A Scary Day

Ugh, today at about 4:30 pm I lost my mucous plug. I'm certain it was the plug and not just (sorry if this is gross) discharge of some kind like pregnant women sometimes have. As far as I knew, losing the plug means that you are about to go into labor. Needless to say I was extremely upset. I just kept thinking: "No, this can't happen."

I called my doctor and talked to a nurse practitioner, not before bursting into tears on the phone with the receptionist though. So, losing the plug doesn't necessarily mean I'm going into early labor, but seeing that I've been having the Braxton Hicks so frequently they are having me come in tomorrow at 12:30 to make sure I'm not dilating.

I feel like shit, totally physically and emotionally drained. I wish this hadn't happened, but the main thing is to avoid preterm labor. I'm not even 27 weeks yet. There's a chance the baby would make it, but I don't even want to think about what a struggle that would be. I'm trying to stay calm, but it's hard. I already love my baby.

I guess losing the mucous plug this early can happen to some women. There's not a whole lot of information about it on the web. The what to expect when your expecting book talks about it happening either shortly before labor, or days or weeks before...not this early though. I guess it's there in the first place to protect the baby from infection. I'll see what happens tomorrow. The nurse said they may put me on some medication to stop the contractions.

I keep getting asked how many contractions I have in an hour, but it is really difficult to keep track. It's more about how active I am. Physical activity of any kind seems to be what sets them off. They do go away when I rest though. I just need to be able to articulate this clearly tomorrow so that the doctor gets it. Ok, I'm just talking in circles now. I think I need to go to bed. I'll update tomorrow when I get some news.

Angie