After 5 1/2 hours in labor and delivery...

I was diagnosed with a very bad urinary track infection. The third one this pregnancy. So, our Saturday went a little something like this:

I woke up with pain in my lower abdomen and on my left side. I was taking it easy and just trying to rest it away, but it only got worse. Then when I went to the bathroom there was blood again, just like a week and a half ago. After this happening off and on all day, I decided to call the on-call doctor, which just happened to be my actual OB. She wanted me to go to labor and delivery to rule out pre-term labor. So, off we went to Good Sam at about 2:30. We got checked in around 3:00 p.m. and I was hooked up to monitors to watch Maxton's heart rate and to see whether or not I was contracting. They also wanted a urine sample, so I began to drink down the water. An hour later I was able to given them a sample and an hour after that they determined that there was a lot of blood in my urine and therefore that's what I was seeing. They double checked that it wasn't coming from anywhere else, but by this time we were feeling very confident that it was a UTI. This was around 5:00 p.m. They took me off the monitors because Maxton was doing well and I wasn't contracting at all. They called my doctor and reported what they had found. She wanted to rule out kidney stones (this is when I got really nervous) and a kidney infection. I didn't have a fever and by now the pain was mostly gone (I think it was part gas) so the likelihood was slim, but still... 

So, I waited about another hour to get an ultrasound on my kidneys to check for stones. Then I waited another hour to get those results and THEN we had to wait for Dr. Kendrick (best obstetrician in the world, by the way) to come and release me. All in all, I didn't have kidney stones (THANK GOD!) and she didn't even think I had a kidney infection. She just said it's a bad UTI and prescribed me a stronger antibiotic. She'll now be screening my regularly for UTIs throughout the pregnancy and if I get another one I'll have to be on a low dose antibiotic for the remainder of the pregnancy. 

I'm feeling much better today and have had 3 rounds of the antibiotics so far. I've been pounding the water, cranberry juice, cranberry pills, and cranberry pills. Anything to try and make this clear up. Apparently I'm prone to them in pregnancy even though I've never had one prior. I didn't want to even call for fear that I was being a hypochondriac and would be a bother to my doctor. Well, although nothing serious was wrong with the baby (thank goodness!! ) I did have something that needed immediate treatment or it could have become something much worse. So, though it wasn't fun spending all that time in L&D, I am glad I now know what's going on and am working on curing it. Always trust those instincts and never feel bad about calling your doctor is what I learned this weekend! The staff at Good Sam was amazing! They were so reassuring and put me right at ease. They even let me hang there while I was waiting for the ultrasound, even though technically I should have been sent to the ER. It was much cozier waiting in our own room with the TV and toilet nearby. I'm very thankful to know I'll be delivering in a hospital with such great people working there! Although, that said, I don't want to go back there until mid-late September... 

False Alarm

We went today for our ultrasound to determine whether or not the placenta is low lying enough to be a concern. IT WASN'T!! We were very relieved to see that it's not low enough to the cervix to be an issue at all! I don't have to be on pelvic rest or anything! They said to take it easy as always if I ever spot or feel sore from overdoing it. I'm very thankful to be able to do yoga, swim, and have an enjoyable summer as a preggo lady! 

In addition to looking at the placenta we, of course, snuck a peek at our little man again. He was wiggling all around! He rolled and kicked and stretched all out! He looks like he's already running out of room in there! I guess that's why I'm in pain sometimes - I'm growing to give my boy some more space! 

So it was a great day for us! We're no longer worried because everything looks great AND it's the first night of So You Think You Can Dance! Woo-hoo! It doesn't get much better than that! 

Baby Update

Well, we had our first scare as parents to be last night! I was in some pain all day and at night I had some very slight bleeding. So, I called the on-call doctor and since the bleeding had stopped he decided that I didn't need to go in, but told me to make sure to be seen this morning first thing. So, that's what we did. It appears that my placenta may be partially covering the cervix and since we have such an active little guy in there, he's practically competing in the olympic games right on my placenta. Basically, this is what she thinks caused the bleeding. I have another ultrasound tomorrow to confirm how much of the cervix is being covered. At that point they will decide if I need to be on pelvic rest (no lovin', exercise, or lifting, and only moderate amounts of walking) or bedrest (can't do ANYTHING) or if I can just proceed as normal and continue to just be aware. I'm obviously hoping for the later of the three options and I'll make sure to keep you posted!