening early!

Well, the test results for the swab also came back negative. I was completely shocked! I swear there was extra "leakage" happening with every contraction, but it wasn't amniotic fluid!? But I thought, okay, well, I'm still in Labor even though my water hasn't broken, because I'm having consistent contractions every 2 minutes.

They checked me again after I had been there for over an hour, and I was still only dilated to a 1+. So the nurse said she would call my Doctor and let me know what she wants to do. The nurse came back and told me the doctor wanted to send me home. I was shocked and SO disappointed. I asked, "what about the regular contractions?" The nurse said that you can be having regular contractions, but if they aren't strong enough to progress you, or make you dilate, then they don't keep you. She said it's possible they can get stronger if I go home and walk around, and that maybe I'd be back at the hospital later that day or the next. I was just bummed.

So I called Kevin, who was near Echo reservoir by then. We had a hard time deciding whether or not he should turn back around, get the kids and all of our stuff packed up and head home, or if he should just continue on his way home. I was still concerned, so he just kept heading toward SLC.

They checked me out of the hospital, and my mom drove me home. I just laid down in my bed, feeling totally defeated, frustrated & confused. Kevin got home soon after, right around 8am. He plopped on the bed, and we both fell asleep. (He had gone to bed around 1am, and I called him at 4, so he was going on only 3 hours of sleep). I didn't sleep well, since I was still having contractions, and from the excitement of hoping maybe I was still in Labor.

I tried reading, sleeping, watching TV, sleeping some more, but I just couldn't. I was so tired. The contractions eventually stopped. Finally after a little nap, we decided that since I wasn't contracting anymore, it would be a good time for Kevin to head back up to Wyoming to get the kids and our stuff. I would talk to him as soon as he got there, and if anything was happening with me, he would come straight home. If not, he would stay at the reunion until Sunday and just come home Sunday morning, rather than making that drive 3 times in one day.

So he took me to my parents & headed back up to Wyoming. About 15 minutes after he left, I started having contractions again, and this time they were painful. I immediately started crying out of frustration, and I called him telling him to turn around and come back. He came back and took me home. That's when the painful, in-the-back contractions started. And they were consistent again. Every 3-4 minutes, sometimes every 2 minutes, sometimes less than 1 minute between each one. I could hardly breathe through them. I felt like my ribs would break!

So after about an hour of those, I called my doctor again. I told her I didn't want to go back to the hospital if they were just going to send me home again, and asked what I should do. She said to take a hot shower for 20 minutes. If that sped up my contractions, I was probably in Labor. If it slowed them down, then I probably wasn't. So I did that. My contractions were consistent until a few minutes after the shower, then they slowed down. So I just waited some more. They never picked back up.

Kevin and I went for a walk around 9pm, then went to Chili's at 10:00pm to eat. I was exhausted, so I went to bed and slept really good. Today we've been just relaxing, waiting to see if anything is going to happen, which it hasn't.

I have an appointment tomorrow morning, and I'm curious to see if those painful contractions progressed me at all. I just really hope I don't go a week overdue again. That would mean I still have 3 more weeks to go. It's just harder when you have your hopes up, thinking it was going to happen, only to have them shot down.

I'm just confused! But I'm still thankful that I'm able to carry a healthy baby to full term. He's still moving around in there, letting me know he's okay. It's probably just my body's way of getting ready for the real thing.

I thank all of the family up in Wyoming that took care of our other kids. I feel bad and kind of dumb for making Kevin come home, although I wouldn't want to have to go through this all alone! I'm so glad he was here by my side. He's such a good husband! I'm glad my mom & family was here to help & support me too.

Baby's just being a little tease I guess. ;)