We arrived in Chicago on Thursday night around midnight after a long day of working. (plus I'm pregnant which as I've been saying the whole time am exhausted all the time!) Friday we woke up at my parents house and my mom and I did some very quick shopping and girl time before meeting Jason and my dad at Portillos who were out picking up the rental car and Jason's tux. After a delicious lunch we went home and got ready for the wedding rehearsal in Elk Grove Village. The wedding rehearsal dinner was at Lou Malnati's (yum!). Great day of Chicago food and good friends and family.
Saturday morning I was very panicked because I hadn't felt the baby move for several days. In addition that Tuesday before I had had some really bad cramping which I had just ignored and figured was gas pain. So then by Saturday I was a wreck thinking maybe something bad had happened and I was an idiot that I just kept thinking everything was okay. So to make a long story short...after a sleepless night for both Jason and I (and the baby still not moving in the morning) I called my OB back in Colorado and told her my concerns. My OB and my relationship is a whole other story but lets just say she didn't ease my mind when I called her. So I called CDH and they told me to come in and they'd hook me up in Labor and Delivery so there wouldn't be a wait and I could get peace of mind.
I hurried up and showered and got ready for the wedding which was at 2:30 in Elk Grove Village. Jason had to be to the hotel at 10:30 so there wasn't much time in our day to fit in a visit to the hospital but as I said, I was a wreck with worry. We got to the hospital, they hooked me up for a nonstress test and the baby pretty much immediately started moving (of course, right?!) So we knew the baby was moving but also found out I was contracting because I was extremely dehydrated. I wouldn't have thought so but when I thought about it, it made perfect sense. I hadn't drank a ton on Thursday at work. (my job doesn't allow for many pee breaks) then we drove straight to airport, then flew and both of those I didn't want to have to have to pee every second. Got into Chicago at midnight...obviously didn't want to be up all night going to the bathroom so hadn't hydrated properly. Friday during the day it was just busy. I did drink a lot of water at the dinner but also had pizza and their salad both with lots of sodium. It just made sense that I hadn't made drinking water a huge priority so I learned that day how important it is to drink water...and a lot of it, regardless how much I have to go to the bathroom. The nurse had originally told me I'd be there until about 4:00 because they'd have to do a bunch more tests to make sure everything was okay but in the end they just gave me about a gallon of water and apple juice, the doctor came in and reviewed the test...all looked better and I was cleared to go around noon with barely any time to spare. I headed to my parents, changed, and got to the wedding with just a few minutes to spare.
The wedding was a lot of fun. I ended up being a long day since just the morning had been so exhausting. And I must add that weddings also aren't as much fun when you're not allowed to drink but we had a great time together. The bride looked fabulous and there was lot of love in the air! We danced and caught up with some of Jason's friends then went to bed around midnight since we had to be up early for church the next day.
In the morning we went to Willow for church...I cried through all the songs. I can't get enough of that church. I miss it so much but am so thankful we get to go back when we're home. After church my mom and I drove straight to my family shower while Jason and my dad returned the tux and rental car. After shower one, we went to shower two. The whole day flew by and was overwhelming with seeing so many different people in one day but it was a day I will never forget! (more to come on the showers in a separate post).
Sunday night was spent going through all the shower gifts and packing up before hitting the road for the airport at 4:30am. What a weekend it was! I could have used an extra week or two to do all we did in that very short 3 days but wow was it fun! So thankful I got to see everyone that weekend and that my parents opened their house to us fed us well each morning. Hard to believe that the next time we're back in West Chicago we'll have a little one in tow!
