Oh man oh man….I am so close to meeting this little (or not so little) man in my belly that seems to be a full time gymnast. Last night I started tackling my editing list and woke up early to get ready so that I could work right away after taking Charley to school. I woke up a couple times through out the night because of cramps but only had to pee 3 times in the middle of the night, yes I said only 3 and was excited about that. Today I had a busy day in the office I was editing away and noticed that I was having lots of contractions and they were annoying but I was not about to stop editing to time them because I knew that it wasn’t the beginning of “Real” labor. So after I got Charley from school Dave offered to grill the steaks for dinner so I didn’t have to (he is trying to perfect it and become a grill master right now). It was obvious to him that I was not comfortable, I told him I was just having some tighter contractions and some pain…he told me to ask Goldie (my midwife) but I didn’t want to bug her…after a couple more hours I asked her. This is (one of the many reasons) why I absolutely love having a midwife that is so awesome. I ask her via text if pain on top of contractions that is pretty consistant is normal, she asks what kind of pain. I was having a very hard time trying to come up with a nice way to say it… I finally respond, “like a steel rod is stuck in my crotch(occasionally) and across my lower abdomen (pretty consistently) where my underwear line is and the 4 inches above it.” As I sit there for a minute I think I hope she is not thinking I am totally crazy ….. Her response:, “oh okay, then that’s normal! lol” Whew! What a relief…. but after a few more hours I think about how I have never experience full labor and I can’t lie for a few minutes there I kinda freaked out…but then was reminded of what an amazing thing our bodies are and how they know just what to do, and then I grew very excited!
Now I took a shower and went to bed but just woke up because my crazy man will not sit still and since I sat up, I had to pee, and then thought well I might as well eat now too…and if I am going to sit and eat I might as well blog a little.
I have a decent amount of things I still want to do within the next couple days so hopefully he lets me, I’m gonna have to go have a talk with him right now;)
the crunchy mama blog 
So many thoughts I have for you!
1. I hear when labor is active and for real, baby ‘calms down’… so maybe you are embarking on pre-labor. Which is exciting! Labor is eminent!
2. Next thought is: I’d love to repay the gift you gave to me… If you need someone to relax you, work with your midwife in the means of massage techniques and active release, please call on me. I can’t run the marathon with you, but I can be a wonderful rest station for you.
3. Since you haven’t experienced labor before, promise someday you’ll share with me the differences between your previous experience and this one. C sec and hospital versus V-BAC and home birth. I will love you forever if you do 🙂
4. My next thought is: Good luck, God Bless, and looking forward to your updates, on your sweet baby son.
xo, Angela
Yeah I always remember hearing that they calm down too, but then everything you read says to make sure you tell your care giver if there is a decrease in movement, hmm I’ll have to ask . I have an apt today 🙂
Your offer to be my rest station is such a wonderful gift in itself! Thank you so much and I will keep that in mind.
and yes…. I will for sure be sharing the differences ….it is what I have been most excited about sharing since the moment I found out I was pregnant!
Thank you again for reading and writing and all your kind words!! I hope you and your family are doing well!! xoxoxo
How exciting!! A couple thoughts about my own experiences I had while ready your blog….with my first, he was very active every night then one night there was nothing- I freaked out…found out it was the ‘calming down’ you mentioned…went into labor that night! How right you are too about our bodies knowing exactly what to do. It is totally amazing! The thing I found most amazing was that if I relaxed and let my body do the work without tensing up and/or fighting, it was easy. Both deliveries were natural and the second was so fast I barely made it to the delivery room! Good Luck and enjoy it!!!!! Give Charley an extra hug from me!
Shelley
Thank you so much for sharing Shelley!! I completely believe in the staying relaxed and trusting your body, I am so excited for this. Thank you. I will for sure give Charley a hug for you!! 🙂