Ho hum

Haven't posted all week because I've been very boring. Again, that's a good thing. No spotting, my energy level has improved radically, and I'm even able to look at (and EAT) seafood again!

Of course, this being me, I just had to cook up some excitement (read: freakout) to liven things up at the 15 week mark. Yesterday afternoon, I felt some pressure in my pelvis. I'd been running around Saturday (farmer's market, cleaning, going out to dinner) and the earlier part of Sunday (doing laundry, cooking for the first time in ages), so I figured I'd overdone it a bit and went to lie down. Now, every so often (couple times a week) for the past month or so, I've felt a tightening in my lower abdomen. It took me a while to figure out that the tightening was probably a uterine contraction (clue: I could feel the hard, rounded shape of my uterus when I placed my hand on my abdomen). They've been pretty rare, painless, and not accompanied by any spotting, so I figured they were normal. So yesterday, when I felt a contraction as I lay down, I didn't worry too much about it.

Until I felt another. And another. Hmm, I thought, that's funny. I drank lots of water and kept rough track of the contractions. They were pretty erratic and didn't appear more than 20 minutes apart--sometimes longer--so I tried to chill out. I knew that more than five contractions an hour is a sign of preterm labor, and I never had more than three or four an hour, so I thought I was probably safe. I also didn't have any bleeding or extra fluid. I tried to think of it as Bat Boy just fucking with my head. Maybe a good night's sleep will take care of it, I thought.

This morning I woke up (well, hit snooze four times before begrudgingly hauling my eyes open) and put my hand on my abdomen. After a minute, I felt the telltale hardening of my uterus, even more pronounced when lying on my back with an empty stomach. I've had my hand on my abdomen all day since, and when I got to work, started writing down the time when each contraction started. They were still at three or four an hour.

I finally called my doctor a little while ago. She was about to go into surgery, but wants me to come in tomorrow--as long as they continue to be erratic and no more than three or four an hour, I should be okay until then. If I have more than five in one hour, she said, I need to call them immediately, even if it's the middle of the night. I'm hoping this turns out to be nothing and I'm just overreacting. Weird, random contractions I can handle, even if they're frequent. But if it turns out the contractions are shortening my cervix, well, then it's a whole new ball game.

So, that was my boring old Sunday and Monday. Anyone else do anything fun?

*****

I have a post brewing about "normal," inspired partly by Beth's recent post and partly by a heated...well, let's call it a "discussion," that my husband and I had the other night. Coming later this week, or whenever I can stop guzzling water and feeling myself up for contractions.