baby time?

yesterday, april 4th, (2 days shy of 39 weeks), i was having a huge increase in practice contractions. i didn't time them, but it seemed they were coming about every half hour. this morning, the morning of his original estimated due date (holy cow!), as i laid in bed from about 7 am to 8 am, i swear i had several braxton hicks. again, i didn't time them, and i didn't pay much attention to when one stopped and when another started, but believe me, that uterus was doing some serious preparation (what a dedicated, intense little guy!).
since i was told that this could be the first signal that labor will be starting soon, (whether soon means hours, days or even weeks still), i figured i would start the "baby time" post now, and just update this same post in real time each time something new happens. as of yet, i have no other news to report. no other signs have presented themselves, but that's just as well. i do feel i still have some things i would like to get done before he arrives. mainly, i have 3 pediatrician appointments this week, 2 of which are not exactly close to home (and are also scheduled for when jason is working, meaning i'll be driving myself), and i'm not too keen on going into labor during one of those. but hey, samson knows what he's doing, and i'm sure he'll pick the right time for us...whatever that ends up being.
*edit: it's 8:27 am and i'm having another one. :) it's really comforting to know that even my uterus understands that this is a big deal and wants everything to go right.

*edit: it's 6 am and as usual i have woken up with a full bladder and an empty stomach. figured i'd update while i have some cereal. lots more braxton hicks all day yesterday. having them all day long started to give me a bit of a stomach ache after awhile, but no big deal. they also sometimes make it more difficult to breathe. i'm already at a decreased lung capacity, of course, and the practice contractions can sometimes crowd my breathing room even more. other than that, still nothing to report. j is on pins and needles, though. he keeps wondering if they're actually real contractions and i somehow just don't realize it. yeah, i wish.

*edit: i had a really wonderful realization today (4/8): soon i will have a BABY. a real one. he will have a face. instead of nubs that poke me, he will have fingers that GRASP. instead of feeling his hiccups, i will be able to touch his skin. he will recognize my voice, and i will finally be able to hear his. i am so frigging ready for this.

*edit: last night at i think around 3 am, i woke up with some back pain that felt like the kind i used to get during my cycle. i was like, holy crap, what is this? thinking it might be early labor stuff, i got up. but after i went potty it was gone. false alarm!
i have had a slight head cold for a couple days now. once i had been up for a couple hours this morning, virtually all the symptoms were gone. it is now 7 pm and i don't feel it at all. phew! don't want to be sick when he gets here. also, i may have a UTI. :( i have been pretty dang terrible at drinking enough water throughout this pregnancy, and for almost a week now off and on i have been having some pain when i go to the bathroom. so, i've been trying to get more water, and i started on some cranberry capsules yesterday. today i had less pain, so hopefully it's going away. like i said, though, the symptoms have been off and on all along. there's no real danger to samson at this point, since the only ways it can effect him are low birth weight and premature birth, and both of those are out the window by now. however, if i don't get rid of it, (assuming i'm even correct and do indeed have a UTI), it can progress to a kidney infection, which is obviously not good. so wish me luck getting rid of whatever this is!
that's all i have for now. still no other signs of pregnancy. even though he's due in three days, he still hasn't dropped or anything. no rush, though. i'm sure he's not just sitting on his laurels in there...

*edit: still nothing new to report, but i had an interesting realization yesterday when i finally did something i should have done a LONG time ago. while keeping track of things on a chart as we were trying to conceive, i started the month we ended up conceiving with the LAST day of my last cycle. the most common method of figuring out one's due date is according to the FIRST day of their last cycle, so i pretty much had to guess when that was. i DID however, write down with 100% accuracy the 2 days during that ovulation period that we tried to conceive. so yesterday, i put those days into a due date calculator that goes by CONCEPTION DATE, and came up with a new, there's-no-way-now-it's-not-accurate, due date--april 16th (if conceived july 24th), or april 18th (if conceived july 26th). now whether or not he feels like coming on one of those days is of course impossible to determine and entirely up to him. but at least now i know when to start calling him past due. :) ugh, can we blame this on pregnancy brain?

*edit: ok, we MAY have something here. it's currently 5:13a on friday morning. i woke up at about 4:30a to pee. since going back to bed i have had 6 braxton hicks (??) that were very uncomfortable and kind of made me nauseous, all about 6-10 minutes apart. hhmmmmmm.......better keep an eye on this. having some cereal right now.

*edit: just went to the bathroom--and had some bleeding!! woohoo!!!! that is really gross...but i am freaking out excited!!!! 5:35am :)

*edit: 5:45a--ok so it had been so long i forgot what this feeling even was--it's not nausea, it's cramps. looks like we might have the real thing starting! :D setting up the birthing tub now...sure wish i had done that last night like i said i was going to...

*edit: at around 7:30a we went to einstein's to get some bagels. :) didn't have a single contraction in the car, or while i showered before we left. did have a couple after i got out of the shower, though. called mom on the way. her reaction: "oh, sh!t" hahaha got home and ate, then took a nap. i was woken up by a contraction around 9:30a, followed by a few more of varying intensities around 8-10 minutes apart from each other. it's now 10:30a. called betsy to let her know where we're at.

*edit: noon--just took the dog for a walk. gonna take another nap. zzzzzz......

*edit: 12:45p--laying down did NOT make those more pleasant. had a couple difficult ones, then had one standing up that was not so bad. filling the tub now. had a banana. i feel right now like it's more the mental part than the physical that i'm going to have to get a handle on. just relax...


*edit: 2:44--- Jason here, contractions are coming around 5/4 minutes apart now. I'm so excited!! Also I am impressed to the max with how well Sarah is handling each one, I gotta get back to supporting her, bye!