Don't just chalk it up to Round Ligament Pain

At work this afternoon I started getting a crampy feeling in my lower abdomen. It felt like menstrual cramps just kind of coming and going. I figured it was round ligament pain. Round ligament pain occurs when the uterus is stretching to make room for the baby and occurs frequently throughout pregnancy. I had felt this stretching type pain many times before, usually right before I would put on more weight. The baby seemed fine. He was doing his daily acrobatics and didn't seem to be bothered by whatever it was going on. So, I let it go and went on with my work. Then, the pain worsened and it became uncomfortable for me to sit down. My abdomen started to tighten and my back started to hurt. I decided I should probably call the doctor to see what this may be. Although I have no experience with contractions this was what I assumed they felt like. The doctor's office was busy of course and the line went straight to voicemail. I left a message detailing what was going on and waited for the nurse to call back. After about a long five minutes of waiting I took a ride from my boss and went straight to the doctors office. I figured it was better to go there instead of the ER and wait for three hours for them to just tell me Im fine. So to the doctor's office I go. When I explain to the nurse what was going on, she tells me its just round ligament pain and that Im merely going through a growth spurt. By that point Im more or less doubled over in pain refusing to sit down because it makes it worse. The nurse leaves me for a moment to speak with the nurse practitioner. She comes back saying they want to monitor me on a machine that measures contractions. They put me in a room and strap this ugly belt across my stomach that was hooked up to a machine on a rollng cart. Sure enough I was having ever so mild contractions. After a few tests they tell me I have an infection which is causing me to have an "irritable uterus." That was a new phrase for me. I was given a prescription for an antibiotic and was told to increase my water consumption and rest as much as possible. They warned me that I could go into preterm labor if I didn't take care of this soon. Round ligament pain my butt!