Another trip to the ER!

Okay, I have only been to the Emergency Room maybe twice in my life that I remember. Well since I've been pregnant, I have been two times in the last two months! The first trip was due to extreme diarrhea due to a Campylobacter infection. They gave me fluids, medication, and sent me on my way.
The second trip was yesterday, it is was much scarier. I had gone in to use the restroom at work and noticed blood on the toilet paper. Then I saw there was four quarter size drops of blood in the toilet. Needless to say, I freaked out. First I called Joe, then Kaiser. While I was on the phone with Kaiser, my boss Suzanne, came down to the girls locker room to give me some much needed support. She really is a wonderful person! After much back and forth with the Kaiser people, I was told to go to the ER.
At this point I didn't have any new bleeding and I wasn't experiencing any cramping. Joe met me at the Sand Canyon ER where we proceeded to wait about an hour to be seen. The first doctor did a quick ultrasound that revealed a live and happy baby. But he saw something he was unsure of. He thought I might have a small tear where the placenta could have been separating from the uterine wall. Being a very professional doctor, he admitted that he was no expert and so he was going to send me to the ultrasound professionals for a closer look.
The ultrasound tech was very nice. At first they were not going to let Joe come with me, but we insisted. He had to promise to not ask any questions. First she did a quick stomach side ultrasound. Then a transvaginal ultrasound. The whole process took about twenty minutes. After lots of measuring and looking at stuff, she invited Joe over to my side and showed us the baby! It is really quite big now. It was moving around and kicking just like the last ultrasound we had at nine weeks. You could see the arms moving, little fingers and little feet. We also saw the outline of his facial features and the umbilical cord. Then, she turned on the sound and we heard the heart beating for the very first time! It was absolutely amazing!
The end result was very positive. I am fine, there was no reason for the bleeding and the baby is just as good as can be. In fact, we got an updated picture of the little bug. Personally, I think it is going to be a boy, but of course it is too soon to tell. I just say it's a hunch I have.
So the moral of the story: if you're a little constipated (which is common for pregnant moms) and you need to use the bathroom, wait until you absolutely have to go! Don't strain, because sometimes capillaries close to the surface of the cervix can pop and then you get some bleeding. And then you freak out and have to go to the ER. And then your husband and you worry until you see the baby is alive. And then you find out your fine and get a new picture of your baby...so maybe it wasn't all for not :)