All Quiet on the Uterine Front

OK, that's actually not true...the title of this post, I mean. I have been having contractions, sometimes quite uncomfortable ones, but no "true" labor yet. For the last hour I've actually been feeling a lot of discomfort with the cramps, but it's too soon for me to tell whether or not this is another practice go or THE beginning of the real thing.

It's funny, I can already tell that contractions aren't going to feel at all like I thought they would. I'm not sure what I thought they would be like, but I think I underestimated the sheer all-encompassing, total body effort that labor will require. It's not just enduring the cramping of a huge muscle...which would be tough in any case. So far, contractions feel like this sort of incredible grinding deep in the very pit of your body which requires all of your attention. And this clenching dull ache is also affecting everything else...lower back, thighs, intestines, stomach...which tend to sort of clench in sympathy. It's very early though, so my impressions might be subject to change. I can see that breathing and really working on relaxation (there's an oxymoron) are going to be important. Thank heavens for the hypnobirthing practice.

In other news, we survived our huge blizzard without any ill effects. Our neighbors were flat out awesome...they came over and shoveled out the drive and the sidewalk for me, since Tim was on call for the 30 or so hours of the blizzard. They also gave me their numbers and insisted that they would get me to the hospital if I needed to go. Fortunately, I didn't have to use those numbers, but it was such a relief to have a reliable back up plan. Particularly one that didn't involve me trying to pilot the Audi through two feet of unplowed snow while in active labor!

Tim and I went to a holiday party for the Orthopedic Department last night and had a wonderful time with all of our friends. I felt like a small orca ...blubbery in my black and white....but everyone was very kind and it was nice to get out and think about something besides when we're going to get to meet our baby. I'm trying to stay as busy as possible to make the time pass quickly. My friend Rebecca had her daughter three weeks ago, and she advised me to remember how much quieter they are in the womb! So true. I'm sure that when I'm staggering about in exhaustion, I'll wonder why I was in such a hurry to deliver!