36 Week Doctor's Appointment

Woo hoo for progress! I'm 3cm dilated and 50% effaced! Last Thursday, I had 4 to 5 hours of what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions. They were regular, every 8 to 11 minutes, and lasted 20 to 30 seconds in duration. I wrote them down, but since they never picked up in frequency, duration, or intensity, I dismissed them as false labor. I had been suffering from a bit of a stomach bug and thought I may have been dehydrated, which can cause false contractions so I wrote the whole thing off as a non-event.

Well it turns out that the contractions did, in fact, cause cervical changes and because I wasn't too alarmed by them, my doctor wants me to be a little bit more conservative about when to call her if they happen again. She said it may be an indication that the rest of my labor could go more quickly than average.

She asked me to go home and get a bag together. I should also install the car seat (or at least have it in the car with the instructions)! She admited that I may have several weeks of appointments with no additional progress or that the next time she sees me will be at the hospital. It could go either way, but it was just exciting to know that I had made some progress.

Heart rate sounded good and I was measuring 33cm, which is another indication that the baby has dropped since last week I measured 34cm. I'm still up 23 pounds as sometimes your weight gain can level off or even decrease towards the end.