Contractions

I had a hard time falling asleep last night but was finally able to around 11:00 p.m. I woke up with very intense pain in my back around 1 a.m. when I realized I was having very intense contractions. I tried to sleep through it but it was too painful. I noticed Ryan was awake around 2 a.m. so I told him what was going on. He seems to think this happens/ed often during all of the pregnancies. The pain would start in my lower abdominal/pelvic area and climb all the way up my stomach, past my belly button. When the contraction would let up (after 15 to 20 seconds) it would dull out with pain in my lower back. This happened every 5 minutes, consistently for nearly three hours before I finally called the OBs office.

We anticipated that I would be told to go to the hospital labor and delivery unit so I could be hooked up to machines to monitor the strength of the contractions and check to see if I was dilated. Sure enough when the Dr. called back that is exactly what he wanted me to do. I told him I was sure that I was not in actual labor and assured him I could feel the baby moving between contractions. He said that I should "chug" some water and take a warm bath. I did this and ended up getting dressed. I then laid on the bed and the contractions were still happening but they lost their consistency. I was able to fall asleep around 5 a.m. Though I didn't sleep long it was very helpful. So far today I have taken Audrey to an appointment and I am waiting to get a call back from the OBs office. Cross your fingers this little one doesn't come early - there really is only so much I can handle.