These past few days have been a whirlwind of emotions, without a whole lot of sleep in-between I might add.
Saturday - my contractions started to pick up. Like a lot. By the time we got to the Mountain Home hospital they were 3-5 minutes apart. They were uncomfortable, but not "holy crap I having a baby" kind. I called the on-call dr and he told me to go in and get monitored. So I did just that. We were there until 3am Sunday. I got an IV of fluids (which had left my right forearm with a beautiful array of all things purple). Also got a shot to stop the contractions. Being that I am 32 weeks, the dr put me on full bed rest and told me to call my regular OB on Monday and then go from there.
Sunday - all I did was rest. On the couch, then my bed, then the couch again. Trace took care of the kids. He took all of them to church. Fed them. And made sure I was taken care of. All was well - until just before midnight - when I realized that Benji (dog) never made it inside from his potty break. It had been 30 minutes. I went to the back door and called his name. Nothing. I looked in the backyard. And again - nothing. So I waddled my preggo-self to the side yard, to discover the side gate was left slightly open. My heart dropped. It's not like Benji to be adventurous...but given that he was outside for that long, I knew he had wondered out through the gate.
So I texted my neighbor and asked if she had seem him. She has a new puppy and said that Scrappy had chased what she thought was the raccoon that likes to wonder through our neighborhood. When Scrappy started chasing the raccoon, all my neighbor saw was a black streak run out of her yard like a bat out of hell. She knew it wasn't a raccoon at that point, and putting two and two together - we knew it was Benji who took off. He was headed in the opposite direction from the house.
So the searching began. Trace, being the good man that he is, crawled out of bed and searched on foot and car until 2am...in zero degree weather. And due to my situation, I was pretty much helpless. The thing that killed me, is knowing how timid Benji is and how much he freaks out. He wouldn't come to just anyone. In fact, he probably wouldn't come to anyone, except me. That's a problem when I can't get out there and hunt for hiding places. Our big-hearted neighbor as well as my friend Natalie pitched in and helped drive around. But we just didn't have any luck.
Now already being hormonal probably didn't help, but my heart was certainly feeling defeated. I could handle him taking off. I could hope that he would make his way back eventually. But eventually wasn't a luxury. Sub-zero temperatures are not a place for anyone - especially a chicken little dog who is still underweight. I did what I could and posted, in a few different places on facebook, that Benji was missing and gave basic info. We got a lot of response in terms of encouragement and those wishing Benji the best. I also called the sheriff, animal shelter and vet clinic.
Monday - Trace takes time off from work to help get me sorted out with all the bed rest/kids stuff. He then hits up all the neighbors, asking if they have seen Benji, with no luck. Friends come over to help search for the dog. And again, I am sitting on the couch, more than frustrated at the whole thing. Bed rest is bad enough - but this was just too much.
I call my OB dr. He wanted to know if I was still having contractions. Yes - about 6 an hour. I guess that was still too many to have and they wanted me to come into Labor and Delivery in Boise to get monitored. Sigh. Here we go again. So no dog, no leads on where the dog could be. Then we get to leave our already stressed-out kids for me to go to Boise. Grrr.
Once I got there, they hooked me up to the monitor and gave me some more meds to stop the contractions. It took two doses this time. They thought the same thing I thought, that my uterus is just po'd. I had told her, my uterus - I call her Myrtle, that she was done after the last kid, yet here I am again making her do all the work. I think it's Myrtle's way of letting me know how displeased she is, and just how old and cranky she can get. The monitor showed that my uterus would contract, and stay contracted for 10 min at a time sometimes. And then spike and have a really good contraction about every 15 minutes. Now I am not too worried about the forever-long contractions, as they were really nothing more than annoying. I am however worried about the ones that would spike, because those hard ones are the ones that can cause me to go into labor. Anyway, once we got things stopped they sent us home. We made it back to the house at about midnight, exhausted of course. And still no sign of Benji.
Tuesday - I had to go in to see my regular OB in Boise to try to get the contraction stuff sorted out. They had to repeat the fetal fibronectin test (the one that detects the protein that can signify whether or not labor is coming) because apparently the Mountain Home hospital lost the first test. They checked my cervix, and all is well. So I am still on bed rest, but was given a rx for terbutaline to stop the contractions so I won't have to go the hospital again. Thank goodness! Not that I like the terb. It is the devil if you ask me...but a necessary evil at this point. Trace calls it the "shake and bake" drug. It makes me shake so incredibly bad - just so I can bake the baby a little be longer. :) So it looks like bed rest for at least the next 4-6 weeks. Lovely.
While we were in Boise someone had posted a tip on facebook about seeing a lady chasing a black dog right by our neighborhood. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I had Trace go check it out after we got home from Boise late in the evening. He knocked on a few doors and gave Benji's info and told them where we lived if they were to find him. No one had seen a little black dog. Great, another dead end so it would seem. It was getting more difficult to hold out any hope. The realistic side of me was wondering how long a dog his size could survive in the elements without food, water, or appropriate shelter.
At this point Trace started asking the tougher questions. I told him I wasn't ready to discuss those yet. Time-wise, he was right. I just wasn't ready. He asked if he could shut the side gate, as we had left is open just in case Benji found his way back. I knew if Benji found his way home, he would be more familiar with the backyard. It seemed silly to still leave it open this long, but I wasn't about to admit it. So open it stayed.
Meanwhile, we get the kids in bed. Trace goes to bed. He told me to go to bed, but I just couldn't. Too many things on my mind. And quite frankly, it was all a little too depressing. There was a lot to take in from the last few days and there wasn't much of it that I had any control over. I like being in control. And from time to time, I have to reminded that I am not really the one in control, or at least the one in charge. So there I sit, at midnight, feeling sorry for myself, when Sasha starts to nudge me with her nose. It was time for her to take her last bathroom break. I let her out, and as I let her out, I noticed that her water dish is empty. I fill it up and bring it back by the door. I glance at the door and realize that there are two dogs jumping to be let in. I did a double-take. One. Two. Yep - two dogs. One calm big one and one jumping spaz of a little one.
Benji had come home.
It's like he magically appeared out of nowhere. True - he could have found his way home, but I seriously doubt is would have taken him over 48 hours to do so. Especially with the freezing temperatures and the highs being in the low-teens. I have a hunch that maybe someone found him and scooped him up. I also think Trace going door to door earlier in the evening might have been what turned things around. Either way he has returned to us. And that makes me happy.
Wednesday- Benji is afraid to go outside (who can blame him). The kids are over the moon that all is well again on the animal front. The dr's office called to let me know that the test was negative. So I get to be on bed rest, but the more serious worry is no longer on the forefront.
Life is okay, and so are we.
The kids learned a few lessons about life and animals and prayer. I am glad that this one had a good outcome, because honestly I didn't think it would be.
I also learned a few lessons. First and foremost, I have the most awesome husband ever. Now just being on bed rest doesn't seem so bad. If that's all I have to deal with, I am good. I know that things could be much worse. I need to focus on the baby right now. I was able to get a priesthood blessing, and have found great comfort in that.
A lot can happen in just a few days. :)
