Oh Contractions

Before pregnancy, I thought labor would be simple to figure out. My water would break, contractions would begin and with a dainty hand I'd lift my packed hospital bag and Jack and I would, with flushed faces, head to labor and delivery.

Then I began reading blogs and I learned that going into labor is not as simple as the movies.

I'm having contractions today. They're uncomfortable. I get pressure. Sometimes they last for ten seconds, sometimes one full minute. I read that I should call the OB if the contractions are more than 4 per hour. After the fifth one today I called. The on-call OB said if I was able to talk through the contraction its not labor and to call only if contractions were every five minutes for thirty minutes. She said I could go into labor today or go past my due date, the contractions were no indicator of that. Thanks to Kate's experiences, I already knew that.

I just feel uncomfortable today. When he moves it hurts. I feel pressure in my abdomen. I could liken it to when one is constipated, except, I'm not. The uterus is contracting but not every five minutes and not painful to the point of not being able to talk through it. The OB said this is normal.

I guess its time to get a notepad out and time them and see what's going on. The craziest part about this was the doctor was totally unconcerned. She simply said you're 36 weeks pregnant so we're not worried anymore, if you have him today or next week, it will be okay. Wow- hot diggidy damn. We have arrived.