25 Weeks...what an eventful update!

Well comes the 25 week picture.  It's a few days late because we've been crazy busy this week.  I took it on Thursday but didn't get it posted.  We've had something going on almost every evening this week.  Last night was the first night that we was supposed to be relaxing, but that so didn't happen. 

Matthew was in St. Louis for work, and had planned to stay over with one of his friends so he didn't have to drive all the way there and back in the same day.  Those plans all changed when I came down with a stomach bug.  I was feeling nauseous all morning while getting ready for work, but it was too late to call in to work, and I really didn't want to waste the few sick days I have left, since most of them are being used for maternity leave.  Breakfast did not settle well on my stomach, but I knew I had to eat something, so I tried to eat as much as I could.  I got to work and was still a little queasy but was pushing through and trying to ignore it the best I could.  About 15 minutes after my kids arrived I couldn't ignore it any longer.  I wound up getting sick...lovely I know.  I stuck it out during the rest of the day because I didn't get sick anymore, but I definitely did not feel well.  As the afternoon drug on I was having stomach cramping.  I'd been trying to decide whether to call the OB or not and  wasn't going to, but then the cramping started.  I left as soon as my kids were gone for the day instead of staying through contract time.  On my way home I left a message for the nurses at my OB's office and climbed into bed while I waited for a call back.  When she called about an hour later I described all the symptoms I'd been having and she told me that the cramping did concern her a bit.  It could mean that I was starting to get dehydrated since I hadn't eaten or drank much all day.  She then suggested that I go to a Prompt Care or the ER to get checked out.  I knew Matthew was on his way home, but wouldn't be back until almost 7:00 and asked if it was ok to wait that long.  She told me it would be ok, and to try and keep drinking.

Matthew gets home around 6:30, we both changed clothes and got in the car.  We headed to the hospital because most of the Prompt Cares were closed, and the one that was still open didn't have an ultrasound machine, should we have needed it.  They told us to go to the hospital.  When we arrived I asked the person at the info desk where to go for the ER.  When I told her I was 25 weeks along she told me that we would bypass the ER all together and go straight to labor and delivery.  The ER doctors would've sent me up there anyway because I was past 20 weeks.  She put me in a wheel chair and took me upstairs.  Once we got up there, they gave me a gown and had me climb into the bed.  They hooked me up to all the fetal monitors and took info from both of us.  Thankfully our little guy was very active the whole time, and his heartbeat was nice and strong.  He was not a fan of the fetal monitors and kept trying to kick them off.  It was very reassuring to hear him move around and hear his heartbeat. 

The nurse showed me on the printouts where I was having some stomach cramping and she said it was causing some slight uterine contractions, but they weren't serious, just uncomfortable to the baby and me.  She talked to one of the midwives in my OB's practice and got instructions from her.  There has been a stomach virus going around, and they've seen several patients with it lately.  She also told the nurse to do an internal check just to make sure the stomach cramps didn't start any real contractions.  Thankfully they hadn't.  So we had our instructions and they sent us on our way a little over an hour later.

We weren't exactly happy to be spending a Friday night in the L&D unit at the hospital but we were both very relieved when everything checked out fine.  Here's hoping that's our last trip to L&D until late December!  Now on to the fun part.  Here's this week's picture :o)