Kevin issued me a 5 yard penalty this weekend..... False Start.
Around 7:30 Friday night I started having serious back pain. When I say serious, I was having difficulty standing up straight and couldn't breath in fully. We did our best to distract me from the pain by watching a movie (Captain Philips, which if I recall correctly was a great movie, but my memory is foggy. I was up using the bathroom every 20 minutes or so due to a pinching sensation). Heating pad, cold compress, nothing was alleviating this pain, which felt like it was getting more severe. I was beginning to feel contractions (likely brought on by my discomfort). We had both been on the computer reading about back labor, which was my biggest fear. We discussed going into the hospital but I refused.
Hours went by and we decided to try getting to sleep around 2 AM. I was moaning and groaning and having a difficult time breathing because my back was hurting so much. Kevin got me up around 3AM and had me pacing the living room, adamant that if the pain didn't subside we'd be going into the hospital. He went ahead and packed the bags in the car, and the dogs were in a commotion seeing the luggage. Again, I refused and agreed that if I didn't feel better after a warm bath that we would be going in. After the bath, I was still in pain, but told Kevin I wanted to try going to sleep. Somehow I was able to pass out for a couple of hours.
When Kevin got up the next morning and I was still in pain, we discussed the hospital again. It had become more of a "OK, now we just need to make sure nothing is seriously wrong." So he called my parents and asked them to come pick up the dogs, I was still hesitant to go, but we needed to see what was going on. My parents spent a little time with me while Kevin had to run and do some work.
I kept praying the pain would subside because I really didn't want to go to the hospital unless we were CERTAIN it was labor. I wasn't certain, but I didn't know what this back pain was.
After my parents left with the pups, I attempted to take another nap. Around 2PM on Saturday Kevin and I made the executive decision to just Go. I knew I'd be sent home, I even verbalized it, but what if this back pain was something serious? I'm not a doctor!!
It was an anxiety-provoking 30 minute drive. I was still in pain, and was having difficulty walking. As directed earlier in pregnancy, Kevin popped out the phone to take a video on the way to the hospital. I can't imagine what I look like in it, but I know one day we will look back and laugh.
We got all checked in and I got strapped up to the monitor. They ran some tests that all came back clear. I had read about kidney problems in the area my pain was radiating from, so I was happy nothing was wrong there. Strangely the Braxton Hicks I was having earlier in the day had subsided (isn't that how it always goes?), though my back was still in pain. Luckily that wasn't showing up as contractions, which was my main concern.
We did get to spend time listening to our baby living in there. It was crazy watching Baby P's heart rate constantly. We hear it every week at our appointments, but only for a brief moment. We knew she was active, but seeing her compared to other rooms' babies made it clear just how active she really is!! Her heart rate would go anywhere from the 130's up to I believe it topped out at 192!! 192! Hill, valley, hill, valley, what in the heck was this little one doing in there?! Even the nurse seemed to think it was active. Then she got the hiccups, which was crazy to hear on the monitor... it sounded like she was flicking a microphone. Oh this little one is going to give us a run for our money, I just know it.
Everything came back clear. I was having mild contractions but nothing to admit me. I was offered the possibility of pain meds for the back pain, which I declined. After the nurse touched base with my doc, we were sent on our merry way.
Overall it was definitely quite the experience. Kevin got in a practice run with packing the bags and
getting us to where we needed to go. He seemed pretty put together, which is comforting. The whole experience has definitely made the waiting game a bit more daunting, and it has definitely made having a baby even more of a reality! Holy shit we're going to have a daughter within the next two weeks!
No comments:
Post a Comment