Ouch!

OK, so I had my first official "I'm scared, let's go to the emergency room" moment in my pregnancy.  From what I hear, many first time moms have them.  If you or someone near you never had one, then congratulations, you are in the minority.

I want to start out by stating that I am fine, and so is Baby Sofia _____ Davis (Ayala).  I am, however in pain, so I guess it sucks to be me. I had a great weekend.  I managed to make it to my book club in Athens, saw some friends, had some cake, all is well.  Monday morning I get up and I have this nagging pain in my lower abdomen on the right side.  I think nothing of it because pregnancy so far has been full of aches and pains so I figure it will go away.  Unfortunately, as the day progresses so does the pain.

By the end of the day I am having a hard time getting up from my chair, getting out of the bucket seat in the car seems impossible, and getting up a short flight of steps becomes a chore.  Not to mention lifting my legs to get in and out of the tub.  I lay down for a bit and read, have my dinner, watch some TV (The Walking Dead- AMC, Awesome!) Finally I realize this is not getting any better so I call the 24 hour nurse hotline for advice.  I figure if I am being  paranoid she will tell me to take two Tylenol and go to bed.  Well she doesn't.  She says I am 24 weeks pregnant, and if I have been in pain for the whole day and it's getting worse I need to go to an urgent care facility: better safe than sorry.

Out in Elbert County we don't have those fancy urgent care thingys, so it's the ER for me.  Michael and I decide, OK, let's do it.  I'm scared!  What if there's something wrong with baby girl?  Michael assures me it is all fine and the nurse is just afraid of getting sued.  I figure, it shouldn't take too long.  After all, this is a tiny county.  How long can it take?

Three hours later, after being poked and prodded, I'm no closer to an answer.  They have taken my urine, taken my blood, and given me a cervical exam (more than Michael and I were bargaining for that night) and basically all the doctor can tell me is that they have ruled out all the biggies.  Which I guess is a start. No infections, no appendicitis, I'm not showing signs of labor, yadda yadda yadda.  He did call my OB, and my OB was satisfied with the ER docs assessment so they said "go home and rest, and call your OB for an appointment in the morning."

The cast of characters at the hospital was definitely interesting.  The front desk clerk was Betty White old. Nice, but very very slow.  The nurse was really nice, but then again I do believe there is a special place in heaven for nurses and middle school teachers.  I was told at the front desk that she had been an OB nurse for 20 years, which was very reassuring.  Our doctor was a chubbier Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age, House, Homicide)- though I barely spoke to him, which is just as well.  He has seen more of me than I care to revisit.  Granpa Marsh (see South Park "Kill me Billy!") was in the next room constantly trying to make a run for it.  And perhaps my favorite was the medical technician who seemed proud of being a vampire.  She took four vials of my blood and for the whole time spoke about how people discriminate against "her kind".  She joked about the coffins, and the having a night job and such.  She was also stricken by Michael's veiny arms: a dream come true to her kind.

I had a miserable night.  I don't get to bed until midnight.  I already can't sleep on either my stomach or my back, now I can't sleep on my right side because that too hurts.  You try sleeping on your left side all night without getting sore, or moving around out of habit in a sleepy state only to be awoken by a sharp pain...of a kick in the gut by a tiny southern rican.

We go see the doctor in the morning, and he says "talk to me like you're in the ER.  Everything was fine until..." and Michael says "...she married me." LOL  He is so funny!  Anyway, I recount my story and he says lay back and goes toward my belly and says "It hurts right here, doesn't it?" and touches on the tender spot on my belly.  It's like he's a magician.  He tells me all about the round ligament, and how it aches occasionally when pregnant, but I seemed to have pulled it and so it hurts a lot.  He says, in a nutshell, that there is nothing I can do for it but take it easy, that it will go away in 2-3 weeks if I take care of myself.  No drugs to take, nothing to do about it, it's normal but not common, don't worry, baby is fine.  We did get to hear her heartbeat again - which is always cool.

I feel better knowing I am not a wus, this is some painful crap, but it is not going to hurt my baby at all and I just have to bear it.  Take it like a woman.  She is moving around a lot now, and now when she kicks me I feel it in a pulled ligament.  Nice.  Michael can not only feel her move, but see it on my stomach which is very Sci Fi.  It really puts me at ease that my doctor would see me right away, and could tell me my baby is fine.  Michael and I left the doctor's office, got some Thai, went back to work.

I am in a constant state of discomfort- which is better than being in a constant pain- but I am frequently in pain as well.  My kitten wants to sit on my stomach and doesn't understand why she can't. Coughing hurts, sneezing hurts, and worse yet, laughing hurts - which is a problem because Michael is constantly making me laugh in an effort to cheer me... wait...hmmmm.  Well, he says he is trying to make me feel better anyway.  I can't do much walking and I am as slow as they come right now...but hey, Baby Sofia is fine and that is what matters!

Comments

  1. EC emergency room is indeed a unique experience. I had the honor once after someone from South Carolina decided to run a red light and smash into my car! So glad to hear all is well. I think its a good excuse to put your feet up and watch movies all day!

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  2. So glad everything is ok and you went to the ER. Trust your instincts. All of the pain and discomfort will be worth it in a few months when you look at your precious baby girl.

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