Antsy antsy antsy

Tomorrow is 36 weeks, and I'm once again constantly caught in that divide between "Oh gosh it's so close I don't know what to do" and "it's never going to be December 26." I had a scare at my sister's house last Thursday where I stood up to go to the bathroom and was hit with excruciating lower back cramps that took about 15 minutes to go away. I had a mental soundtrack of "Oh no, no, no, no, no, not yet." While I wouldn't mind being a little bit early, I really want to make it past 37 weeks. Fortunately (and obviously) the back pains went away. I'm still having more and more regular Braxton Hicks contractions, and they are getting a little bit stronger and last for up to a minute at a time, but they are only in my abdomen, and nothing at all in the back. And they are worse in the car or at my desk, and really don't happen much if I'm laying down. These all add up to Braxton Hicks contractions. Real ones don't go away, and get progressively more painful.

My sleep has been rough the last few days, and I wake up a lot. It's harder to fall asleep, too. I'd been having this really nice holiday lately where I fell asleep very quickly, and stayed asleep easily. Although last night, someone in the street was apparently stomping on large pieces of corrugated tin before putting them into their truck bed. It was very weird, and woke me, Justin, and Katie up. People are so bizarre. I've also been enjoying Hosey's movements, as they are mostly pushes and gentle swishing, although there are usually four or five karate chops a day. On Thanksgiving, Hosey had been very quiet, perhaps lulled to sleep by all the food, and then my sister put her hand on my belly saying she wanted to feel it kick, and Hosey immediately delivered an earth-shattering kick that startled me and my sister. I think Hosey is already showing signs of a sense of humor and intelligence beyond that of most fetuses. :)

Work is fine, as I'm feeling tired lately, but nothing much else. The pain in my side seems to be staying gone, perhaps because the baby has dropped. However, it's increasingly hard for me to concentrate, as I keep wanting to research birth plans and what to take to the hospital. Yesterday I spent about 8 minutes just watching the undulations going on in my belly, which looked like a bowl of jello quaking and shaking all by itself. Very good for my productivity... I had my review a couple of weeks ago, and it was a very good review, so maybe I'm just lulled into a sense of security. My workload has also fortunately slowed a little, and I leave at 5:30 most days. It's making a very big difference.

It feels like it's been forever since my last doctor's appointment, although it is only 3 weeks between my last one and my next on December 5. I'll be exactly 37 weeks for that appointment, and I know they'll be doing the stress test, but I'm also devising a list of questions to ask as well. I'm going to see if she'll attempt a guess at Hosey's size, although I know a lot of doctors don't like to do that. Justin might be able to come with me to this one, too, as he's getting more and more anxious, too. At dinner on Friday, I told him that I was having contractions (meaning the fake ones) and his face was priceless. I didn't mean to scare him, and I thought my tone of voice communicated that it was just the Braxton Hicks kind, but I guess not. I can't wait to see him when I really do go into labor...