Every Day, Things Are Getting Better

At this same point in my last pregnancy, I was in the hospital being given shots to stop my pre-term labor.

It started with the usual tiredness and aches, so I went to lie down. In half an hour I was in so much pain I was sobbing and couldn't even call out to Jonathan for help. Eventually, Elena came up to visit me and I told her to go get Daddy. He called the doctor because I could barely talk, they rushed me in at the end of their day and started checking me out. The first thing they had to decide was "is this appendicitis?" There was so much pain and it was all gathered on the right side of my abdomen that this was a serious concern, especially at only 34 weeks. After a few tests they hooked me up to a fetal monitor to see how the baby was doing and discovered that I was having regular contractions. Ah ha! Off I went, across the street, were I got several nurses all to myself and more monitoring. The contractions didn't go away, and this is where the shots came in. I'm not sure what they gave me, but I will say that they burned. Like rubbing alcohol on an open wound, they burned. At least they were only in my arm and not in my rear or belly. A few more hours of waiting, just to make sure it was gone, then I was back home and exhausted.

For the rest of the pregnancy, every twitch and pain had me panicked. Was this labor? With Elena, I hadn't felt a thing until two hours after my water broke (at home) so I had no idea what to look for. I didn't dare take long car trips and even canceled a temple trip I had planned. Every day I could tick off the calendar was one day stronger, healthier and closer to term, just in case it happened again. Finally, I had made it to June (my original goal when getting pregnant--I know I'm weird with the baby planning) and the stress was enough. I asked my doctor for an induction and she complied. It's not her usual way, especially so close to a due date, but I was done.

And now, here I am. I've made it this far without any serious issues, so things are looking good. Every day is one day closer, one day stronger, one day better.