I took Alexandra’s advice and headed for bed last night. The contractions didn’t wake me up until 2 a.m. or so, but they passed and I fell back asleep until 5:30. So, no baby yet.
I have to confess that I’m a little bit disappointed. I’m sooooooooooooo excited to meet this little girl. At the same time, I know that every day she remains in the womb is a good thing for her. I feel a little bit guilty for wishing it were the big day already 
I don’t know if I’m in labor or not. I’ve had contractions all afternoon and they’re really regular, but not especially painful. Textbooks always make diagnosing labor pains seems like a piece of cake, but it’s never been that easy for me. I have a hard time telling when they begin and end. Anyway, I guess I’ll call the practictioner tonight, but I’m hesitant to do so since my insurance doesn’t pay for trips to the hospital if it’s false labor.
Just for the record, the contractions are lasting about a minute and a half and are approximately 3 minutes apart…
Still on bed rest without much new to report. The medication has helped control the contractions, so I haven’t dilated significantly since last week. My doctor told me that we’ll discontinue the medication next week, though, so baby Claire may make her appearance relatively soon. She’s fairly small right now. She weighs less than six pounds, but if I can avoid going into labor for another week or two, she should gain another 1/2 to 1 pound, which will be good. My doctor says they won’t try to stop labor if it begins before then, but Claire would probably have to spend a couple of weeks in the hospital.
Apparently she still hasn’t developed her ability to suck which would prevent her from nursing very successfully–at least at first. I hope that breastfeeding won’t be as traumatic as it was with Sam. I had my hopes up that it would go smoother this time, but I’m starting to feel pessimistic about it. It’s supposed to be such a wonderful experience for mother and child, but it wasn’t at all for us. I’m going to try to think positive thoughts, though.
My parents came to the rescue this weekend and my mother has been cooking and cleaning up a storm. It’s such a relief to have them here!
'I, Amy of quixoticpixels.com, sign up as a participant of Self-Stitched-September. I endeavour to wear only handmade items of clothing every day for the duration of September 2010'.
