Update on this pregnancy

Announcement: I had false labor this morning! To most pregnant women at the end of their 37th week this might be disappointing. But I have never had any kind of natural labor before. So it was incredibly thrilling! I woke up at 5 A.M. with a good contraction (just like everyone's said they'd be... easily mistaken for gas and close to terrible menstrual cramps). The contraction wasn't painful, but it didn't feel good. I was confused for a minute because I'd been having a dream about rotten cramps... which makes me wonder how long I'd actually been contracting in my sleep. I started dozing off and was quickly waken back up by another contraction five minutes later. They consistently came every five minutes for about 30 minutes- which is when I woke Ryan up and told him I thought I might be starting labor. Seriously, guys. We're nerds. This is our fourth child but starting labor is such a novel idea to us. The thought that my body could just start contracting regularly like that- amazing. I laid there for another few minutes and got extremely excited at the prospect of delivering a baby today. I'm happy this was my reaction. Since I'm not getting an epidural for this delivery I really hope I can keep my wits about me and stay positive from the very beginning- not get scared or nervous. I told Ryan to go back to sleep and I went upstairs to fiddle on the computer for a few minutes. By this time I started writing down each time I'd have a contraction. They were every 2 to 4 minutes apart. So cool! And they felt like a toned down version of what Laura, my hypno birthing instructor and dula, has described- vertical muscles pulling up on the horizontal ones. Eventually I decided to get in a warm bath, sounded like the best possible way to start this day. And then they stopped entirely:). I figure if it was real labor those contractions ought to have been able to withstand a bath. The entire experience lasted about an hour and 15 minutes.

Yesterday I had my follow-up ultrasound with the perinatologist at the Timpanogas Hospital. He gave this baby a clean bill of health- definitely no more fetal arrhythmia (irregular heart rate), good fluid, and weighing in at a healthy 6 lbs. 15oz. Which means this will most likely be our biggest baby- Mags was largest so far at 7 lbs. 2 oz. I've never felt worried about the baby even with all the extra monitoring we've been doing (1 or 2 non-stress tests and amniotic fluid indexes (ultrasound) each week). But it was still wonderful to have the specialist tell me everything looks "perfect." 

2 weeks ago I was dilated to almost a 3. My doctor didn't check me last week but we'll see how I've progressed tomorrow. I am so excited to meet this little gal. And I am so excited to try all the techniques and things I've been practicing for so long. I'm ready do push this baby out! It's going to rock. I'm not even close to having my "before baby's born to do list" completed. But it turns out I don't think that's going to happen. With how tired I am and how difficult it is to move I'm really no use right now. Nothing's getting done. We're just keeping laundry and hygiene barely above sinking level:).

The end!

P.S. Chocolate ice cream is my absolute favorite thing to eat right now. Especially when it's a little melty. I might be eating a bowl right now... and headed to the store in a little while to get more since I just finished that carton off...