False Alarm

Last night was almost the night. We took a family trip to Walmart around 7:45pm to not only get out of the house but so I could walk around and maybe let gravity do its job.  We roamed around and bought Silas some Christmas toys.  By the time we got home, got the little one to bed, had a snack and crawled in bed ourselves it was close to 11pm.  By 11:30pm I was having pretty painful contractions.  Painful to the point where my eyes would flash open during the tightening and I'd have to breathe through them.  I timed them for a while and they were consistently every eight minutes.  After one contraction was over I would find myself anxiously waiting for the other in hopes that it would be closer and more intense.  Finally at 2:15am I woke up Joe and asked him what I should do. I realized that if this was the real deal we would have to call my parents or Joe's parents to come over and stay with Silas while we went to the hospital, so there is at least 30minutes of waiting plus the drive to the hospital which is another 15-20min.  And my midwife keeps telling me that this labor will most likely go a lot faster than the first and to be aware of that. I also didn't want to jump the gun and have someone come over to stay with Silas just so I can go to the hospital and then get sent home.  Waking Joe up was difficult and getting him to comprehend what I was saying was even more or a chore.  We agreed that I'd call the labor line at Woodwinds and see what they had to say.  I talked to Katie, a CNM, and she said it sounded like I was in the early stages of labor and to call back when my contractions were five minutes apart for an hour.  She suggested I take a bath since usually that will either speed up the process or slow it down if it's a false alarm.  I came back up stairs, drew myself a bath, looked at my passed out husband in bed and climbed in the hot water.  Things seemed to speed up.  Contractions were closer together and more intense, yet more inconsistent.  Some five minutes apart, some two, some ten.  After 30min I got out and looked up my symptoms online. Since things weren't consistent it was looking more like a false alarm than the real deal.  But, in the event that this was for real I figured I should at least pick up the kitchen.  I put some things away and wiped down the counter before I crawled back in bed.  I laid there timing and realizing that if this didn't lead to anything I would be one tired momma in the morning.  The last time I looked at the clock it was 4am. Next thing I know I hear Silas crying in his room and it's 6am. I had fallen asleep and the contractions were gone. And my child is up extra early. Bummer!

Right now Joe is playing hockey, the kitchen is clean and I'm about to take a shower in the event that tonight is the night!