False Labor

The doctor told me that when I go into labor, I "will know".  Which seems extremely vague and annoying, but is apparently a known truth.  It just seems that will all the braxton-hicks contractions I'm having, which are getting more and more painful every week, it would be hard to realize if you are in labor until its about time to head to the hospital.

This long labor day weekend has been a busy one.  On Saturday we ran errands all day, including trips by Target, Babies-R-Us, and Fairway, driving all around Brooklyn and making it back home late in the evening.  It was productive, but of course, I kept forgetting to hydrate myself.  By the end of the day I was beat.   Sunday we went to a picnic in the park with friends, and spent about 4-5 hours outdoors chatting, munching on grilled food and other delicious snacks.  Once again, I kept forgetting to drink enough water.

Which brings to my false labor on Sunday night.  At some point in the afternoon, I began having uncomfortable BH contractions.  Of course this led to a whole lot of jokes about going into labor on Labor Day, and wouldn't that be hilarious, and yeah.... no.  Not due for another 3 weeks, and planning on keeping it that way.   But nevertheless, the contractions kept coming, and when we got home I realized that they were still there, after I'd sat in the park, walked back, laid down in different positions, etc.   

So of course I begin to mildly freak out.  I can't go into labor, I say, my mom isn't here yet, the baby stuff is not washed, the car seat not installed, we aren't ready.  And Nate is trying to reassure me that its just false labor, but that even if its the real thing, we'll be fine, we have plenty of time to get things together.  We timed the contractions, and began to realize that they were erratic.  Some really long, some really (*really*) painful, some very close together, some more spaced apart.  So yeah, based on the books, its not labor unless its regular and progressing in intensity.  But this process took a couple of hours.  In order to establish a pattern of contractions spaced 10 - 15 minutes apart, you need a large representative sample, which takes time, and did not ease my fears.

So am I ready for labor?  It was strange to toy with the idea for a while last night.  That I might actually be going through all this for real soon, that the discomfort and pain would only get worse.  Can I handle it?  Will I need pain management immediately?  Or will I be in the zone, ready for whatever comes my way, with a strange sense of peace and purpose.  I like to think I'm going handle labor fine, as I am mentally prepared and have been practicing stretching and breathing, but the freak out from last night would say otherwise.