The Saga Continues... unfortunately.

Ok, now for the update I was alluding to in that last post. As I posted before, I've been starting to have some cramping in my lower abdomen the last few weeks. You can catch up on the details from that in this post, this one, and the final one here.

Ok, so, for today's news, I went out on my dog walk, and I LOVE these 2 dogs. They're freaking adorable. Unfortunately the puppy must not be feeling so hot because he had an awful case of the runs. Poor thing. Since it was right in someone's front yard, I kinda felt like I couldn't just leave it, so I did my best to clean up the mess, but unfortunately, that turned into me whirling around and emptying the contents of my stomach (which weren't really ANYTHING at the time) into the grass on the other side of the sidewalk. Awesome.

After I finished their walk, I ate a granola bar to re-settle myself, and went home rather than spend more time out marketing like I had really wanted to. Then the cramping got REALLY bad. It wasn't fabulous this morning, but it was bearable. But then it just kept going, and wasn't getting any better. Finally, about noon-ish, I decided that was quite enough of that, and I was going to bed.

I am so grateful for facebook because I was able to post what's been going on and got some really great comfort and advice from lots of friends who have been there, done that, and have the confidence that what I'm experiencing is probably very normal and that I don't need to panic. Based on my intuition and the confirmation from a friend and my mom, I've put myself on bedrest for the remainder of today and probably the rest of the week except for a couple times I know I'll need to leave the house. I already have a standing appointment to see my doctor on Friday and if things don't improve on their own I'm definitely calling them early to give them a heads up of what I'm experiencing and what I'm doing about it.

For the remainder of today, I'll be lying right here, reading, surfing the web, and watching some movies on my laptop, with my pregnancy tea with raspberry leaf in hand. Just say a prayer for me and my little girl that everything is indeed as it should be.

Take care!

Earliest I've been awake to date!

Hello readers. I'm sorry, I know it's been a few days since my last post. I've been actually trying to figure out what exactly to post about... not a whole lot has been going on. After my last post, Dog-Man called and sort of tried to work things out. I decided to give him one more chance, but of course, I think he still has no real concept of how to run a business, and nothing really changed. Earlier this week, I actually got a call from another dog walking company - MUCH more local, MUCH more experience and professionalism and concept of business image with your staff just as much as with your clients. They actually had a real list of questions on an interview form!!! gasp!

I went in for a casual interview yesterday, which was actually pretty great. I get along really well with the marketing director, we have a very similar mindset about how a business should work and what customer service looks like. I left with no direct job offer, but feeling as though I was already a part of the team. I will find out Monday if I got the job, and will start PAID training Tuesday!! Yeah, did I mention before that with the other company, the only work I would have been paid for was the actual dog walking I did? I would have been expected to do my own marketing, build my own client base, and come in for training completely pay-free. Riiiiiiiight.

Moving on, the current thing on my mind is something I am starting to get a little worried about. On Sunday in church, I started feeling a little, uncomfortable but not entirely painful twinge right in the middle of my lower pelvis. I brushed it off as no biggie because I didn't really feel any real alarm over it, it just wasn't comfortable. That, and I had just called the doctor a couple days prior with concerns about what turned out to be just a bad round ligament pull. I don't want to be a neglectful mother, but I also don't want to be freaking out over stupid little things. So, I figured I'd let this one go.

Here's the problem, though... since Monday, off and on, and - I realized today - increasingly, I have been experiencing what feels a lot like mild menstrual cramping that fades in and out all day. It's completely subtle and doesn't impede my activities at all, but I definitely notice it. When it woke me up this morning just before 6:00 (not awful, just enough to wake me up), I realized I couldn't ignore it anymore. Now, I'm up at least an hour and a half earlier than what I'm used to, researching mild cramping in the second trimester, and starting to freak out. No one else is awake yet, my doctor's office isn't open, but the article I found basically said that because the pain is consistent I need to call the doctor.

They already decided they want me to get things checked out at my next sonogram to be sure they're not "missing anything" from the ligament cramping before - now THAT pain was bad! - and now, with my next appointment still 2 weeks away, I'm not sure if I can really wait any longer to get it done.

Are there any other moms out there who've experienced this happening? I'm really trying hard not to become a total worry-wart, but I've had a pretty constant fear of something awful happening to my baby, that I haven't ever been able to totally shake. I'm struggling with really relying on God and allowing him to give me peace about this whole thing. I just want to have a healthy baby...