Braxton Hicks

33 Weeks

This week, I started to experience Braxton Hicks contractions. Up until this point, I've had maybe 3 or 4 random contractions spread over a couple weeks, and usually during the night. However, I woke up on Wednesday morning experiencing a tightening sensation in my belly, which continued throughout the entire day. At first, I thought it was the baby getting into a really awkward position with his butt pointed straight out. When I looked down at my belly during one of these episodes, it looked pointy and was as tight as a snare drum. There wasn't any pain associated with the sensation, it was just uncomfortable. Anyway, all day at work on Wednesday, I felt the contractions occur 2-3 times an hour. I was so busy that I wasn't able to time them, but I knew they were Braxton Hicks so didn't think to call my doctor. By 4 pm, however, I figured it wouldn't hurt just to call her and let her know what was up. I spoke to the nurse practitioner, who paged the doctor on call. As soon as the doc called back, she advised me to go to the hospital just to make sure it wasn't pre-term labor. Honestly, I was a bit surprised that her advice wasn't to go home, lie down, and drink some water. I'm not a drama queen and felt that a hospital visit was a bit unnecessary. But it's always wise to follow doctor's orders. And since this is my baby's health we're talking about, I decided not to play around. The doc said sometimes during the third trimester, Braxton Hicks can be difficult to differentiate from pre-term labor, and if it was pre-term labor, there are things they can do to stop it if you haven't already progressed too far.

So, around 4:30 pm I ducked out of work and drove to Greater Baltimore Medical Center to get checked out. I called Vicente and my mom on the drive up there, and told them not to worry. V was so sweet and said he was going to walk and feed the dog in case this was the "real deal" and he'd meet me up there.

I checked in and was immediately hooked up to a fetal monitor. (I assume this is the room I'll go to when I'm truly in labor to determine what stage I'm in, etc.) I instantly heard my little guy's heart pounding away in the 150s, which was reassuring. I had some belly discomfort right when I laid down on the hospital bed, which was reflected on the fetal monitor, but it didn't look like a typical contraction. The nurse said that was just some cramping of the uterus that is a normal part of pregnancy in the third trimester. In the hour I was hooked up to the monitor, I did have one contraction, albeit a small one. It was validating to know that I was, in fact, experiencing Braxton Hicks and that it wasn't just fetal movement or gas or something else embarrassing. The nurse practitioner checked me out in my nether-regions and determined that my cervix had not dilated, so that was all good news.  After about 1.5 hours of being monitored, the doctor determined that it wasn't pre-term labor, just normal Braxton Hicks contractions, and I was free to go home!

What a relief.

The whole experience put things into perspective. Baby V could technically arrive any day now. One of my to-dos this weekend is to start packing a bag for the hospital. While we don't want the dude to come until I'm at least 37 weeks when he's considered full term, it's never too early to be prepared. I get that from my mama. :)

Since Wednesday, I've continued to feel additional Braxton Hicks contractions, but not as much as I felt that first day. They seem to come along in the late afternoons and early evenings.

I have my next doctor's appointment on Thursday next week, and then I start going in once a week until baby arrives. Time is flying by, y'all! In a matter of seven short weeks, I'll have my sweet baby boy in my arms. It all feels so surreal.

Now here's a picture that has nothing to do with this post. We hung the FINAL piece of the nursery puzzle last night: adorable ABC artwork that we placed over the changing table. Love how the colors tie in so well with the funky rug.