When I started moving today at 5:15, still in a lot of pain,
I should’ve realized then, today was not going to be an ordinary day.
But, stubborn as can be, I tried to push through. I got
ready for school (slowly) and headed out the door.
I was determined not to call the doctor. Stretching and
carrying two boys; I’m gonna feel pain, right? What’s the sense in calling? My
only worry was the pain was on the left side, right where you’ve been camping
out Baby Miracle B and I hadn’t felt you move much this morning (although your
brother was going crazy). Once I felt you kick a couple times, I felt reassured that
everything was fine.
By 8 o’clock my thinking had changed and I was on the phone with
my doctor. The pain was just intensifying and I still had the whole day ahead
of me. After talking to a nurse, she let me know she’d check in with my doctor
and get back to me.
Finally, at 11:00 I heard back with my doctor’s strong
recommendation to sit, put up my feet, and drink plenty of fluids. I told her I
would oblige, however I am a teacher and that it could be difficult to get a
sub this late in the day. I asked if it was necessary for me to go home, or
could I just take it easy at school. Again, she had to check in with the doctor
first and would call me right back.
3o minutes later, I was at my computer typing up emergency
sub plans and heading out for the day. A one day bed rest was absolutely
necessary and if it didn’t give me any relief in a few hours, into the office I
was to go.
Well, by 2:20 I felt much better, but my stomach was really
tightening with what I thought were Braxton hicks contractions. So, onto yet
another phone call! Sure enough, the nurse thought I was having actual
contractions and needed to start tracking them. She said if one more or if more
consistent, I needed to come in immediately. She reassured me that contractions
like this are normal, but since we are having twins, she wanted to play it
safe.
So, at 3:00 when I had another contraction, I called back and
spoke with a third nurse. Oh no, it’s perfectly normal to have contractions. As
long as they aren’t painful and are sporadic you will be fine. She just encouraged
me to call back if I had 5 within the hour. At 3:27 (an hour and seven
minutes), I had my 5th contraction and called back. Again, I was
told no need to worry. At 3:53, I had my 5th contraction in 53
minutes and made yet another phone call!
“Okay Courtney, we need you to come on in to labor and delivery.”
Let me just say, even though I knew they were just being precautious, those are
words you never want to hear at 21 weeks pregnant. While I can’t wait to meet
you sweet boys, you are not ready to make an arrival yet!
So, with tears in my eyes, I frantically gathered myself
together and headed out towards the hospital. Thank God for an incredible
family! Aunt Aubrey had been by my side all afternoon, guiding me to make each
new phone call and continually checking in with my doctor to keep you boys
safe. Around 3:30 my parents had arrived too and were there when we got the
word to head out.
I was grateful to have them drive me down to the hospital so
that I didn’t have to make the drive alone. While on our way, I finally got the
chance to talk to your daddy (who had been texting and talking to Aunt Aubrey
while I had been working things out with the doctor). The second I heard his voice, I began to cry, feeling so comforted to be talking to him and knowing he was on his way too. His first words were, “So,
you’re such a planner that you needed a 10 – 15 week early test run, huh? Okay.
That’s fine. Are you timing this too, figuring out how long it’ll take us to
get to the hospital when we do this for real in a few months?” Through my
nervous tears, I finally let out a chuckle. I so appreciated his sense of humor
in a moment of concern. And it wasn’t insensitive humor. You could hear the
worry and concern in his voice. It was a, let me try to make this better for
you sense of humor, and I absolutely loved it!
Once we arrived to the hospital, we were quickly taken back to a room and settled in. As in the past, I got to sport my fancy gown and enjoyed being strapped to a thousand different monitors: two for each of your heart rates (which was pretty tricky to find), one to monitor contractions, and a blood pressure monitor as well. I was beyond thrilled to hear both of your heartbeats and see you on the ultrasound, wiggling around!
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| gadgets galore! |
Sure enough, I had a contraction not long after arriving and both the nurse and computer quickly identified it as a true contraction. Just a few minutes later my regular doctor came in (she happened to be on call tonight -- a small blessing in the middle of this scare!) to examine me. Again, I happened to have another contraction and she too confirmed it as such. She also confirmed that I wasn't dilating, so she was comfortable in believing I wasn't actually going into labor, but just having irregular contractions.
Even still, she put me on a prescription to slow them down and wanted me to stay (possibly through the night) to monitor my contractions. After two hours, they decided that while the contractions hadn't stopped completely, they had slowed and lessened. So, we got the okay to head home and would be returning in the morning for further testing to determine if bed rest is in my future or not.
I am so thankful that tonight went okay. I am most thankful to have heard both of your heartbeats and see your sweet bodies kicking and moving around. I am thankful that you are both still healthy. I am thankful for my family who dropped everything to help take care of me (and you all) today. I pray tomorrow we come up with a game plan to help keep me healthier, so that I can keep you both healthy!
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| Hospital company: Daddy, Zsu Zsu, and Paka |
