heart monitor

Last week, I was feeling unnecessarily nervous about the pregnancy. The constant urge to go to the bathroom had subsided, I was generally feeling better, and I wasn't starving all the time. It made me wonder if there was something wrong. I tried to tell myself that everything was fine - no bad signs like cramping or bleeding, and that the second trimester is usually the best. I think Gary ended up a bit worried b/c of my concerns, so we bought a $20 heart monitor at Babies R Us on Friday. Of course, the thing looked pretty chintzy and we weren't surprised that we weren't able to hear the baby's heartbeat. Additionally, since I'm only 15 weeks, it's difficult to hear the heartbeat anyway. I think what made me worry a bit more than normal is that it's been a while since we've been to the dr and our next appt isn't for another 3 weeks.

Sunday was not a good day for me. I think the combination of McDonald's for breakfast and indian buffet for lunch did a number on my stomach. I had the worst stomach ache that lasted until 2am. I slept for about 2 hours in the afternoon and then spent the rest of the day/evening on the couch. Thankfully, the stomach ache went away and I was able to sleep most of the night.

Monday (yesterday) I felt some cramping that just wouldn't go away. It didn't hurt - it felt more like someone was constantly poking me in the lower stomach. I became concerned and the longer I sat at work, the more I was thinking that I just needed to have a quick heart beat scan to make sure that everything's ok. I called the Ask A Nurse and she said that it's probably b/c the uterus didn't have enough water. She suggested that I drink 2 big glasses of water in 10 minutes and wait an hour. If the cramps didn't stop, I was to call her back and we'd figure out where to go from there. Well, the cramps stopped and now I'm drinking tons of water to make sure it doesn't happen again. :)

I told Gary about what happened (and that there's nothing to worry about). However, he ended up searching for a better heart monitor and found one on Craigslist for $40 (normally $250). We picked it up last night from a *very* scary looking couple in a trashy looking yard/house. We didn't want to get our hopes up that it would work since I'm still not that far along, but thankfully I was finally able to find the heartbeat! Gary was unable to find it and it took me a while to find the "sweet spot" but it was definitely there! :) I don't imagine we'll use the monitor often - just in times that I feel like I need that reassurance b/c something weird is going on.

So, now I feel better about it and I think I can handle waiting another 3 weeks for the appt. Hopefully the heartburn, stomach aches and other issues lessen b/c it's definitely not easy to be in pain so often. :P