Bed Rest

Things were getting kind of dull around here, so I decided to spice things up with a trip to the hospital on Friday. When I got home from work that day, I had cramps really low in my abdomen and I had noticed that I was having a lot of contractions. I started timing them and they were a little too regular for my comfort- every 10 minutes and creeping closer. So, I put in a call to my doctor and headed to the hospital to get checked out in Labor and Delivery. Sure enough, by the time they got me checked in, disrobed, and on the monitors, I was having contractions every 2-6 minutes and was starting to dilate. They gave me a shot to stop the contractions and did some other tests to check for infections and they told me that my urine sample was "a little dirty" so they prescribed me an antibiotic and decided to do a urine culture. They discharged me after about 8 hours with strict bed rest instructions.

I spent the weekend doing absolutely nothing, depending strongly on the assistance of my mother and sister to take care of Keira and to keep up my house. This morning I called my doctor's office to check on the results of my urine culture- which was negative for infection. At first I was surprised, until I remembered that when I was about 26 weeks pregnant with Keira, I had a similar trip to Labor and Delivery. When I gave them that urine sample it looked more like fruit punch than pee, but when the culture came back it was also negative for infection. Apparently, during my pregnancies I am notorious for having unexplained blood in my urine with no infection.

I'm not really sure if the mystery bladder ailment is what is causing my issue with preterm labor. I also think I had been on my feet doing WAY too much physical activity in the couple days leading up to my recent hospital visit. Or it could be a combination of the two factors... either way I'd rather not have this baby at only 33 weeks! I have a checkup on Wednesday morning at which time I will be talking to my doctor about his ideas for my future bed rest/activity level. I have a feeling I won't be going back to work, since I have a physical job, but I hope to be able to at least function around home. All I know right now is that I am seriously glad that I did all of the baby preparations in my second trimester. It's going to be all I do to get through the next 7 weeks.

UPDATE 3-28-12

I saw my doctor this morning and he prescribed me some medication to keep my contractions under control and has put me on modified bed rest for the duration of my pregnancy, which means no more work until after my maternity leave.