No Vacancy

I have been asked to work from home on modified bedrest today, but this contracting continues. Who knew hotel uterus' irritability would have such a direct impact on my own psyche? I am tired of being uncomfortable and very scared that I will go into labor this weekend R out of town--of course, this stress does nothing for my or my uterus' bad moods.

Last night I asked Dr. Google about Hotel Uterus and why she is feeling so angry. According to Baby Zone:

"'Uterine irritability' is a term used to describe the phenomenon that prior to the onset of labor, the uterus can contract in a disorganized fashion (during pregnancy)," explains Dr. Laura Klein, an OB-GYN at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "Rather than strong contractions that come and go every few minutes there can be kind of a constant low level twitching of the muscle." Most of the time these contractions are simply a nuisance and don't lead to labor."

"Nuisance" sounds about right. My midwife told me yesterday that they were likely to stop if I laid on my side and drank lots of water. Done and done and yet they are still coming with the same frequency--about every ten minutes--that they have come since my stressful Tuesday, which I blame for this. Apparently there is such a thing as "too much" and I have now seen it.

The idea that I overexerted myself is upsetting me more than anything. I know I have mentioned before that I do not take kindly to limits. Broken ankle before an 8-mile beach race? Tape it up and run anyway. Five miles to work in a blizzard and the trains aren't running? Strap on some bean boots and hoof it. When someone says slow down, I speed up. I am not great with following doctor's advice and tend to listen to myself. And myself usually tells me to suck it up and keep moving.

I am struggling in this case because I am so close to full term that in some ways it does not matter. As my midwife (who may I say again, I love, love, love) told me: next week will be an entirely different story. They will be trying to coax the baby out, not keep her in. But this week, they want her to cook for just a few more days. Even though she is fully developed, which I know because they kept reassuring me of this all day yesterday, she could still benefit from a few more days in her mommy's womb. I am happy to accomodate and play hotel a bit longer, but I am not happy with the slow down. R has made me promise not to exercise until he returns from his trip on Sunday afternoon. That means three days of couching and bedding. This may sound nice to some, but to me it sounds awful.

Perhaps the last month of pregnancy is filled with trials like this so the mother is even more ready to have her uterine hotel vacant again. I am going to think twice about hanging a vacancy sign next time. This hotel is shutting down for renovations.