39 weeks...

Only 9 days til our due date and we are more than ready to meet little one!

We thought something might start happening on New Years Eve - I woke up at 3:00am with strong contractions in my back and tummy that (when I eventually started timing) were six to seven minutes apart for an hour or so. I waited til about 5:00am and called the L&D Ward who asked me a few questions then suggested it sounded like labour and to carry on timing, which we did. By 9:00am, they'd just turned crampy and a bit achy, although I had been warned by a few people that labour can start then stop. How annoying!! The midwife asked me to call back at midday and then again about 4:00pm, which we did then we were asked to come in so they could check whether anything had happened. It hadn't really, aside from the fact that it all looks ready to go at any point! This, apparently, is called the latent phase of labour.

We did find out that membranes rupture in less than (only) 15 per cent of pregnancies and when it does happen, the baby's head tends to act like a cork at the opening of the womb. I know a few people who's waters didn't break and had to be broken for them. Not all that pleasant. It's unbelievably exciting now though, and we're just waiting patiently - or trying to! Hopefully, these crampy things will materialise into something more substantial very, very soon...

The one thing I have realised, only in the last few weeks, is that so many people (kindly) give you advice and tell you what will happen, but every pregnancy is so different - it's really amazing. For some, everything happens at once. For others, it drags on and takes a while. I've been amazed at the things I've asked my midwife and she looks like I've gone a bit mad! When all I've done is ask such and such is a normal thing in pregnancy, because I know someone it happened to etc etc. Being a first, it's easy to get caught up in lots of stories people tell you, but I'm glad that I have a unique pregnancy, and I'm really glad John is there with me to go through it together!