Now that Trader Joe's is no longer, Saturday morning was Arthur's first free weekend morning in years, so I politely let him snooze while I fed the loud fur ball meowing in my ear and puttered around the house. He eventually woke up and we took a slow walk down to Trader Joe's to get some groceries for the week. It was definitely the most productive, yet relaxing Saturday morning in who-knows-how-long. Tuesday is Arthur's birthday, and all we had planned for the rest of the day was meeting family out for a celebratory birthday dinner. Easy peasy.
Here's where I have to apologize for being gross. Once we got back, the day turned upside down when I noticed a chunk of non-bloody cervical mucus in the toilet and was "leaking" really wet quality cervical fluid. I had been having the wet cervical fluid for a couple weeks now, so didn't think much of it, but the blob of mucus really got me freaking out. I immediately told Arthur who decided it wasn't worth panicking over and encouraged a trip to Costco to take my mind off it.
Costco didn't help. The whole time we were there I was walking at a snails pace and not able to focus on anything. All I could picture was my water breaking and going into preterm labor in the middle of the produce section—totally dramatic, I know. Arthur could clearly see I was freaking out and suggested we get out of there and contact the midwives. When we got home I sent a message over to the on-call midwife explaining the cervical mucus and fluid and asked them to call if they thought it was urgent.
I shelled peas and mashed potatoes for shepherds pie until I got a call an hour later from Fra Nay, the on-call midwife. In a bit of a rushed tone, she said she wanted to see me immediately in labor and delivery, and vaguely explained that it was urgent that we check to see if I was leaking amniotic fluid. My mind was spinning.
We got out the door as quick as we could and headed straight to the hospital. Half in-shock at what was happening and half panicked about what could happen, I hardly said a word the whole drive and just prayed that the Lord would keep me and the baby safe. In between tears I told Arthur how scared I was that we might not make it home again. He kept telling me that everything would be fine.
Being in the birth center was surreal. We got there, walked up to the nurses station and was greeted by a kind nurse who knew exactly who we were and had a room waiting. I kept thinking that either this was it, or a really realistic trial run.
I changed into a gown, crawled into the bed and waited. We had a very sweet nurse, Bev, tending to us. She chatted casually about life and tried to keep our minds at ease, but I didn't say much.
I changed into a gown, crawled into the bed and waited. We had a very sweet nurse, Bev, tending to us. She chatted casually about life and tried to keep our minds at ease, but I didn't say much.
Fra Nay finally arrived at my room and was much more comforting than she was on the phone. She explained what was about to happen and made sure I was comfortable. "Either this isn't amniotic fluid, and you'll be on your way," she said, "or it is and we've got a serious issue." I desperately wanted to ask what was going to happen if it was, but I kept my mouth shut.
And just like that, the tests all showed negative. I was fine, the baby was fine, and everything looked normal. Twenty minutes later, we were on our way to Arthur's birthday dinner.
The rest of the night felt too much. Although everything was fine, I was shook up and couldn't figure out how to let out my emotions. The day started out normal and ended normal, but was so abnormal for a few long hours in between. Everything about it felt strange.
The next day we had our first prenatal visit with our doula, Matilda. I mentioned what happened to her and she said that it's not uncommon for a piece of the cervical plug (what protects my uterus from infection) to fall out. It will usually regenerate itself and might even fall out some more over the remaining weeks, but that's okay. I asked her what it would look like if the entire plug came out and she said to expect blood and much, much more mucus than I had experienced. She also explained that when I am in early labor, I will probably see blood from my cervix effacing. Maybe we just haven't gotten to this point in birth class and Centering, but that would have totally freaked me out if no one had told me.
Just a couple days have passed and I now feel like this is a distant memory. I continue to thank God for his mercies on our family and how good He is to know and care for the desires of our hearts. I can't help but think that this is probably very similar to how I will have to depend on the Lord's strength in raising our children. It's entirely scary to feel helpless, but I'm sure that it's exactly where the Lord wanted me at that moment.
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You did the right thing. Isn't it amazing how much of a miracle having a baby is? So many bumps along the way that only intensify the miracle. Oh, that "bloody show" is definitely a show:) but when labor comes, it will be the least you are focused on. Promise. Xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteGood to know about the bloody show!
DeleteI'm so sorry that happened, especially on his birthday. At least everything worked out okay in the end, but I'm sure you were an emotional wreck, I know I would have been. I'll keep you in my prayers, and hopefully your BG will stay put for a few weeks more :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! Everything checked out normal, so we're hoping she comes when she's good and ready.
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