A Little Scare

So I've mentioned like 100 times that this pregnancy is totally different!  It's been great and easy and has just flown by... until a couple days ago. On Thursday I started feeling "off"- sometimes I'd have weird pain, sometimes I'd get clammy and dizzy, and sometimes I'd just feel like I was going to throw up.  I've had no appetite and really really bad heartburn, too.  And I've been having lots and lots of Braxton Hicks contractions.  Some of them have been really strong too-- not painful, but enough to catch my breath or stop me in my tracks.

So the side story, is that at my 28 week appointment, when I was telling my midwife how great I was, etc... she told me that technically it was time for me to start coming every 2 weeks-- but since this was #2 and since I was doing so well, that I could stretch the next appointment to 3 or 4 weeks.  And when I went to set the appointment, I was set on getting one with her because she is my FAVORITE, so it actually ended up being 5 weeks later-- at 33 weeks.... which is/was scheduled for tomorrow....

So back to being "off"-- I finally called the office and spoke with a nurse and told them what was going on, and they had me come in today.  And then all morning I basically had non-stop contractions.  It was the most intense that it had been- but still wasn't painful or actual labor.

So by now, it's probably obvious that I'm a worrier.  Apparently, I get this from my great grandmother Lucille-- my Dad calls me Lucille anytime I start to get worked up or nervous or anxious.  It's his way of telling me to calm down.  For instance, the other night, when there were storms across the south, as soon as our sirens started going off, me and the boys went to sleep in the garage (where our house is underground) while Chad went outside to watch!  If someone says they'll be here at a certain time and then they are late and not answering the phone, I assume it's a car wreck, etc etc etc.... WORRIER!

So anyway, by the time I was getting close to the doctor, I had myself so worked up that I was sure that I was going to have to have a c-section today, birth a 4 lb baby, stay in the NICU for weeks, and barely be able to hold myself together-- all while Chad was working and unable to make it to the hospital-- because that's realistic, right??

Anyway, I have started to dilate slightly, and I am having a lot of contractions, but the baby is under no stress, his heart rate is wonderful, and I show no signs of real labor.  So I have to 1) eat more protein 2) drink more water 3) cut my activity in half.

Did you read number 3?  Um.... I have a 20 month old-- how exactly should I go about explaining that to him?  And what about the laundry?  And dinner?  Do you think my family will be ok with no dinner or clean clothes for the next 7 weeks?  I kid, because obviously, it just needs to be a temporary life style change and Chad and Gabe are already helping tremendously-- but the thought of cutting my "activity level" in half, with my personality, just makes me chuckle.  And makes me crazy.

But the bottom line, as my doctor said, is that my body is telling me something, and I can either react to it now, or be put on bed rest-- my choice.  Um......... I choose to take it easier. She also thinks I'll easily make it full term if I just adjust a bit-- so really-- this is not a big deal, and maybe even a blessing in disguise that I'm required to chill out, but I did pull a Chicken Little today as I drove and convinced myself that surely the sky was falling.