contractions & really late 27 week picture/survey

Will this pregnancy ever have a boring moment? I think I've given up on the possibility. However, I was told by an OB today that our baby is perfect (not that I didn't know that already) and that he moves more than any other baby she's ever seen!

So backing up...last night I felt my first Braxton Hicks contraction. It was pretty uncomfortable, but I had already taken a Tylenol PM to try to sleep through my back ache so I didn't have any issues sleeping.

Today I was feeling kind of crampy and had a couple more contractions so I decided to call the triage nurse at my OB's office. She said that it could be my uterus "thinking" it's dehydrated even though I've been drinking enough and that I should go home and lay down with a hot towel on my stomach and to also drink two tall glasses of water.

I told my boss, walked over to my husband's office to get our car keys (we work at the same place and carpool) and walked out to the car. As soon as I got in the nurse called back. She had spoken to my Doctor, who wanted me to come in and be seen right away.

I called Ben to tell him I was driving to the OB's office and I got myself scared at the thought that something could be wrong and I'd be there without him. He drove a work vehicle and met me there just in time, thank God!

They asked me all sorts of questions and hooked me up to some monitors. One was to monitor baby's heart rate and the other for contractions. Of course I didn't have any the whole time I was hooked up to it and baby was moving so much they couldn't get a steady measurement of his heart rate. He kept kicking the monitor thing and the nurse called him a little booger...hehe. She's right though!

So, they checked my cervix and made sure I'm not leaking any fluid...everything's good! And then the OB (not my main one, but someone in her practice) did an ultrasound to check his heart rate, since she couldn't get a good reading from the monitor, and to make sure he's moving consistently and there's enough fluid. That's when she told us that he met all the things they look for "in record time" and that he's perfect :)

She told me to monitor the contractions and cramps and if I had more than 4 in one hour to come back in. Ben took me home and I napped. I had another contraction as soon as I woke up and then another an hour later. That was two hours ago and nothing since. Apparently it can be normal to have contractions EVERY day. Please, oh please, no! They are not fun...but at least I have an idea of what they feel like for future reference.

In honor of my eventful afternoon- here is my late 27 week survey and a very unflattering picture of me after work last night.

How far along? 27 weeks, 4 days
Total weight gain/loss: still around the 20lb mark.
Maternity clothes? all the time. Just bought some maternity shorts and cropped pants for the lovely weather we've been having.
Stretch marks? nothing new yet, I'm pretty amazed!
Sleep: I wake up every two hours to change positions and pee.
Best moment this week: my mom telling me to "rock it" when I came out in a bump baring bikini. It was hysterical.
Movement: the most active baby of all time!
Food cravings: ice cream- had cake batter with brownie mix in at Coldstone last week...perfection.
Gender: boy.
Labor Signs: false ones.
Belly Button in or out? mostly flat, but all funky at the top from my navel piercing (that I removed 3 years ago!)
What I miss: wine with Italian food- Ben had wine twice this week!
What I am looking forward to: May 5th, our first baby shower. A co-ed one at work.
Weekly Wisdom: drink more water than what they tell you.
Milestones: seeing our little man for a few minutes on the ultrasound- he's getting so big!