Reassurance

I know I've said this before in a previous post (No such thing as Worry Free), but it's unbelievable how the mothering instinct kicks in even before you meet baby.

The last few days (Friday and Saturday), Baby Barrett's movements slowed WAY down. I had become really accustomed to alot of movement and hiccups at least twice a day, so of course I started to worry when I was barely feeling any movement and no hiccups at all for two days. I asked a few friends what they thought and read a bit online, but nothing could ease my mind. Friday night was awful as I couldn't sleep and was constantly thinking about him/her and whether or not everything was okay in there. And then when I did fall asleep, I dreamt about it. Was the cord wrapped around his/her neck? Was there enough amniotic fluid to nourish him/her? Was he/she in distress?

Saturday I was determined to get some good movement so I kept poking my belly to try and get some kicks and drank juice and laid down on my side to get some sugar to Baby B and get him/her active. I did feel a few movements, but nothing like I would have before. After trying to brush it off, I decided I needed to call the OB office for some reassurance. The OB on-call called me back and assured me that 4 movements in an hour was normal at this stage in pregnancy, but told me to come in to L&D (labor and delivery) so we could do some fetal monitoring. So off to the hospital we go (again).

We got to L&D and they put us in a triage room and got me all hooked up to monitor the baby's heartbeat and also my uterine contractions. Turns out I was having contractions and didn't even know it! Heck, if labor is going to be this easy, I can SO do this! (I wish) 
Baby B's heart-rate was perfect for the hour we were there and I definitely felt reassured that all was fine. The staff was fantastic and told me they were happy I called and came in. I shouldn't ever feel awkward for doing that as it's better to be safe than sorry and I know my body and my baby better than they do. Whew! So I'm not this crazy first time mom then :)

And now knowing what to expect these last few weeks, the lack of movement won't be worrying me as much. Baby B is simply running out of room in there; now only if he/she used that as an indication that it's ready to come out!