I always thought I was not going to be the over protecting mother that would freak out at the drop of a hat, but it turns out I was wrong. The baby is not even here yet and I am already freaking out about stuff.
The baby is VERY active almost all of the time. Tim wonders how I can sleep at all with the little one moving around so much he has even commented that he doesn’t think the baby ever sleeps. I thought I noticed the baby is active, but when Tim can even notice, it pretty much confirms my idea that the baby is on the active side. I have gotten used to it though. It has never bothered me at all. I actually kind of like to feel the baby move around. There is something about it that just makes me feel happy. There are certain times of day when he/she is more active than other times, but I never go more than an hour with out at least a couple kicks, pushes, or rolls.
I have not been sleeping well at all, and when I do fall asleep it doesn’t last long. Either the baby starts kicking, or I have to go to the bathroom. Around 5:AM Wednesday morning I got up for my 3rd bathroom trip of the night. Before getting out of bed I stretch my legs a bit, and when I did I had a horrible cramping in my left lower abdominal area. I laid still for a few minutes, then I felt fine. So I did what I got up to do, then came back to bed and tried to sleep a little bit more before heading to work.
I finally gave up on the idea of sleeping and headed into work. I noticed in the morning that I had not felt the baby much. Maybe 1 or 2 small kicks, but that was it. I normally have that much (or more) every hour. I tried not to worry about and just thought the baby was resting. Then I grabbed some lunch and came back to work. The afternoons are VERY busy for the baby. He/she wakes up around 1:00 and kicks like crazy for an hour or so, then continues to stretch out and roll around for the rest of the afternoon. The baby will take short 10-20 minute breaks, but the activity is very high. He/she normally takes a nap around the time I head home, then wakes up again around dinner and stays up until Tim and I head to bed. I have gotten very used to the baby, and when after lunch yesterday the baby was still very inactive I began to worry. The baby was kicking some, but not much. I think I had felt maybe 4-5 kicks all day. By 3:00 I was really stressing out. Around 3:30 I decided I could not take it anymore and that I should call the doctor to see if I should be worried or if it was normal. If it had not been for the cramp that I had in the morning I like to think I would not have gotten so freaked out, but who knows.
So I called the doctor, really hoping to have her tell me I am over reacting, it’s totally normal, and don’t worry about it. But instead I am told to go to the hospital for monitoring. So I thought I was freaked out before, not I am REALLY freaking out. I called Tim, told him what was going on then I left for the hospital. I met Tim there and we were very quickly taken to Labor & Delivery. They got me hooked up and monitored all of the baby and my stats very closely. They were a little concerned at first because my heart rate was really high, but they understood how that could happen in the freaked out state I was in. They had me lie down and breathe for a while and gave me some juice. My heart rate started to come back down and then the baby started moving around. It was only a few minutes later before the baby was back to his/her normal activity. He/she started moving around a lot and the nurses told me that everything was fine. They said sometimes the baby can get into a new spot where the movements are not as easy to feel, and if I just lay down and rest that I will normally be able to feel the baby again. They said his/her stats looked great and that the baby is healthy and strong. They kept me hooked up for a little under an hour, just to be sure, but decided it was a false alarm and that I could go home resume normal activity. My doctor called while we were there as well. She said she was glad everything was fine and that she didn’t want to scare me by sending me in, but that she is of the rule ‘Better safe than sorry’. I like that rule, especially with my past bad doctor experiences.
On the positive side, I was able to see where the baby will be born, and I was able to experience the care first hand. I am very happy to report the care I received was excellent, and the Labor & Delivery unit is really nice. I think Tim and I picked a great place to have the baby. We have our official tour on Saturday. The nurses asked us about birthing classes as well. When we told them were we are going next week, they said that they recommend that place a lot and spoke very highly of it.
It seems like just yesterday that Tim and I were seeing the baby for the first time. Just a little peanut. And now, it’s a real little person in there. It really is amazing.