Hold Your Horses, Little Man!

WARNING: By reading this post, you will probably learn more about me than you ever wanted to.

Last Wednesday, April 4, I learned that our little guy is much like his mommy. By that, I mean he gets overly excited and is slightly impatient.

I got home from work at 5:30 and changed in yoga pants and tennis shoes, ready to hit the streets with the girls. Since Bryson thinks my bladder is a trampoline, I thought it wise to use the restroom before we took our walk to prevent two little girls from being dragged down the street while we raced urgently back to the bathroom. As soon as I entered the bathroom, I got an overwhelming pain in my back and immediately felt very sick. I'll spare you the details, but as I was finishing up, I noticed I had spotted a bit.

Throughout this pregnancy, I haven't had any spotting, or even implantation bleeding, so I panicked. I texted Clay, then called my mom to have her begin praying. My original plan was to wait an hour and see if the bleeding stopped, but I just felt off, so my mom convinced me to call the doctor.

I spoke with the on-call doctor at my practice, who I had never met, but she was very reassuring. She asked a lot of questions to pinpoint the cause of the blood and since I couldn't answer anything affirmatively, she had me come in to be checked.

I called Clay and he left work to meet me at the hospital. For the record, my mom beat us both. We were taken immediately into a birth suite and I was hooked up to the doppler to monitor Bryson's heartbeat and the cardiotocograph (thanks for that info, Laura) to see if I was having contractions. Per his usual behavior, Bryson immediately kicked both the doppler and cardio... nevermind, let's call it an electronic fetal monitor (EFM) instead. He kept kicking them throughout the hour I was hooked up and at one point, did it hard enough to trigger an alarm. The doppler made his kicks sound like he was tapping a microphone and kept us laughing. He's already so feisty- he doesn't like anything in his space!

Within 5 minutes of hooking up the EFM, I had 2 contractions, 1 of which was over 40 seconds long. Over the course of an hour, I had 5 contractions that were 40 seconds or longer and 8 that were around 30 seconds. Near the end of the hour, they tapered off by themselves. The nurse checked my cervix and I was not dilated at all, so I was never in labor. Praise God!

While the experience was very scary, I'm actually very grateful for it. I have attempted to keep my stress levels low and not to get worked up about things that are considered normal during pregnant. I think I've done a pretty good job, but on Wednesday, I knew there was something funny and I was right. Because of our experience, I can tell the difference in Braxton Hicks and real contractions.

As usual, I have to brag on Clay. He has an uncanny ability to keep a cool head, no matter the circumstance. Throughout our time at the hospital, he stayed calm and assured me through his actions and words. He sat on the bed next to me, talking to Bryson and rubbing my hand and belly. I've already known he's a great husband, but he proves to me more every day what a good daddy he will be.

Little Man, Mommy and Daddy are so excited about your arrival, but we are learning to be patient. You have to do the same! As long as 10 more weeks seems, I can wait if it means you will be completely formed and able to survive outside Mommy's belly. I know it's probably uncomfortable in there, but just give it a little bit longer. You'll be here with Mommy, Daddy, Bailey and Jenna before you know it!

Lord, thank you for keeping our little man safe throughout this pregnancy. I have always marveled at the miracle of new life, but am even more amazed seeing it unfold week by week. Please keep your hand on our little man and continue to develop his intricate little body. This little boy is yours and Clay and I trust that he is in Your hand. Thank you for blessing us with the opportunity to be his parents. Please continue to guide us through this pregnancy and into the parenting journey.