getting started

thought i should start a blog to keep everyone up to date on our little guy both pre- and post-birthday.

i'm currently 33.5 weeks along and boy is he keeping us on our toes! i've started having braxton hicks contractions, which for those of you who don't know pregnancy-speak, these are basically "practice" contractions. they're pretty normal and aren't supposed to hurt, but they can still be kind of intense at times and can be hard to interpret for a rookie like me. in the past week, they have definitely started picking up speed...which some people tell me could be a sign that labor is near and other people say probably doesn't mean much of anything. regardless of their meaning, they're wearing me out a little bit more each day. from what i've read and what the midwives have told me, the only remedy for braxton hicks contractions is to drink GALLONS of water and to change positions (i.e., if they start while you're sitting up, then lie down for a while, etc.). i've learned that sometimes this works, but mostly it kind of doesn't. what i do know is that the second i tell someone that they've stopped...they spontaneously decide to pick up again. go figure.

here are some examples of what braxton hicks contractions feel like:
1. your stomach is "making a fist"
2. you've just finished a really intense ab workout
3. the baby's butt is going to push its way out through your belly button
4. someone is pulling your bikini line up towards your chin
5. that scene in alien, right before the alien pops out of the belly

combine that with all of the baby kicks, punches, and hiccups, and my insides feel like an amusement park most of the time. needless to say, it's gotten a lot harder to concentrate on anything that isn't baby related these days. and between the GALLONS of water i'm drinking and the constant changing of positions to keep the contractions at bay, it's now getting even harder to try to accomplish anything on my miles-long to do list (yes, that's directed at YOU, pile of thank you notes i still need to write!). for now, i'm trying to focus on keeping this little guy in there for at least three more weeks (those tiny lungs still have some developing to do!)