safe and sound

saturday, i woke up feeling nauseated. sometimes i still get this way from the pregnancy, so i didn't think much of it, but by the late morning, it was clear that what was wrong with me had nothing to do with the pregnancy. by three, it was obvious that i had some sort of stomach bug and that i was not going to make it to the barn dance that i had been looking forward to for the last few months.

instead, steve, gabe and i headed to labor and delivery. i had a feeling that there was something wrong and that the contractions i was experiencing were just too regularly spaced to ignore. so at the expense of feeling like one of those obnoxiously paranoid women, i decided that we had better just go check it out.

turns out, i have half decent instincts. because i was unable to hold anything down all day (including water), i was severely dehydrated, which led to contractions. They kept me overnight to hydrate me and get the contractions to stop (because, even though i look ready to pop, it is still about another three weeks before ezra can be safely born).

it took three and a half liters of fluid and a couple doses of medication to get the contractions to chill out, but i was also able to receive medication that stopped the nausea and calmed my fever. after a good night's sleep under the supervision of a really sweet nurse, i woke up feeling like myself and contraction free.

i am so thankful that i am married to steve, who was such a trooper through it all and made sure gabe was taken care of while simultaneously getting the whole house clean (with the help of jared) and making sure i had everything i needed. and, it was such a blessing to be reminded again of God's grace in the life of our family.

gabe enjoying his hospital souvenir (they had me wearing a mask just in case i had swine flu. but i tested negative).