When it rains...

You know that saying, 'When it rains, it pours'? I'm finally beginning to understand the meaning behind that.

Yesterday, all the way to the doctor's office I was having strong, regular contractions and I thought I was actually in labor (which would have been unrealistically convenient). But it turns out these are still 'false labor' contractions and aren't causing any changes to speak of. I'm actually still at 2cm and 30% effaced. The doctor is not very optimistic about my going into labor by my due date (the 28th) and is now throwing the word 'induction' around, which makes me crazy. I do NOT want to be induced. Being induced means being stuck in a bed until contractions regulate, not being able to eat anything, and relying on stupid chemicals to do what mother nature was meant to do all along. No offense to those of you who have been through it with good results, it's just not what I'm used to and I don't want it. So I'm currently doing research on what I can do to stimulate labor myself and hoping against hope that I don't have to deal w/ the induction issue at all.

THEN, this morning, my three year old proceeds to swallow a very powerful magnetic rock- the shiny ones that you can get at places like the discovery center and which I THOUGHT we had put away where the kids couldnt play w/ them unsupervised. I freaked out a little bit, having heard horror stories about kids swallowing magnets, and promptly called both the Poison Control Center and the kids' doctor. The PCC told me that he'd probably need an x-ray to make sure it wasnt 'hung' anywhere but as long as it was only one that he swallowed, the danger was minimal. I also checked Web Md to verify this and made an appointment for the doctor to see him as soon as possible, which was 9:20 am. The doctor promptly sent us to the radiologist at the neighboring hospital and so we had to wait a good half hour in the outpatient waiting room for the x-ray lab to be ready. The waiting area was overcrowded w/ growly people of all ages and I have never seen so many 'crocs' in my life! (Is it odd that the mere sight of these shoes immediately throws me into the pits of depression?) Anyway, the magnetic rock was actually already in his lower abdomen so they sent me home w/ the happy mission of 'searching' through each of his stools until I find it. If he doesnt pass it withiin five days, he'll have to go back and be x-rayed again. So far, I've searched through one batch w/ no luck. Yay.