Could it be almost time?
Last Tuesday I didn't feel quite right. I was having contractions all day which I assumed were Braxton-Hicks (normal practice contractions), but I got suspicious toward the end of the day because they had lasted all day by that point and they were starting to hurt (they aren't supposed to hurt). That night Jerry and I had a newborn care class (where you learn about swaddling and taking temperatures and other types of infant care.) Jerry looked over at me, saw the furrow in my brow, and knew something was wrong, so he talked me into seeing the doctor that night. They monitored me (one monitor on the belly which checks the baby's heartbeat and another one which measures the strength of contractions). The doctor confirmed I was having contractions, and that they were coming pretty often, but not regularly.

What they weren't able to tell us was whether the contractions were false labor, or the beginning of real labor. They told me to take a muscle relaxant before going to bed, and if the contractions were false, the relaxant would calm them down -- if the contractions were the real thing, I could wake up in real labor. Considering we were still 3 1/2 weeks away from our due date, this freaked us out a little.

After going home and staring at the pills for a couple hours, I decided not to take them. If it's the real thing, then it will happen. I didn't want to take drugs unless I really had to.

After a full night's sleep, I felt like a new person the next morning. No more contractions. I was also put on disability leave by the doctor, which became effective Wednesday, so I am off work now. I am so relieved. It was hard to make it through the day since I always felt I needed a nap. Now I can take it easy.

I have started to pack my suitcase for the hospital just in case. I was going to wait a couple of weeks, but now that doesn't seem like such a good idea.