As I near the end of my pregnancy, I've often thought/worried about going into labor - where will I be (work or home)? -will I know what labor pains really feel like? -what if it's those Braxton Hicks Contractions I've read/heard about? -how will I know the difference between Braxton Contractions and real contractions? -what if don't watch the clock and count contractions right? -will my water break? -if I I'm at work, can I drive myself to the hospital? -and so on. I think all my worries are pretty natural for a first-time pregnancy. And, I know that no one knows the answers to my questions; every pregnancy is truly different.
However, I feel a little more at ease about knowing the difference between Braxton and the real thing. Wednesday (July 9), I started having terrible pains. I mean stop-you-in-your-tracks, take-your-breath-away pains. They lasted for a few seconds; then they stopped. A minute later, it happened again. After about the third time I started watching the clock and counting 'pains'. Within a 15-minute time period, this 'pain' occurred 10 times. So, my wonderful Nana picked me up and took me to the doctor's office. I didn't even call Sajid b/c I had a gut feeling that it was too good to be true that I'd be in labor 2 weeks early. (I didn't want to worry him for no reason. I called him after I left the doctor's office.) And, I was right. Dr. Palmer found no change in my cervix - still only dilated 1 centimeter and only 20% effaced. She said my body was just 'practicing' for labor. (OMG - if practice hurts that bad, what on earth is the 'real thing' going to feel like?) "These are Braxton Hicks Contractions," she informed me. So - I asked how I'd know the difference, and she said where all my pain is below the belly button right now, real labor pains will be above the belly button. That was totally new info to me. Out of all the books and websites I've read and people I've talk to, none have mentioned that my labor pains would be above my belly button. It was all I needed to hear though to ease my worries about labor.
It's also all I needed to hear to get my butt in gear and get things ready for Ethan's arrival. There was no way I could go into work that day, and as bad as I felt, I was determined to get my hospital bag ready, which I did. As for the nursery, it' almost ready too. The bedding arrived Thursday. Sajid and I absolutely love it. I'm so thankful that things worked out the way they did, and that he came across that Noah's Ark pattern. I received an email from Wal-Mart Friday night letting us know that the crib had finally been shipped ('site to store'). So, that was exciting. I was worried that we might have this beautiful bedding assemble and nothing to put it on. We're not even going to have to paint the nursery - it already matches. We also bought the mattress Saturday morning when we picked up the crib. And, a great big 'ole thanks to my mom and dad who spent their weekend at our house organizing and cleaning the entire upstairs. I know it wasn't easy by any means- not to mention how hot it was up there (the air hadn't been turned on this summer yet). They even steam-cleaned all the carpet. Thanks to them, guests can actually use the spare bedroom. The only thing we're waiting on now is the changing table. It too was shipped 'site-to-store'. They said it would arrive to our Wal-Mart within 7-10 business days. If they're right, then we should get it one day this week.
I wanted to say thanks to all of those who gave us Wal-Mart gift cards. I think we ended up with at total of $240 which was used for the changing table, the extra car seat base, the mattress, and some nursing items. I feel like so much weight has been lifted off of me now that things are coming into place. - Okay - No weight jokes, ya'll :)
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