Wow, this weather is scorching. Within seconds of stepping out into our back garden barefoot, I could feel my whole body burst into flames. And not that beautiful mythical image of a Phoenix bursting into flames before rising from the ashes. I mean a plump, hot, sweaty mess of flesh being barbecued to black ash image. Lovely.
So given the latest weather dilemma (IT’S TOO HOT) you would have thought that someone who is pregnant would be doing what most sensible people are doing in the heat. Drinking more. Well…unfortunately this idiot here hasn’t and because of this I ended up in hospital on a drip. I’ll start at the beginning dear reader. Grab a cuppa (I definitely have one) and settle in for a little tale of blind stupidity. Let’s begin shall we.
I awoke last Friday morning pretty much like most mornings. To the sound of little monsters playing and giggling in their bedroom. Amplified by the baby monitor it is impossible to try to ignore it once they are awake. I dressed and fed both boys and the eldest went on his merry way to nursery with his father while the youngest decided he wanted a morning nap. All through the morning routine I kept getting excruciating stabbing pains in my stomach. Me being me tried to push through it and just get the morning done. Once youngest was asleep, I took some pain killers and struggled to find a position that wasn’t painful. My first thought was “What if something is wrong with the baby?” but there was no blood. My next thought was that it could possible be Braxton Hicks. But I was only 15 weeks and I don’t remember them being this sharp and painful last time. It felt like a knife was slowly plunging into my stomach and then repeatedly stabbing me before quickly stopping for a few minutes and then starting all over again. I decided to jump in a warmish bath to see if that would help. It relieved the pain for a while but then it returned with a vengeance. At this point my husband was on the phone to the midwives stressing his concerns. You see the problem with me is I am incredibly stubborn. However since having the boys I have started to be less so and know when I should sort something out. I put my pride aside and did what was best for baby and spoke to the midwives. They asked me to come in which we did once eldest had been picked up from nursery. Once there they did the normal check of blood pressure, urine, feeling the tummy and so on. They could’t figure it out and so sent me on towards the hospital. Joy…
Like a lot of people I absolutely hate hospitals. You would have thought that I would be use to them by now, but nope. I still get the old anxiety attack as I walk through those double doors and get violently assaulted by a strong sterile stench of doom. My hands start to feel shaky and I have to focus my breathing in an attempt not to pass out. I know I should relate hospitals to a happy thing as it’s where I gave birth to two healthy boys but I still struggle. I still see all the pain, emotional turmoil, the fighting for my life and my little boys’. It’s a depressing and the last place I want to be. But, I put on my big girl pants and just dealt with it. Something you have got to do in life is put aside your fears and do what’s right. And right now, this was the place I needed to be.
I was ushered to a ward by a lovely midwife while hubby and the boys made friends in the waiting room. After having the normal checks done all over again and waiting what felt like an eternity to do yet another urine sample they listened to baby’s heartbeat. Always a reassuring sound when they finally find it. A healthy strong heartbeat. After speaking to a doctor who did the same checks and questions it was decided that the pain was caused by dehydration. I was shocked, stunned and felt like a complete idiot for wasting their time. They reassured me that I wasn’t being an idiot and it was a serious thing and sent me to another ward to be put on a drip accompanied by my little family.
To be honest, it was a relief to finally know what the problem was. I never for a second would have thought not drinking enough would cause such pain. I just tend to forget. It’s something I have always done, not drunk enough. Yet I have never experienced anything like this before. It definitely gave me the kick up the butt I needed to carry a bottle of water with me everywhere. I did not want to go through that again.
I suppose it wasn’t too bad in the end. It could have been a lot worse and I feel extremely lucky and grateful to the staff for doing all they could to solve the problem. While I was in bed on the drip, the lovely midwife gave the boys some sandwiches and cake. Cake which I wasn’t allowed but I did have a cup of tea. It brought a tear to my eye to see how concerned the boys were for me. Every-time a midwife or doctor came near me my eldest told them off and not to hurt me. I never realised before how protective they are of me as I am over them. It made my heart all fuzzy and giggle at the boys looking after me. Just too adorable.
It has been a few weeks now and the pain hasn’t returned, thankfully. Just normal pregnancy pains but nothing as intense as that. I have been drinking more and it seems the morning sickness has slowly faded into the background which helps with keeping liquid down. I am now just struggling with the HEAT! Melting into a puddle and wishing I was a sea cow in the sea. I can pretend by putting my feet in the boys paddling pool as they splash around me being crocodiles.
I hope you are all surviving in this heatwave and enjoying the summer holidays…7 weeks here with our eldest one off…7…weeks…wish us luck…
Hop hop wiggle wiggle
Bunny’s Pause 
yes, hydrate yourself.