The amazing sound machine

This post has some graphic details.

This morning I went to the hospital. Yesterday I went shopping again at the mall. Why didn't I know better? I think it's because I felt ok at the time. I thought walking was good for me. Besides the more walking I do when I'm pregnant the better I'll recover after the delivery and the pelvic muscles are used during labor so I can't really go wrong by walking. Also during the week, I did laundry. I thought I was being safe because I was doing 1 load a day.
I thought wrong. I did too much walking.

Anyway, this morning I was bleeding and I was scared. Shortly after I was bleeding I
was really achy and I experienced some contractions. Both David and I were immediately alarmed because of what I've learned in the child birth class. If there is any bleeding or cramping before 37 weeks then I need to call the doctor and get checked out. So I called the doctor and explained to them what I had experienced they said to go to the hospital and get checked out. (I thought sure it was pre-term labor and that ECZ was going to come early because he couldn't wait to see his mommy and daddy. He wanted to know what the voices were that he has been hearing all this time.) Also, I thought "No this can't be happening, I'm not ready. I don't have everything ready for ECZ. His crib doesn't even have sheets yet." I thought that ECZ was going to come today.

At the hospital, I checked in to the Labor and delivery room and then the nurse said to get comfortable in a very stylish striped blue and white gown.
Then I carefully got on the hospital bed. I was scared because I have never been a patient in the hospital let alone in the labor and delivery room.
The nurse strapped the equipment on me to start the external monitoring. It was 2 special belts with a very high tech speaker/heart monitor thing (I don't know what it was called so for now I'll just call it the amazing sound machine). That thing could pick up everything. I could hear the kicks, all the movements and the changes in the heart beat and me laughing. (Yep, I actually laughed during this scary event.... I'll explain more on that later)
Also, the screen that read everything had the heart rate and some other numbers that really scared me. I didn't know what everything meant and so when I saw ECZ's heart rate go all over the place and then I felt him kick me almost like he was angry and wanted out, I cried. Then the nice nurse came in and explained that ECZ is fine and that what I thought was an abnormal heart beat turns out to to be fine. That means that he is regulating his heart beat. Kind of like when you and I run around and our heart beat goes up. He is developing and his brain is healthy. It's funny how I get scared when I don't understand things.

The screen also printed out all the activity that was going on and the nurse was able to watch it from the desk/office at the nurses station. After about an hour, I had a pretty big contraction which was quite painful and she came in an said that she was going to give me a shot to stop the contractions. She explained that I would feel chilled and shaky. It was amazing because I felt that right away and it did help the contractions.

Like I mentioned earlier.......when I laughed it was because of David and his great sense of humor. Anyway, something he said caught my funny bone and then I kept laughing because the monitor was making this funny sound and it sounded like it was laughing too.

When the nurse let me go home about 3 hours later, she gave me strict doctors orders to be on pelvic rest. Which means moderate bed rest for the rest of the weekend. So no walking around, basically I have to just rest and not do anything.
If I have any abnormal symptoms like I experienced earlier, then I need to return to the hospital again.
Also, no house work and especially no laundry because we have stairs and it's too heavy of a load for me to carry.

Well as it turns out, he didn't come.... not yet anyway. But I should get my bags packed so I'll be good and ready. I kind of felt like today's event was a little preview of what the real thing will be like. Those of you who have given birth are probably thinking "HA! You've got another thing coming woman". I probably do. I'll just have to be surprised.

After today, I felt much more amazed of how God our creator created us. (I was amazed before but now that I'm pregnant and I have been able to see what the baby looks like on the ultrasound......I'm just in awe of it all.)
He knows what he's doing. He's an incredible God!