False Alarm

Sunday evening and all thru last night I had steady contractions, lasting about 45 to 60 seconds and about 3 to 4 minutes apart. They would start and build in a band from the abdomen around the small of the back, and become uncomfortably painful but easy to talk through, then fade and resolve. We called Tanya and she was at a party right across the street, which we thought was funny. She reviewed for me how to time the contractions and suggested the shower test and was ready to come over whenever we were too. We got the watch out and timed the contractions, and watched a movie. We had a friend over, Michelle, who gave me an awesome lower back/pelvis massage! She's a natural.

Ben and I got really nervous and excited when the contractions passed the shower test before bedtime--a hot shower often makes them go away if they are false or early labor. But then they were more spaced apart, and we went to bed. I slept through most of them but got awakened a good handful of times by the pain of some of them. Still felt them in the morning, but by mid-morning they were going away. We were so disappointed! So, Ben went to work.

Tanya explained that this is very common for second-time pregnancies. That often early labor like this is lightly felt in first pregnancies so there are less false starts. But this is just early labor and normal, and can go on for two weeks before the due date. Which is about what I've been doing!