The Best Laid Plans...

So after a couple of really long and exhausting weeks we were all really excited to get out of town! We were headed for a relaxing weekend in Palm Springs - the same place we were in 2008 (for Paul's birthday) when I was 24 weeks pregnant with Emily.

The plan... chill. We were going to swim and float around in the pool all day, take naps and go to bed early. (The naps and going to bed early would be necessary since we were all sharing the same room.) Emily was talking and talking about going to our hotel and swimming in the pool all day long. I was dreaming of being weightless and floating around with my own personal floatation device attached to my abdomen. Daddy was excited about both of his girls being happy and spending some time away - but not business travel since he had just been in Nashville for 5 days.

I hit a bit of a hiccup that day at about noon when I started having contractions. They were fairly regular (I wasn't timing but was getting them a lot) and so when I put Emily down for a nap I laid down to rest and make them go away. I ended up falling asleep for about 30 minutes and when I woke up they were still there. Hmmm... 34 weeks pregnant... not exactly when I want to start having regular Braxton Hicks. I had a lot when I was pregnant with Emily but they didn't start until my 38th week so there was no concern. These had me just a little unnerved but we continued to prepare ourselves and we packed up and pulled away at 4 o'clock.

As we were driving out of town I got an email response from my doula that I had with Emily (don't have a doula this time). I had emailed her and asked her to just alleviate my concerns... tell me that this is totally fine and have a great time. Her email didn't say that. She had three questions and if I answered yes to even one of them she recommended we not drive anywhere. I answered yes to two of them. Ugh. Just a little more concerned now but trying not to blow anything out of proportion. I called my doctor's office to see what they would say and started to time my contractions so I would have something to tell them. That became the big problem with remaining totally calm... my contractions were coming less than 4 minutes apart in the car. We pulled over so I could lay on my side and see what they did - I wanted the most accurate info. when talking to the nurse. While I laid there they were 8 minutes apart and the decision was made... we were going to the hospital.

Since we were packed to leave town we had plenty of things available to entertain Emily in the hospital and Daddy wanted to take his computer bag - they may have thought we were moving in.
Once inside I told the lady at the desk that I just wanted to figure out what was going on and have the nurses end my worries. When Paul asked about whether or not Emily was okay to go back with us she talked a little about what would happen in the event of a cesarean. Excuse me? I assured her that we were planning on going home, tummy intact!

We were shown to our room and it was lovely. Emily and Daddy enjoyed watching the windsurfers out the window and Lynne (my nurse, whom I loved) swore she saw a whale for a minute.
[Did I mention that my hospital is in Newport Beach and many rooms have a view of the ocean? AAHHH! (Hope we didn't blow our one room with a view on this visit though!!!)]

Before they hooked me up, Daddy went through everything that the nurse was going to be doing and that we were just checking on the baby and Mama but it was going to be okay. Emily was good with that and just sat and waited. Oh, she also talked constantly about how we were going to the hotel and that Mama, Daddy, and Emily were going to swim in the pool.
I was monitored for an hour and checked - thankfully I was not dilated. My doctor's rule was that if, during that hour, I had 5 or less contractions then I would be free to go (without further monitoring or anything done to stop the contractions, etc.). I had four that they counted - not counting a couple of "irritations" or the one I had during my check - and was told that I could go.
But with that great news came some not so great news... we were not to leave town. Our car was loaded. We were ready for a weekend getaway. Emily was SET on a hotel and a pool. So, what choice did we have? We sat in the lobby for a bit while Emily watched a movie...
and Daddy found us a hotel for the night.
Kind of a crazy idea since our local forecast for the next day looked like this.
Oh well, we finally made it to bed at 10 o'clock and were up the next morning and off to breakfast...

before Daddy made Emily's weekend by going to the pool!!

I was a good sport and sat in the rain sprinkles and 5o degree COLD (with my sweatshirt and hood on) while they splashed around for a while. :) Then when the sun finally broke through the clouds for a few minutes, and Emily was sufficiently blue, they warmed up in the jacuzzi and we were on our way home - about a 5 mile drive.
What a fun, relaxing weekend getaway!!!

* My contractions have continued but aren't nearly as regular. I have been instructed to take it easy and NOT lift Emily. As long as things stay the same then I am to assume that the contractions are not "doing anything" and go on about my business - slowly. So, that's that. I have been reading a lot and taking naps instead of all of the other things I would normally be doing. Our plan is to sit on the couch when I am 40+ weeks and smile thinking about how nervous we got at the 34 week mark. In the mean time, keep Bittwo and my uterus (we're all family here, right?!) in your prayers and happy thoughts. :)