Week 37: True or false

This week has been pretty eventful and pretty exciting. My nesting instinct is stronger than it’s ever been, and it feels like I’m really checking stuff off our to-do list. Jesse even put together Anaïs’s loft bed in her room while I shuffled some art on the walls and tidied up even more. The car seat has already been installed, and I even took it to my local fire station to get it checked out to make sure everything was in its right place. (Did you know that some fire stations actually offer that service? I didn’t do it the first time around, but I think it’s brilliant. Find out who does this in your area!)

On top of all of that, there are a million things going on in my head right now. I’m at the point in my pregnancy where I’m equal parts excited, anxious, impatient and thrilled. My belly is no longer as round as it used to be; instead, it’s taken on the shape of whatever position my little boy decides he wants to be in at that moment. Sometimes, it looks boxy. Other times, it looks oblong. When he moves, there’s no mistaking whether it was his leg or his butt anymore! At 37 weeks, I feel ready. And you know what? I think he might be pretty close to ready, too.
Two nights ago, Anaïs came into our bedroom at 4:15 a.m. because she was thirsty, so I woke up and got her some water. After putting her back to bed, I started feeling some really mild contractions. Not to get ahead of myself, I paced around the kitchen for a while and timed them. They weren’t getting stronger in intensity, but they were pretty steady at 15-20 minutes, so I was feeling pretty good.
However, three hours later they just stopped (cue the sad trombone). I was able to go back to bed for a couple of hours to rest while Jesse woke up with Anaïs for breakfast before heading to Brenda’s for our 37-week appointment. At the appointment, I told her what was going on, and she said that labor could be starting—but that it could also be false labor. I was fine with that as long as I was able to get some rest before the real thing started! So after checking the baby’s position and confirming he was still where he needed to be, we went home.
Later that day, I made an appointment to see my chiropractor. I’ve been seeing a chiropractor throughout this pregnancy for pelvic adjustments and for general wellness. I’ve been loving how I feel afterward, and I think the baby does, too! Plus, I really believe there’s something to be said about having all your bones aligned for optimum health—pregnant or not. If I’m being honest, speaking from first-hand experience, I feel like being adjusted two days before Anaïs’s birth was what brought her into this world right on her due date!
Well, that very night at 1 a.m., I jolted up in bed. I was having contractions again. This time, they were stronger than the previous night’s, and they were closer together at around 10-12 minutes apart. Jesse was still up, so I went into the living room pacing. He kept me company while we laughed and joked about what might happen during our home birth experience. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve laughed more with anyone else in my life, and I sometimes think that I might just laugh this baby out.
So, these stronger contractions came and went. … Then they came and went again. And then they came—and stopped. A full hour went by of this only to have it cease again! Ha! I went back to bed shortly after 2 a.m. and got enough rest for the day. Like I said in my last post, now we’re just playing the waiting game. That’s OK, though. He’ll know when he’s ready to come out and when he does, we’ll all be there to welcome him.