car accident

Tuesday (yesterday) was indeed a rough day.

I was visiting my grandparents when I got a text from my brother-in-law Zach.  My sister was feeling super sick, and he was with her at an urgent care clinic, so they needed me to pick up the boys from school that afternoon.  So I left and started driving south, stopping at Wells Fargo to deposit some checks.  As I waited at the yield sign to pull back onto Powers Blvd., I got rear-ended.  The man who was stopped behind me had been looking back at the traffic.  He apparently saw a hole he wanted and started to go for it, not looking ahead to see if I had moved.  So crunch went Kevin's bumper.  Not much damage: a little crack in the fender and the trunk door is a little wonky now.  I think I screamed an obscenity as my head snapped back and forth and the seatbelt dug into my stomach.  I was immediately terrified for the baby, even though it wasn't a bad accident.  So I was crying and breathing hard and cramping and bending over when I got out of the car.  I think the man about had a heart attack when he saw that he had hit a very-pregnant woman who was now clutching her belly.  But he was very nice and apologetic and admitted full responsibility. I started a claim with Progressive, so they're expecting a call back from me today.

I called my mom as I got back in the car and told her what had happened.  I still had to pick up Blake and Cody from school since Beck and Zach were at Urgent Care, and I was now late for that.  And as I talked to Mom and drove, it became apparent that Evelyn was not moving nearly as much as she normally does.  So I next called the physician's assistant at Dr. Raley's office.  Debbie asked me if I was having any cramping (I was, a little) and if there was decreased fetal movement (there was).  So she told me to go to Labor & Delivery at Memorial Hospital and get checked out and have the baby monitored. 

I went into the school and got the boys, then called Zach to tell him that I had them but that they were going to the hospital with me.  The boys were scared that I was crying, but it was actually calming to have them there as a distraction for me, and to be able to explain to them what was going on.  I tried calling Kevin and finally reached him on the third try.  Since his school is near the route to get to the hospital, we swung in and picked him up.  And then Kevin, me, two kids, and a pit bull (Ruby was in the car with me through all of this) all drove to the hospital.

I was at Memorial for about 5 hours.  They hooked my tummy up to some monitors so that they could keep an eye on Evelyn and her heart rate and to make sure she wasn't in any distress.  Kevin and the boys worked on homework on the floor, and they were excited to be able to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time.  Mom and Dad showed up about an hour into it (you never stop being a parent) and took the boys out to the waiting room.  After Evelyn got over her shock and started moving around again, Mom and Dad left with the boys and Ruby, taking them out to eat and then home, where Zach and Beck were finally back. 

Evelyn continued to have a strong heartbeat and moved around more and more as the 5 hours went on, making up for her lack of movement earlier.  The nurses kept having to come back in and rearrange the monitors to try and get her heartbeat again.  One nurse described her as a hyperactive baby.  It's true, which was why I was super scared when she wasn't moving much at all after the accident.  But Kevin got to see the baby thrusting my stomach out like there's an alien inside, so that was good.  And he could hear on the monitor that, yes, she does move all the time, so it is tiring.  And it was a relief to hear all the nurses say that everything looks good.

So this morning I'm a bit stiff and sore.  My back and neck are a bit wonky, and there's still some soreness from the seatbelt.  But overall everything is fine, and I'm so glad that Evelyn and I are okay.  She seems intent on kicking me back into shape.  But Ruby and I are planning on lying on the couch and doing nothing all day, which we are both extremely god at.