Labor and Delivery

After dealing with what I believed to be Braxton Hicks contractions and pelvic pressure, I called the triage nurse at the OB's office. At their urging, I went to the hospital to be monitored. I was checked into OB triage right away and hooked up to fetal monitors for a bit. I knew that as soon as I took a moment to rest the contractions would stop... and I was right. Once I laid down in the hospital bed, not a single contraction occurred. I was continuing to have pelvic pressure, but it definitely wasn't as bad as the pressure I was experiencing Monday night. The OB wanted to release me, but he wanted to see more activity from baby #2. I haven't even met this child yet, but she is a defiant little girl! She was snoozing so the nurse decided to pump me full of apple juice to get her going. Within 15-20 minutes, baby #2 was on the move. After about 2-hours of being monitored, we were finally released. I was given instructions to rest until my next OB appointment... next week. The instructions also said no lifting and limited amounts of walking. Awesome.

I haven't been placed in bed rest but I have been struggling to maintain a limited level of activity. How am I supposed to entertain a toddler, when I'm supposed to be resting on the couch? How am I supposed to get my 25-pound toddler in and out of the crib, when I'm not supposed to be lifting anything? I suppose limiting myself as much as humanly possible is my overall best bet, but it sure isn't practical. I'm really hoping things calm down and the OB clears me for regular activity next week... fingers crossed.

Fortunately, Jessica (the babysitter) was here today so I didn't have to worry about who would be taking care of Bella in my absence. Bella didn't seem at all concerned that I was leaving and waved good-bye as I walked out the door. Bella seems to have a lot of fun with Jessica and that makes it so much easier to leave when I need to. Jessica is also super helpful around the house and emptied all of our trash cans and vacuumed and mopped the floors (without me having to ask). She is AWESOME!

Grandma Ruth came over in the afternoon to help me with Bella. Everything was going great and I was getting plenty of rest until something unexpected happened. After taking a sip of hot tea, I suddenly felt ill and without any warning, I proceeded to vomit all over myself. Seriously?!? That pretty much summed up how my day had been going and was the icing on the cake.

But the highlight of my day?!? The aerated, crushed ice at the hospital. Oh it was so delicious! Chewing on ice has always been a bad habit of mine and it's a bad habit I've passed on to my child. I guess it's the little things in
life that matter most... or it's just turning lemons into lemonade.

Hopefully there aren't any more trips to labor and delivery until baby #2 is really ready to make her debut. Until then, it's back to the couch and more rest for this mama.

Love always,
Ian, Kim, Bella & Baby #2