Sudafed

So, I mentioned before about pregnancy rhinitis, right? Stuffy nose, runny nose, and sneezing -- all caused by pregnancy hormones? Well, it's only worse during mornings and evenings so the bulk of my day is pretty free of rhinitis. Like I said, I haven't really taken any meds for this (except for that Benadryl) and usually just endure it.

Yesterday morning, I decided take plain Sudafed (for nasal congestion) and Claritin (for runny nose and sneezing). I zipped off to babysit an adorable 10-month-old (who in the last 6 months went from being inert to rolling to crawling and to walking in a flash of lightning - right before my eyes!) and started having the Braxton-Hicks contractions. Normally, they're painless and only slightly annoying but this time, they were accompanied by mild cramping and backaches. It was odd because that was a new development. That got me to thinking, what if this is the real thing? Yet everyone keeps telling me that I'll just know when I go into labor. But...how do you know if you know? I figured if I'm pretty unsure about it then it must mean they were just Braxton-Hicks. Believe me, I can't wait for Ava to be born but I don't want her to be born 6 weeks premature. I'm perfectly A-OK to carry full-term.

I babysat for three hours and returned home and continued to have millions of those Braxton-Hicks the rest of the day, probably about 4 an hour, 15 minutes apart. I guzzled water and propped my feet up - even took a 45 minute nap. The contractions didn't stop and yet, I wasn't worried but it got me to thinking about real labor and delivery so I spent time reading up on that.....for the 1,849th time. I like being prepared.

This morning, I didn't taken any Sudafed or Claritin and the Braxton-Hicks contractions have been virutally nonexistent. Nada. Zip. Zero. Well, okay, maybe I had one this morning but seriously, compared to yesterday, it might as well be nothing.

So, what do you think? Do Sudafed and Claritin cause more contractions? I'm pretty sure they have an effect of some kind.