37 Weeks Down...

Last night I had my first contractions, although the doctor says they were Braxton Hicks (false labor) contractions.  They actually woke me up a few times in the middle of the night and were more painful than I had anticipated false labor contractions to be.  I didn't wake Jonathan up because they only lasted maybe five to ten seconds and were not coming in regular intervals so I knew I wasn't actually going into labor yet.

Today was a very exciting day!  I am now 37 weeks and 1 day along in the pregnancy and had my weekly doctor's appointment.  I've gained a little more weight and am tipping the scale with a total of 36 pounds so far.  My doctor is on vacation for the next two weeks (of course, right when I need her the most) so I am seeing Dr. Alten instead - she is so sweet and I could not be happier with my substitute doctor! Starting last week I began my weekly appointments to get "checked." Last week my cervix was fully closed with no indication of any changes to come.  This week, however, I am one centimeter dilated! The doctor says I am progressing nicely but not to expect to go into labor this week or anything.  Calvin has been measuring on the bigger side throughout the entire pregnancy, according to Dr. LeMoine, but today he measured normal or "not big, not small," according to Dr. Alten.  This makes me think that every doctor has her own definitions on what is normal, but I'm okay with that.

The doctor gave me the "okay" to drive to Quincy tomorrow for work and to see my family but now it's looking like the 60 degree weather we've had the past few days is gone and snow is in the forecast for tonight.  I'm not going to drive two hours by myself each way with a chance of bad roads.  We are also planning on making the trip to Columbia on Sunday for Christmas with Jonathan's family as long as I'm feeling good and the weather cooperates!  After Sunday though I think we will keep our travels to the greater St. Louis area - I don't want to risk having to give birth at a hospital other than ours!