I'm watching every contraction. They are stronger. They last 30 - 45 seconds. They sometimes make me feel flush, or winded, or a little light in the head. They are crampy but not painful. Last night I had a series of them about 10 - 20 minutes apart. I thought it might mean something, so I hurried to bed to try to get some rest in case the real thing was about to happen (it was about 12:30 am). I did get to sleep after foolishly focusing on every muscle in my abdomen and keeping one eye on the clock. I woke to Sam freaking out about a stuffy nose. I ended up sitting with him on the couch for a while until he relaxed and could get back to sleep. I was grumpy and impatient with him. We eventually all got back to sleep in the same bed. I slept until 9 am. I guess it wasn't labor. But it was a reminder of newborn sleep. I need to work on my patience.

So I just re-read my old blog entries for the couple of weeks prior to Sam's birth. I keep thinking this pregnancy feels so different. And now that these contractions are gaining more ooomph I keep feeling that must mean that this baby will arrive sooner than Sam did. I couldn't be more wrong. So many of the sensations I'm feeling seem nearly identical to the first time, yet they feel brand new again. During my pregnancy with Sam, I talk for weeks about the contractions gaining in intensity: stronger, crampier, timeable. It didn't mean labor was about to happen or not. Just one day, it was time, I guess. So I still could be looking at two weeks, or more, or whatever. Or maybe it really will happen tonight. I don't want to obsess about it. But I don't know how not to. I'm pretty sure I've got at least something close to a week now, after reading about my previous pregnancy, but I also know that doesn't mean anything either.

Bah. It's time for more distractions. Maybe I shouldn't have taken time off of work before the baby arrived.

Well, here is Sam doing cute things like an Easter egg hunt and dressing up as a super hero.