9:59 A.M.

Back from pancakes... mmm....

No dramatic water break... the biggest surprise was that, for the first time ever, there was NO WAIT at this fabulous and popular restaurant. We were seated immediately and our food seemed to come moments after being ordered.

We're going to watch a d.v.d. in bed, hoping to catch a few more hours of sleep. My sister is afraid that the baby won't come until tomorrow and I'll be too exhausted if I labor through the night tonight after only three hours last night. So... texting my midwife to let her know the plan. And I hope to be sleeping soon.

I don't know if I'll continue this live-blogging, but... so far it is fun to stay connected with all of you and to thereby feel your prayers and support. I suspect that once truly active labor kicks in... this blog will get quieter. We shall see.

8:05 a.m.

Our midwife left a little while ago.

As I was leaking amniotic fluid for much of the last 24 hours she did an internal (first ever) just to assess status.

3 cm dilated, 50% effaced, Baby's head at 0...

So still early labor. But... progressing.

Think we're going out for pancakes.

7:02 A.M.

Received a text message about 15 minutes ago from my primary midwife. "This is your morning wake up call. I'm here. : )"

I didn't really get back to sleep after the 2 a.m. wake up... made the play list, listened to today's pray-as-you-go podcast (of note- today is the feast day of St. Francis of Xavier- even though I won't name this child after Fran... what a day... and the reading for the day was the first one I chose for my ordination "Consider us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries..."), then to the most recent episode of "Radio Lab"- on, of all things, "Sperm"- and then tried to sleep, checked in with sister at 5, she said to try to sleep more, timed contractions, listened to "Wait, Wait..." kind of. And then the text.

And that's the latest.

2:54 A.M.

My sister said I had to at least try to sleep for three hours. So I slept... for three hours, from 11-2. I am supposed to be taking my temp every four hours or so, or when I awake to pee... and I couldn't find the thermometer nor my cell (where crucial phone numbers are stored) so I probably woke up more than I really needed to. I've been trying to get back to sleep since 2:19 (after finding the missing items), but the mind is active and sleep is distant.

I think the contractions have slowed as I have been resting, but when I do feel them they are stronger now. I'm sure once I get up and start moving around they'll pick up again. But I'm not getting up yet. Kev is snoring next to me and I have yet to make playlists for the birth. I'm still hoping we'll sing, but... I probably won't sing through pushing... and if it is a long labor, I won't sing right though. So I'm going to make a playlist or two... and then sleep some more... or track contractions... or... we'll see.

Update

I had my prenatal appt at 6, at home. She wasn't sure whether she should be filling out the prenatal form or the early labor form. She went with the prenatal form. She left over an hour later saying, I'm going to take a nap. I look forward to your call at 3 a.m.

I'm leaking amniotic fluid, a slow leak, all day... just like my mom had when she went into labor with me. I'm now more aware of contractions, but they're not painful. I'm trying to time them. They may be 5 minutes apart already.

We're making a double batch of a really yummy Moosewood casserole. We'll eat some of it and then try to get some sleep. But if these contractions really are 5 minutes apart, we'll be making a call before going to bed. Think we'll try out this site recommended by Mama V to try to get an accurate count. It's a bit hard to tell when they start and stop at this point.

We stocked up on yummy food for those who will assist (and for me if I want it). And the birthing room is TOTALLY ready... and lovely. All we need is some candles I think... Hmm...

I can't believe how calm I am. My blood pressure was nice and low at the appt. I'm just curious to see what happens next... curious, but calm.

2 days away- more signs- perhaps TMI

I have slept incredibly well the past few nights. Thanks be to God.

Yesterday, as the day progressed I felt more dramatic movement than usual in my uterus. When my sister felt my belly late in the day it appeared the baby was in the process of turning into a left-sided position which is a standard pre-birth shift. She called it a shift to the "rapid exit" position. As of last night though the baby was posterior (her best guess), the baby's back to my back (I think that's what that means), and ideally it has completed or will soon complete the turn and not remain in a posterior position.

This morning I appear to be losing the cervical mucus plug and for the past two days my bowels have been dramatically clearing out... so... perhaps we're getting closer. Maybe this baby won't be late afterall!

Thanks so much for all your predictions. More predictions are certainly welcome! My brother guessed that the baby would come on his half birthday, the 11th. If the baby were to come today, which seems unlikely, it would be three months to the day of my birthday. And, for some strange reason I remember that today is the birthday of the church musician from my childhood church, who lived in our extra room for awhile. He is a pretty cool guy... so I'm cool with that. I'm guessing we won't make it to the 8th however... but we'll see.

I was going to edit until I got sick of editing today and then work on further prepping our bedroom for the birth. I think I might reverse the order of those activities.

3 days away- a drop! MAKE YOUR PREDICTIONS

Actually, we noticed the drop yesterday. I noticed it in the morning, but I've thought that I dropped before and was wrong so I didn't say anything, but after church my sister said "You look lower. Can I feel your belly?" So she did, and the head is much lower, beginning to engage it seems. I'm still not all that uncomfortable. Maybe I feel slightly more pressure in my pelvic region, but not really. The movements of the baby that I'm feeling now feel more like actual kicks, probably because of the shift in position. Katherine says that from the drop, for first time moms, the baby will come anytime in the next two weeks... I'm still figuring December 8th- that would be a week from today. She thinks December 12th. So I should have done this a long time ago, before you had such an increased chance of making a correct guess... but for fun... why not leave your predictions in the comments here- date of birth, time of birth, gender of baby, size of baby. Perhaps I'll come up with a prize for the closest guesses.

Yesterday was also the first day I actually felt a Braxton-Hicks (sp?). They've been happening for awhile, but I'm usually unaware.

We're getting closer...