24w1d

Well I ended up going to the hospital last night because the pain was making me nervous. It was my first trip to the ER while pregnant – I had been so proud of myself for not having gone. I hate feeling like a nervous, first-time mommy (even though that’s what I am!).

Anyhow, the minute we walked into the ER the lady at the desk told another ER worker get a wheelchair and take her to L&D (labor & delivery). I was like woooaaahhhh, no no no, I am not in labor. She asked how far along I was and I told her. They took me in ahead of everyone in the waiting room – I didn’t even stand there for 30 seconds. They registered me and took me straight to the L&D unit. We ended up waiting for a bed for only about 30 minutes or so. They took us into the L&D suites, told me to take off all my clothes, put on the hospital gown and get in bed.

The L&D suites are amazing. I was definitely reassured that I had made the right decision to have Nugget at this particular hospital. These rooms are like hotel rooms. They call them suites because you labor, deliver and recover all in the same place. The bathrooms are huge, stocked with lots of shampoo and soaps, as well as a ton of sanitary napkins (childbirth and its aftermath is bloody and messy). They never take the baby out of the room unless they are taking her to do lab work or if God forbid there is some sort of complication.

I had such a surreal feeling as I lay in that bed. I couldn’t stop thinking about how this is where I’d be in 3 short months from now, ready to deliver our little girl. It was overwhelming, really.

The nurses are wonderful. So patient and understanding. I felt reassured that I had done the right thing by coming to the hospital. They strapped a baby heart beat monitor and movement detector around my belly and some other device – who knows what it was.

All in all we were there for 5 hours and the entire time we were there, we got to hear the baby’s heart beats and her movements in surround sound. If I hadn’t been so desperate to get home and get to bed, I could have stayed listening to those sounds all night.

They discharged me telling me I was experiencing mild contractions and that it was perfectly normal. Make sure I get lots of rest, drink lots of water, etc. etc. The real kicker was when the nurse told me to call my OB if symptoms returned. Yeah, OK. Maybe next time I’ll be lucky enough for a call back.