It’s now official! I am a first-time pregnant woman who really has no idea what to expect!

I called my doctor Friday morning because I had not been feeling well for a few days, but especially the previous 24 hours. I was having contractions and other signs of preterm labor. After surfing around all the pregnancy websites and not finding anything that was very helpful, I decided to do what everyone says to do – if you aren’t sure, call your doctor.

He said that he suspected it was nothing, but to be safe he sent me to labor and delivery to be monitored. So they hooked me and the baby up to a couple of monitors, gave me an exam, and ran a few other tests. They suspected that I might be dehydrated so they put me on an IV while they monitored me for over an hour. I was having contractions, but was not progressing so they sent me home. (The positive part of the experience was laying there and being able to listen to Peanut all that time.)

The nurse said that they get a lot of dehydrated pregnant women in the summer. Dehydration will bring on contractions. I already knew that from my reading and had been trying to drink a lot of water the past several weeks, but I can see now that to get through this third trimester in the summer I am basically going to have to be literally drinking water all day while I am awake. I actually like ice water, but I have to admit this is already seeming like a bit of a chore.

It hasn’t been that warm here, but I can already tell that the summer is getting to me. We went out and bought a portable air conditioner we can use on the second floor and that has made a tremendous difference in my ability to sleep at night. (It has also allowed us to reset our thermostat so the first floor isn’t freezing cold which should help offset the cost of the new unit.) I already struggle a lot with summer weather when I’m not pregnant so I can only imagine how I might be feeling over the next two months. After being married to me for nine years, David can attest to the fact that I become a completely different person once mid-September rolls around and the fall weather kicks in.

I hope this post doesn’t sound whiny. It isn’t meant that way. Just wanted to write about the realities of life. I’ve been feeling great for a number of weeks, but am starting to experience first-hand why so many people have sounded so sympathetic when they discover I’ll be doing my third trimester through the hottest part of the year. 🙂