False Alarm...We Think!

For all of you keeping track of my blog with the latest and greatest news on the babymo front...I sincerely apologize if I scared/excited you about today's possible prospect...I think it may have been a false alarm. Maybe.

With the contractions hitting an all time high, I was definitely surprised at the intensity and pain I experienced today. At one point, I seriously thought we were having the baby. It was that bad. Kent got everything ready to go in the car and I thought 'cool, this is actually happening; we're having a baby!'.

But to double/triple check that I wasn't just freaking out at Braxton Hicks contractions, we decided to walk around the neighborhood and do different things to see if this was the real deal or just "practice". The walking definitely triggered more intense contractions, but changing positions/sitting/resting slowed it down a bit. As a result, we decided to stay home and monitor things. Around 3pm this afternoon, sitting was manageable and the pain I've been feeling went away. The tightening around my belly was still coming regularly, but no pain...yay! Kent and I were both emotionally and physically exhausted and calmed down enough to take a nap and get some well deserved rest. Although the regular contractions have stopped, I can't help but think that this could also be pre-labor.

At my 38 week appointment yesterday, the doctor told me that I was almost 2 cm dilated and 60% effaced. For those of you that don't know, you have to be 100% effaced (meaning that the cervix has to be completely thinned) and 10 cm dilated in order to push. This, of course, would also be accompanied by the motherload of contractions, since that is what allows your cervix to efface and dilate. The hospital also won't technically admit you (at least ours) unless you are 4 cm dilated or having really intense/close contractions, signaling that active labor is nearby. With the look of things at this point, the doctor thinks I will most likely have babymo before my due date (March 4th). I was told that statistically 80% of women go into labor either 2 weeks before or after their due date; the other 20% will be within a day or two of their DD.

So, who knows at this point...it all seems like a crap shoot. After today's ordeal, I have no idea what to expect and when to expect it. I am just going to hope for the best and prepare for the worst....you never know, right?!

Oh, and here are some pictures I thought everyone might enjoy (thanks to Kent)...he wanted to document my misery this afternoon with the really intense contractions. I threw in an obligagtory belly shot since people have been asking me how big my stomach is (!) and the dog at the bottom is Vincent, the seizing chihuahua we are watching....FUN TIMES!