Bed Rest is Bad News

So sorry it has been so long. A very strange sequence of events lead to an early departure from work on Thursday. Here is how it went. Wednesday and continuing into Thursday, I was having some strange cramping very low in my abdomen. My feet had also swollen larger than I had ever thought possible. So I called the nurse at my OB's office thinking she would tell me what they tell everyone, "Get off of your feet, and drink as much water as you can down." However, I guess the combination of the two scared her a little and she sent me to OB Triage (the entrance level of the hospital for pregnant women) to get tested to make sure I wasn't in preterm labor. At this point, I kept my cool, but needless to say was pretty freaked out that I might be in early labor. They checked my blood pressure and urine to make sure I was having pre-eclampsia, which I was not, and then hooked me up to the fetal monitor which also checks for contractions. After about an hour, the nurse came in and said that I had one contraction while there, and that she thought I was probably just dehydrated. She gave me some water, and said she was going to bring me the discharge papers to go home. About another hour later, she came back in and said that I had four contractions since she had last been in there, and that gave her cause for concern. She gave me a shot of Brethine to stop the contractions, and then put me on modified bed rest until I could get in to see my OB. Then she checked to see if I was dilated, I wasn't, and I am not leaking amniotic fluid. So luckily, labor is not imminent. When I got home, I called to schedule an appointment, and the nurse who had originally sent me to Triage told me I needed to wait and see Dr. Miller on Friday. I am sure you can imagine my response. It was something like this, "Seriously? That's an awful long time to be on bed rest. I could see another doctor, you know. Fine. OK, I'll just stay in bed for 8 days." You probably know how long that lasted. I tried to stay in bed, I really did. But I just didn't feel that bad. I was having a few crampy waves here and there, but the swelling was gone by Saturday morning. I almost felt like I was faking it. Obviously I wasn't. I went to work this morning for a few hours, came home and took a 2 hour nap. Maybe bed rest isn't such a horrible idea after all. I think I will try again tomorrow, but did they really think I could stay in bed for 8 days?
I would like to think that Avery will hold off for at least another 5 weeks or so. That would put her at 37 weeks and full term. Say a prayer for that.