38 Weeks

*Please Note: Women are probably the only ones that care to read this post...*

No picture as of yet at 38 weeks. Mainly because my belly hangs out of almost all my pregnancy shirts. :( I'm pretty sure he/she drops a little more each day!

At my 38 week appointment, I was still only 2 cm. But I was feeling EXTREMELY uncomfortable that day -- lots of pressure and pain. So I was so frustrated when I was only 2 cm. :) I asked her if there was anything we could do to speed the process along. I specifically asked her about stripping my membranes. She said, "It'll hurt!" But I was fine with that!!! (And it didn't really hurt that bad.) She also scheduled an induction for next Wednesday. We're to arrive at the hospital at 6:30am to begin the process. I would rather go on my own, but it is very comforting knowing a date.

Last night (the night following my appointment) I was awakened at 1:30 with strong contractions...STRONG contractions... I was exhausted by 4:45 when they were still going on. I finally woke Ian up at 3:30 because they were at 6 minutes apart. We decided that if they dropped down to 5 minutes apart, we would head to the hospital. I told him to go back to sleep -- I mean really, what can he do for me during contractions? If I were in labor, at least one of us would have been rested! And if it turned out to be false labor, at least he wouldn't be super exhausted at work that day. But anyways. After I woke him up to tell him they were 6 minutes apart, that's when things got really frustrating for me. The contractions went from 6 minutes apart, to 8 minutes, then 5 minutes, then back to 6 minutes...blah blah blah. You get the point! That's when I realized I wasn't really in labor, and that I was just having extremely painful false contractions. I was exhausted and eventually drifted off to sleep. Charis woke us up just after 7, and thankfully Ian was able to get up with her and get her a "first" breakfast so that I could sleep a little longer. But Cayman woke up not long after, and once they're both up, you can't really get away with sleeping. (Have I ever mentioned how much I LOATHE the time change? Why? It is so unnecessary!) 

Today, the contractions have continued off and on. They hurt as bad as they did last night, but they aren't happening close enough together to time. And I have found out it's pretty weird to have contractions in front of the kiddos. "What's wrong Mommy?" "Why are you doing that Mommy?" "Aw, Poor Mommy." "Peekaboo!" (because I was covering my eyes/face during contractions so they wouldn't see my pain...) During this pregnancy, I have thought about what it's going to be like to take care of 3 kids. However, I never thought about what it would be like to go into labor in front of them. :)