That being said, I have also tended to ignore what my body was telling me. I mean, everything had been fine, so I always went on with my day like normal: rarely stopping to rest, eat extra, or just tune in to see what the babies were up to. I could go whole days and barely notice a kick!
Apparently, I could also go whole days not noticing increasingly regular contractions! This past Friday, after a long week at school, I was casually telling Dan how my tummy had been tight all day. Come to think of it, it had been tight all week! After I kept mentioning it, we decided I should time them. The results were not what I was expecting! After an hour, I had had about 30 contractions, about 2 minutes apart! Not at all painful, but definitely there.
I called the doctor, who said drink lots of water, take a hot shower, lay down, etc...I did all of these things, then timed them for another hour--still two minutes apart! So we headed to labor and delivery at Woman's. In the assessments area, the nurse said I indeed was having regular contractions, which at this point in the pregnancy are likely caused by dehydration or an infection. I got a blood test, urine test, and hooked up to an IV, still in no pain at all.
After a while on the IV, it was clear that dehydration wasn't the problem, because the contractions weren't stopping. My blood and urine tests were completely normal too. At this point it was determined that the contractions weren't really caused by anything, but they did need to come down from 30 an hour!! They gave me a sedative, I slept for a few hours, and when I woke up, they were down to just two per hour! I went home with no restrictions, just to keep watching for regular or frequent contractions, even if they don't hurt.
Of course, I was still having a ton of contractions by the next day, which kept me worried, but they were more "irritability" (less than 45 seconds each), than actual contractions (more than 45 seconds each), so I chose to ignore them until my appointment on Wednesday. Tuesday night I had 15 contractions in an hour that were OVER 45 seconds (and about 15 more that were less than 45...), so I was getting worried again. Keep in mind the note they sent me home from the hospital with Saturday morning says to call with more than 4 in an hour.... But I called and the doc said I could wait til my appt the next day (Wednesday).
At my appointment, my doc was able to do a "fetal fibronectin test," which came back negative, indicating I'm highly unlikely to deliver in the next 2 weeks :) In other words, I have to just grin and bear the contractions, as they aren't going away until I deliver. Fortunately, they don't hurt! (yet).
So it's good to know the babies are doing well and will probably stay put for 6-8 more weeks!
This is the only pic I have of the fond memories (ha) of Friday night. As you can see, I'm busy playing on my phone, when I get a text....from Dan....of this picture that I didn't know he took. Ha, thanks Dan, not!!
Now I have 1 appt with my OB every 2 weeks and 1 appt with Maternal-Fetal Medicine every 3 weeks. My next MFM appt is Monday, which = another ultrasound and weight measurements! According to my last OB appt, which was yesterday, I've gained a full 15 pounds so far, and the babies both have nice, strong heartbeats! Here's how I can best sum up that appointment, with a facebook status that I want to also document in this blog so I can share mommy's craziness with the babies one day:
Dear other people in the Woman's Hospital parking lot, Please don't judge me as I scarf down these three soft tacos from Taco Bell in my car right before my appointment that I'm already 10 minutes late for. Sincerely, 7 months pregnant with twins
-beth
I heard about this earlier... I am so glad everything turned out to be okay! Praying that the next 6-8 weeks goes smoothly. CANNOT wait for the babies to arrive!! :)
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