One Week Left!

Tuesday night greeted me with multiple contractions.  The discomfort level with each one varied, but they were definitely stronger than the usual "Braxton Hicks" contractions that I've become accustomed to over the past months.  It wasn't long before I started to feel nauseous and it was then that I started to think about the possibility of going to the hospital to get checked out.  I put the kids to bed and called both Carole and Jim.  I told Carole not to come over...that I would likely just have Jim come home from work and stay with the kids while I drove myself to the hospital since I really wasn't sure if what I was experiencing was anything too serious.  In the time it took for Jim to get home (about 40 minutes or so) I must have changed my mind about going to the hospital at least a dozen times..   Despite the fact that I still wasn't feeling "right", I honestly did not want to spend several hours at the hospital only to get sent home due to being in false labor.  After much discussion and debate with Jim I decided to wait things out and, worse case scenario, would call my Dr. and/or head to the hospital in the morning...
Seeing as how this is my 4th full-term pregnancy, I think it's suffice to say that I've been around the block or two when it comes to the whole labor and delivery thing.  I've experienced everything from a long labor (over 17 hrs w/ Kyle!) to my water breaking at home (Bella) to having an induction (Savannah).  I've dealt with everything from Pitocin to the Epidural.  That being said, the end of each pregnancy still brings with it a fair amount of uncertainty, anxiety and fear.  For every logical thought that runs through my head there are 100 illogical ones to follow!   As I spent much of Tuesday night laying on the couch in discomfort, I couldn't stop the wheels from turning in my head.  Was I making the right decision in waiting until morning to call the Dr.?  What if the baby decides to come quickly and there's no time to make it to the hospital?  What if the baby is engaged in the wrong position and I need an emergency C-Section?  What if something happens to me during the delivery?  These types of questions raced through my mind all evening.....so that by the time yesterday morning rolled around I was exhausted and irritable, to say the least.  Making matters worse was the fact that Savannah had woken up 2-3 times during the night, for no apparent reason.  I finally gave up and started my day around 6:30A.  By that time the contractions had subsided and I knew that whatever was going on within my body wasn't anything that warranted a trip to the hospital.
I spent a good portion of yesterday laying on the couch feeling tired and dealing with occasional waves of nausea.  It took until about 3p before I started to feel more human again and, much to my surprise - and delight -, I was actually able to get a little rest last night!
I see my Dr. for an internal later today.  I'm very interested in knowing whether or not the contractions that I've been having lately are strong enough to be doing anything.  When I was checked two weeks ago my body had not yet begun to make progress towards delivery.  I would imagine all that has changed now, but who knows.  While I'm not exactly a fan of getting internals (who is??) I am looking forward to the peace of mind it will (hopefully) bring me.  It's always reassuring to hear that the baby is still head down (my biggest pregnancy fear has always been delivering via C-Section..) and that things are progressing normally.
I'm in the final countdown now....One Week Left (give or take!)...