False Alarm

It's 4:30pm Thursday and I start having contractions. They come and go every 20 to 30 minutes, sometimes lasting only a few seconds, and the longest 60 seconds. They continue through the evening, sometimes stopping for an hour and then all of a sudden, BOOM, they are back. I alert the husband, and my sister who is on-call for this reason. She asks if she should drive up and stay the night in case we have to go the hospital. Could it be that I am in labor? No. Its called False Labor, and it was yet another little joke Baby Jax played on us! Just like the other week when I found I was 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced at 36 weeks, I had not encountered a single contraction until this past Thursday when they came full force. But no, Baby Jax is becoming a little tease...... it was false labor because the contractions were irregular, would come and go, and would dissipate if I laid down or changed positions. They faded when I fell asleep in the night, but then woke me up at 4am..... still irregular. And I haven't had one since! You would think being pregnant for the second time would be familiar territory, but trust me when I say every pregnancy and every delivery is different. The symptoms can be different, the progression towards labor can throw you for a loop and confuse you even more (like now!), and I expect my delivery will probably also be unique. I wonder if Thursday's contractions dilated me more, and if so, does that mean that when the actual labor happens I will get my epidural in time or will I be too dilated to get it? Ayayay! Anyway, being that this is the 2nd wake up call in the last 2 weeks, we are definitely prepared and ready for Jax Franz Grover to come out and play. Even Brad has his bag packed now! I have my 38th week appointment Tuesday morning and my midwife is going to check how much I dilated and wants to "strip my membranes." Sounds weird, and it is probably going to be uncomfortable since in some women it could possible rupture the "bag of water" or bring on labor contractions within 24 to 48 hours. So, we are taking bets now, on which day will Baby Jax arrive? I like the sound of the 11th or the 12th, Brad prefers the 15th, our babysitter predicts the 12th (so next year on 12-12-12 he would be turning the big ONE), and both Brad's dad and my mom predict the 20th. Only little Jax knows for sure!