False Alarm!!! July 23, 2007

The shower yesterday was wonderful!!! I was so excited that Matt was able to go with me! We had a great time; everything was perfect!! It was so good to see everyone, I haven't been to Shelbyville much during the pregnancy...due to the horrible morning (really all day) sickness and complete exhaustion.

After the shower, Matt stayed in Shelbyville for his tennis tournament, and I came home. We finished getting all the gifts in the house, and my family had all gone home....I was standing in the kitchen trying to decide what I was going to have for dinner when all of a sudden I'm all wet and standing in a small puddle. It happened so fast...I was stunned. I called my mom and told her I thought my water broke. I wasn't sure, but that's how I always imagined it would be. I called Matt's phone next; he was on the tennis court, but his mom answered his phone...I told her that I thought my water had broken, and she went to get him. He said he was on his way, that he would meet me at the hospital. I grabbed a few extra things that I thought I might need, and did a few things around the house real quick. Shannon and Matt came to pick me up, and we headed to the hospital. Shannon even used our video camera to tape some of the action. On the way to the hospital, I started having contractions...which began in my back and came around, which is what is supposed to happen when you're in true labor. We went to the 8th floor for assessment, and they took me straight to a room. Matt, his mom, and some of my family arrived shortly after we did. They would only allow Matt in my room at first, when they did some swab tests to determine if my water had in fact broken. They hooked me up to some monitors, and we could even see my contractions registering. The swab tests did not indicate my water had broken, so the nurse did another one because she also thought it had broken...this also indicated that it had not broken. However, they found ketones in my urine sample...ketones are present when you haven't had enough to eat, and your body starts burning fat. They brought me a tray of food and juice to try to get rid of the ketones, and continued monitoring me...they said ketones can actually cause contractions, so they kept having me eat and drink to try to get them to stop. Some of the contractions were really strong...can't imagine what real labor would feel like because these Braxton Hicks contractions hurt!! I was still only dilated to 2...they said I'm in the first stage of labor, but who knows how long it will last. I asked what might have happened, since I had been standing in a puddle...they said she may have hit my bladder...pretty embarrassing!! :) We had a waiting room full of people hoping to see sweet Meredith (my family was there, Matt's family drove in from Shelbyville, and the best man at our wedding even came)...I felt so bad that everyone came for nothing. I was really sad when I was sent home...I had been so excited when I thought I was in labor, and would see my little girl soon. After being at the hospital for several hours, I was discharged (attached is a picture of me and Matt when we were leaving the hospital). They told me to take some Tylenol PM to help me get some sleep, and to help with the pain of the contractions. We picked some up on the way home, and both took some to help us sleep.

I've had more Braxton Hicks contractions today, none as painful as last night, but I have had a little bit of back pain tonight. I'm so afraid that I won't know when it's the real thing...that I'll think it's just false labor again. Hopefully, no more false alarms! :)

Shanda