NaBloPoMo Day 20: Not at All Wordless Wednesday

Bump Pic and Pregnancy Warning!

But first, to protect the dashboard:

Chillin' on a Sunday Morning

I have to confess something: We had a scare last Friday. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Everything happened so fast and, by the time I was in a place where I could blog, everything was fine again. Here's what happened...

Although I thought I had felt Aaron move when I was cuddling with Little K around 7:00 AM last Friday, I didn't feel him move the rest of the morning. I finally realized that he had been overly quiet around 11:00 AM. I pressed on my stomach and felt his body move with little resistance to my pushing hands. I drank a quick glass of OJ, boiled water and put in a couple tea bags to steep, and ran over to the pharmacy to purchase a stethoscope. When I got home, I quickly drank the tea and laid down to listen for his heartbeat. Although I wasn't surprised that I couldn't find it (such things are tricky), I got very upset when I noticed he wasn't pushing back or complaining about all of the poking and prodding. Cue panic.

I know that you are supposed to lay down for an hour and do a kick count before freaking out but, given that we live an hour away from the midwife, there was no way I could wait that long. I called the birth center, spoke with a midwife, and got in the car to go listen to Aaron's heartbeat. R works at the house, too, and was worried but I asked him to stay home so he could pick up Little K from school. I called my mom and gave her the heads up.

I ran R and mom through the possible next steps if Aaron's heartbeat was abnormal: emergency ultrasound, possible overnight stay at hospital for observation, possible bed rest. I asked mom to look at flights to NC - what was available that afternoon and what was available Saturday morning. None of us mentioned the worst outcome.

The whole way to the center, I kept praying, "Please, let him still be alive." Finally around 1:30, when I was about 20 minutes from the birth center, I felt a kick. I put my hand on my stomach and prayed - kick me again if you're okay, little man. Another kick in the same spot.

By the time I got to the birth center, Aaron was kicking up a storm. We listened to his heartbeat, running very high for him at 145 (the caffeine must have finally hit him!) I felt relieved and a little foolish as I began the long drive home but so, so grateful that my boy was okay.

I hope I never have to live through a day like that again.