Murphy's Law...

I'm beginning to think my real name is Murphy.

I've been having irregular contractions since Monday but I haven't been that worried. On Wednesday morning at 1am I decided I couldn't handle this horrible back pain any longer. I wasn't feeling the contractions anymore, just an awful spasm, almost a stabbing pain, on the right side of my back with every contraction. I woke Mark up, called the doctor and went into labor and delivery. The nurses took me right to my room and hooked me up to the Toco. The baby's heartbeat was high (180+) and I was having contractions the whole time. They were very, very strong and painful but not regular yet, so they were kinda a waste of time, lol. After a bit of monitoring, the doctor came in to talk to me. I told him how I was feeling and what was going on. He did an exam and said I wasn't dilated yet but I was having contractions. He wasn't sure what my back pain was and said to give it awhile and see what happens (I thought this was a ridiculous notion since I'd been having this pain since January and it just got so severe I couldn't handle it anymore). He though since I'd been vomiting since Tuesday morning I might be dehydrated so they should give me some IV fluids. I hadn't been keeping anything down, including just water. Three different nurses came in to try to find a vein. Apparently, if you get really dehydrated, your veins play hide and go seek. They couldn't seem to find a vein and it was incredibly painful. They would stick a needle in and search for a vein...needless to say, I still look like a junkie. The last nurse finally found the vein and was able to make contact with it, while each of the other nurses "blew" the vein. They thought they were in the vein and hooked up the fluids to the needle, only to find out they were nowhere close and my arm started swelling like I had an allergy. I was really glad when the final nurse stabbed me and it was all over. It took two and a half bags of fluid to get me to the okay stage. The Toco was left on me all night long. At about 8:30am the doctor came back and told me he was going to release me. After a sleepless night, an incredible amount of pain and just wanting to go home, I was elated. He also diagnosed me with Sciatica. The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body. It starts in your back and runs all the way down to your feet...mine was pinched and that's why I was having such severe pain. He wrote me a prescription for painkillers and said a nurse would be in a minute. Another nurse came in to check my vitals one last time, when she discovered my pulse was over 120 and Audree's was 200+. She brought the doctor in who called other nurses and they all talked about what was wrong and they weren't sure. They thought I might have Tachycardia, a heart disorder. I've been told I have a heart murmur now which I've never had, but I don't know if the two are related. The doctor suggested I see a cardiologist and a physical therapist/chiropractor for my back. They brought me breakfast and towels so I could take a shower, I signed some papers and we were on our way!

We went and picked up my prescription and I took my medicine when we got home. The painkillers didn't really help...they did numb the pain just enough that I could sleep for more than a half an hour at a time, which I haven't done in nearly a week. That was nice. Yesterday was my doctor's appointment, where we found out my blood pressure was high (147/70) but the doctor wasn't concerned about that. My heart rate was normal and the baby's was fine so I'm not sure why it shot up at the end of my hospital visit. Everything else is fine, though.

Mark and I are both still exhausted. Well, he says he's rested but he's still asleep right now :). I'm overtired and I can't sleep. My MIL will be here on Monday so we're trying to finish a few things up. We just found out yesterday that Mark will be going to a school on Monday, Diesel Generator School, while the boat is gone. This is awesome news because it means he will be home when the baby is born! I've been really worried about it. He also got his badge thing that says he's officially part of the USS Virginia crew on Friday...it's a big step and means he won't be kicked off the boat like we thought might happen. Mark also has a mock disaster drill on Tuesday during the day, and the Dad's Bootie Camp class on Tuesday evening. That will be a long day for him! I'm starting to get more energy now and we all know what that means...Miss Audree will be here very soon! I did laundry and dishes yesterday, as well as cleaned the kitchen and living room. I hope to get the nursery completely finished this weekend so I don't have to think about it anymore. I also have about 100 more announcements to address so we can just get them together when the baby comes and get them out.

Oh--and I didn't have a shower, but my MIL's coworkers threw her a nice little Grandma Shower with things for the baby. I'm so excited about seeing everything. It really meant a lot to me that they did that, and whether it's pregnancy hormones or not, I cried...I'm really blessed with everyone in my life!