October baby, Braxton Hicks, and finally sleep... then CLEANING!

1 AM
Well... Cambria is officially going to be an October baby! One plus to her having an October birthday is that my mom won't have to worry about another birthday in the 20s haha. Her birthstone is opal and I think that's pretty cool. It might be too early in the month to have costume parties for her birthday, but who knows... it could be fun. :-)

4:17 AM
Still awake. I laid down a little while ago and I had some painful contractions. I realized, though, that if I was honest with myself and tried to put a number to my pain (1 being barely any pain and 10 being excrutiating), I would put it at no higher than a 3 or 4. I think after hearing so many horror stories throughout my pregnancy (and my life) and after being told that labor is so unbearable, I have convinced myself that every ache and pain is much worse than it actually is. Even a 3 or 4 is frustrating though when you're trying to sleep. I laid on my right side and the pain was irritating so I moved to my left side and it was worse. Finally I got out of bed, used the restroom, ate some fruit, drank some water, and things seem to be letting up. I still feel a lot of pressure down below, but it isn't sharp pains. I know they say that contractions aren't "sharp", but mine definitely are. It depends on how I'm positioned, too.

Today (Sunday) my pains have been a little more intense because of the very painful pelvic exam I had. The exhaustion I feel in between contractions is heavy. I tense up my whole body, clench my teeth together, squeeze my eyes shut, squeeze the blanket, and make it much worse for myself than it needs to be. If I just relaxed and took short breaths, it wouldn't be even half as bad. I just get so nervous with every contraction and I have such horrible expectations for the pain that I get all worked up. The relief in between contractions is like a high and I feel giggly and anxious. Mixing all these emotions together (exhaustion, relief, anxiety) makes for a rather draining, hormonal, and frustrating night. I cannot tell you how terrified I am to go through this process. I am eager to meet her, but I am equally horrified at the idea of the whole thing. I wish that I had taken lamaze classes.

Anyway, it's about 4:30 AM now and I think I've got these contractions under control. Obviously they're Braxton Hicks or nothing would be helping. I just need to remind myself that 98% of the pain is in my head. Now the nauseating heartburn has set in and I'm going to go rest some more.

-Alicia

2:28 PM
I finally got some rest last night. Cody came upstairs just as I was finishing up that last post and made sure I was doing OK. I went downstairs and laid in bed for awhile and the contractions were much more painful than a 3 or 4 that time. Cody let me hold onto him and stayed awake with me while I worked through the pain for a few minutes. Once I rolled over onto my left side, the pain seemed to let up. However, my stomach seemed achy after all the contractions and it was difficult to get comfortable. Cody made sure I was all right and he went to sleep and eventually I did, too. I can't tell you how many times I got up to use the restroom through the rest of the time, but it was a lot! Every time I thought for sure the pain of urinating was going to send me into labor. But no, here we are with an achy stomach and no baby.

I feel grumpy and unmotivated to get anything done. Kemah is barking in her cage and I know she needs to go out, but I haven't showered yet or anything, so I don't want to go outside. Cody's at work until 7PM and I should use this time to get some things done. I'm sure that moving around would help ease the pain a little and I should probably get motivated.

Tomorrow night Cody's mom and their family- friend, Jalane will be flying in from Texas. I plan on going to bed as early as I can manage Tuesday night, but I'm sure I'll be so excited/nervous about everything that I will have a difficult time. I've heard from different people that being induced is "great" and other people that it's "awful". I wish people would keep their opinions and stories to themselves sometimes if they're just trying to impress me with their stories of survival. Like Katie said, what works for someone else might not work for me, so I'm just going to let my experience happen and try to ignore all the stories I've heard from strangers who don't even know me.

Now I need to shower, eat, and get some things done.

-Alicia

7:01 PM
So I've got some cleaning done. I think I'm completely caught up on my laundry and that hasn't happened in months! I didn't actually have a burst of energy, I just forced myself to do things. I also thought maybe if I was active it might start some dilation or contractions that would lead somewhere. I don't think that's the case though. Cambria's moving around a little more, but that's about it. My parents are shampooing the carpets and cleaning upstairs and I've been trying to clean as well as I can downstairs. I've got to get this nest ready for my baby bird.

Tomorrow my plan is to get up as early as I can drag my butt out of bed and clean some more so I'm exhausted at a very early hour. If the weather is nice I might go for a walk or something. I'm positive that Cambria isn't coming out until the doctor's force her out of there, so I'm not afraid of actually putting myself into labor. That's the thing that makes all my Braxton Hicks so frustrating- I know they're not actually leading to anything!

Well I should probably sweep this floor before my dad comes down to shampoo. Then I need to organize baby clothes. Cody should be home soon as long as the rain holds out (our windshield wipers still don't work).

-Alicia