Oh my! Well- I became a statistic- or rather part of a statistic last night. I was sitting on the couch watching t.v., contemplating what sounded good to eat when I notice that my stomach was tightening and cramping and my lower back was sore. I continued to pay attention to it and it seemed to be happening quite frequently though I couldn't put a real time on it. I decided to check with both Rachel & Kelly (who were both induced) if they could help me with what a contraction felt like.
Rachel told me that she had not been aware of hers but that when she went in to be induced and was hooked up to the monitor they told her that she was having them (contractions). This told me that contractions- at least initially- may not be painful. I left Kelly a message to call me when she could and thought about things some more- all the while my stomach getting tight and feeling different than before.
Jay was working late so I shot him a text message to see if he thought I should page the on-call doctor. He said yes. Dr. Chang was on and he called me back shortly to tell me what a contraction should feel like and confirmed that initially they may not be painful if I was in early labor. He said the only true way was to go to the hospital to get checked. Then I worried that if I did go and wasn't really in labor I would be embarassed. All I knew is that I was feeling something that I had never felt before- no basis for comparison. I finally decided I would bite the bullet, risk embarassment and let Jay know my thoughts. He agreed with me.
I then went to pack the rest of my things and try to get ready to go to the hospital- fully anticipating to drive myself. About that time Kelly called me and said that she'd had a similar experience to what Rachel described- that she actually had cramping/contractions several days before she was induced. Kelly offered to drive me- and I accepted.
Once we got to the hospital everyone was very nice and my nurse was Pam- she was super cool and gave me a lot of good information. She hooked me up to the monitor and said they would watch me for an hour. She also did a pelvic exam and found that I was dilated to 3 cm and still effaced at about 60%. At the end of the hour we found that I had had a few contractions but nothing regular enough to warrant me staying...and apparently about 80% of first time moms go to the hospital too early and get sent home- so that made me feel a little better. Pam also performed a "membrane stripping" which is when a finger(s) is inserted into the cervix and moved around the "water sac" in a 360 degree fashion in an attempt to separate the "water sac" from the lining of the uterus. This is supposed to help release prostaglandins which are needed (whether your body releases them on their own or you are induced) to help contractions and labor along. She told me that she'd had that done before she had her son and that she delivered within 48 hrs afterwards!
So the test will be when we go see Dr. Fuller this afternoon if anything has changed as far as my dilation or effacement. I'll be sure and pass that on.
Back to poor Jay though- he was still working and trying to make it over to the hospital and when I found out they were not keeping me I let him know so he didn't have to come all the way there. Kelly dropped me off (Thanks again Kelly) and I got ready for bed- feeling pretty crampy and sore for the rest of the night. I had the bed to myself because though Jay had made it home he couldn't get off the phone with work- he ended up staying up all night- he literally walked into the bedroom as his alarm clock was going off at it's normal "wake up" time. He finally laid down and I think that during the time that I was getting ready for work his phone must have gone off 4 times! I hope he is getting some sleep now!
Our appointment with Dr. Fuller is in a couple hours- I am anxious to see if anything changed from last night. It is exciting and I just want whatever is supposed to happen to happen.
Ok- that's my update- I'll be sure and update everyone after this appointment- either tonight or more likely tomorrow. Ya'll keep Hudson, Jay & I in your prayers please.
Love ya'll!
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