False Alarm.

I'm embarrassed to say it, but yesterday I entered hospital again. This time though, I really thought I was in early labour.

Things with Avalon's labour were tough, but at least I knew that labour had started. My waters broke with her, and contractions started very obviously straight afterwards.

This next girl is totally confusing me. I've had painful braxton hicks since entering into hospital last Sunday, and this Saturday (marking 38 weeks, 1 day) I felt them intensify.

My parents and I were on a conference in the city, so we were staying in a hotel along with Avalon for the night. Avy woke earlier than usual due to the unusual surrounds (6am) and I just thought I'd bring her into bed so I could lie and snuggle for another half hour if she'd let me.

Avy happily obliged and, very tired herself, nuzzled into me and hugged my arm while letting out contented coos next to me.

It must have been all that love that brought on the hicks more intensely, because I needed to grab my watch and start timing the period pain and lower back pain intervals. They were exactly 10 minutes apart.

I only needed to wait for 30 minutes before my parents got up, and I mistakenly informed them that I think labour may have started.

This sent my Mum into a flurry of excitement. I told her that she needed to calm down, they were well spaced, we can even attend some morning sessions of the conference before heading home. I was still getting these pains after sitting up and even taking my mind off them, so I was pretty assured that this was the real thing.

A few hours later, we did head home, although by this time I was starting to get wary. Why weren't they intensifying? If anything, they were duller than before. Hmm. Oh well, better get home.

On the way back in the car they went to 8 minutes and 10 minutes apart, but some were really like contractions, and others just felt like tightenings. What's going on?

Several kms away from home, they ramped up again and I felt for sure now that I'd probably just stalled my labour with worry. Once I got home, things'll progress like they should. I called Craig, the bags were packed, we were ready.

After having a bath at home, my pain left entirely. I was still having tightenings regularly (10 minutes then 8 minutes) but the back pain had left. There was now no way of knowing if i was in labour or not. I called the midwives and they told me to come in for a checkup.

We went in. Yes, tightenings regularly were monitored (maybe spaced to longer than 10 minutes now though) and peaking twice in some goes, making the tightenings last for over 2 minutes. But, after an examination, they told me it wasn't labour. Nothings going on down there. These must just be braxton hicks. Regular braxton hicks. That are sometimes painful and feel like early labour. What the???

So now I'm more clueless than ever, and slightly embarrassed seeing as how I have been through this before, and I should know better. I'm still feeling sheepish about it, but then again, these "braxton hicks" have now been around for a whole week.

It makes me wonder if this time I will have my baby in the shower. I could be one of those stories you hear about on the emergency 000 tv shows. 'Mum too stupid to know she was in labour because of previous false alarms'. How embarrassing. 

I guess only time will tell if this baby will make a quick entrance into the world or a slow one. All I know is that I will most likely be completely clueless. The mothering "instinct" is lost on this one!