Another false alarm, a little scarier this time!

Well, I suppose as we enter this final stretch we should be expecting more of these "little" scares. Tuesday night I was contracting more often than I had before, and I was actually starting to feel them as opposed to the phantom ones I've been experiencing up until now. By 9pm, they were coming consistently every 7-9 minutes or so, so we called the on-call doctor, who sent us to the Birth Center. I got hooked up to the monitors, which track the babies hearbeats as well as my contractions, and did some lab work which included a test which can indicate the possibility that labor is soon to come. The test was negative, but the contractions were indeed coming every 6-8 minutes according to the monitor. Also checked for any change or dilation of the cervix, which was closed (VERY good sign). So, they decided to keep me overnite for observation, and put me on an IV in case I'd gotten dehydrated with all the heat (dehydration can cause contractiions). A short time later I started to contract even more, only about 2-3 minutes apart, and I could tell the nurse was troubled. She called both the on-call OB and high-risk specialist (the subs for my vacationing regular docs!). The specialist said to continue monitoring for another 3-4 hours, as sometimes you can have a little run of closer contractions, then they begin to space themselves out again. He wanted to wait it out a little longer before starting any special meds, as it's sort of a once shot deal, meaning once you use a certain medication, after that it won't be as effective. So we waited it out, both Jeff and I trying to get a little shut eye in between the nurses popping in every half hour or so to check on us, and thinking, "Is this it? Are the babies coming!?" Fortunately by about 5:30/6:00, the contractions were starting to subside. Later that morning we got visits from both the specialist and OB, got checked again for any cervical change (nada!) and they sprung us. Phew... So, we're home again and I'm so happy to be here. Frankly the hospital is not all that comfortable or restful, especially when they've got all those monitors on me and I can't move around a lot to get re-positioned. And I think Jeff would agree, as he slept on an even less comfortable chair that pulls out into a pseudo bed. I was sent home on orders to get plenty of rest and fluids, and to call any time of day or night, with any concern. But, I have not been put any major restrictions on me, so I can still drive, run an occassional errands, do a few things around the house, etc. I go back in on Monday for my usual ultrasound and monitoring - so I'll have updates on the babies' weights and all of that then.