The Final Few Days of Pregnancy

My due date came and went last weekend just like I expected it would. During that weekend, I finally had contractions for the first time ever (I never had a single one with Bridget), but they were few and very far between. In hindsight, I realize they were Braxton Hicks, but I was just happy for any sort of sign that this baby was on her way out.

Monday 4/4, I taught school even though my contractions were 10-15 minutes apart consistently, but they weren't very painful yet. The regularity made me hope that she was on her way within the next 24 hours. So when I woke up at 3:30 AM on Tuesday morning and they were 4-5 minutes apart, I thought it was finally time. They weren't really uncomfortable yet, and since I was new to this whole labor process, I figured they would stay close together and just start to get more intense. I packed my hospital bag and waited for the intensity to increase, but it never did. In fact, all they did was start to get further apart again.

I had an appointment scheduled for early that afternoon, so I called my doctor's office to see if I could come in earlier. They told me just to come right away. My doctor informed me that it was false labor because contractions don't slow down with real labor. When she checked me, she said I was between 2-3 cm dilated and that the head was much lower than it had been the week before. Her recommendation was to induce me the next morning, and I was ready to be done so it was scheduled for 7 am on Wednesday the 6th. The doctor also joked about how often all it takes is just scheduling the induction to get a baby to come on their own. And sure enough, that's what happened. More to come on that story soon...