Uncharted Territory

From day one of this pregnancy, I considered uncharted territory beginning at 26 weeks and 2 days. It would be the official "I have never gotten this far point" but I was SO wrong.

Today, I realized I am in a whole new game and new things are happening even at 21 weeks.

Yup, Yours Truly found herself at the hospital today being checked for contractions.

First off, ALL IS WELL!

For the past week I thought I was having Braxton Hicks contractions, even mentioned it last week at my appointment. She offered to check me, but I felt I was over reacting and said I would be fine. The "contractions" got worse over the weekend, I could feel my uterus tense up and mild cramping. Then today it started to feel consistant and more of a gas type pain. She told me to call if they got worse, became more frequent or rhythmic.

What can I say?... I was being careful. I would rather be safe than sorry in my situation. I know too many horror stories and too many bad things seem to find me so I felt it was in my best interest to put my mind at ease and call my Dr. Which in turn, I was sitting in the office 30 minutes later.

So on I went, I bought myself a delightful internal, and a cervical check on ultrasound. Everything checked out 100% perfect! Holy cow! Something in my life looking NORMAL, say it's not so! I declined the NST option since I wasn't feeling what I was feeling earlier in the day, so I didn't fee it would benefit. My OB was thankful I came in and reassured me never to worry about bothering them. They rather me be safe than sorry.

But her explanation is what made me realize how I am in a totally different game plan this time. My cramping, pains, Braxton Hicks or whatever they may be are being caused because my uterus is reaching a size it never has before. Even though I made it to 26 weeks last time, my uterus was used to a 13 oz fetus, a barely there placenta and absolutely next to nothing amniotic fluid.

SO...

Even though I am 21 weeks and 4 days, this baby boy is growing with a normal size placenta, normal fluid and already grown to a size his big brother was born at. I am officially bigger than I was with Nolan. The way my c-section was cut (vertically) and how recent it is, I am going to feel these things and some of the feelings are probably 100% normal in pregnancy. But they are things that I never felt with Nolan. Hence why I am in uncharted territory.

I guess if I had these pains, and I was a normal pregnancy, I wouldn't have thought twice about them. But as we know, I am FAR from normal with a tad bit of anxiety and know all the bad things that can happen so I tend to lean on the "safer, yet look like an anxious freak when I go to the hospital" but hey, if it saves me or my baby- I did the right thing.

So on to pains, symptoms and experiences I never had before. I accept them with God's Grace and hope that all 1,786,240 visits to OB triage and my OB office in the coming weeks results in a healthy baby boy in the end. I just has to, right?

At least through out all this... Baby "I need to announce his name" has been kicking up a storm the past few weeks. But in the past week Chris & I have felt kicks harder than we have ever experienced before and even have recognized his patterns. It's a little bit of extra reassurance.