"...this line is for serious emergencies only..."

Okay, so when you're 3 and 1/2 months pregnant what constitutes an emergency? A mysterious pain? I should think so! Again, let me preface this by tooting my horn once more -- I'm really not a WUSS. In fact when it comes to being concerned about my health, my theory is, drink more water. That'll usually clear up just about anything. Headache? Drink more water! Cold/Sniffles? Drink more water! You get the idea. I'm just not a big advocate of seeking medical attention. The body is awfully resilient. Now, that said... I just made my first phone call to the "emergencies only" line at my doctors office.

I've been having a sharp pain today (currently it's a dull ache) right in the ol' baby basket. Right under my belly button, top of my pubic bone. That's like the front door to Babyville - an area I've clearly been keeping an eye on these days! So, after a few raised eyebrows (e.g. "ooh...what the hell was that?!"), a mention of the concern to the baby-daddy (who shared my concern), and a few more (higher now) raised eyebrows coupled with painful winces, I chose to use the emergency line. Well, first I looked up everything I could on line that I might use to self-diagnose/self-medicate (perhaps I'd stumble on an advocate for Cosmopolitans as a homeopathic remedy?!?) The internet generally said, when googling "stabbing" "pain" "sharp" "pregnancy", that these were not good things. I had had ligament pain in the first trimester where the ligaments that keep everything in place start stretching and it did not feel like this and it was more general acheyness. This was sharp, shooting, and like tooth-ache white hot pain - but for 1/2 a second. So it was like a "drive-by" as far as pain goes. And all of the info on the internet said "round ligament pain" was typically to the sides.

So this prompted me to use the emergency line. I had to leave a message on an answering service and I think I apologized 20 times just in case I was over-reacting and this was not a "real" emergency. Well, all this anticipation and the midwife on call called me back and confirmed that I was experiencing text-book, uber-classic, "round ligament pain". I guess my first trimester's tip-toe through round ligament pain was just an appetizer. Yum. So apparently today is the day our little guest has decided to roll out the ol' barcalounger and make him/herself at home. I hope s/he's comfy. I know I'm not - but thanks to my handy little emergency line, I can at least have some peace of mind (and from now on --- NO APOLOGIES, if it's urgent in my mind, I'm calling the damn emergency only line! I'm going to get my co-pay's worth on this ride!)