Does anyone check this at 4 in the morning??

Update - 11:50 am: Just got back from the Midwives. I'm dilated to 5cm and effaced 60%! WOOHOO! But I do have an irritable uterus and am ordered to get rest and drink TONS of water. They think that will help regulate my contractions more, and give my body the strength to make more effective contractions. Michelle (midwife) says she's expecting to see a baby today, or at least early tomorrow. YAY! Off I go to rest!

Update - 8:20 am: We've digressed a bit. I'm down to a contraction every 10 minutes. I don't know what happened! Aaron is staying home for now and Linda is getting Joseph. I'm counting on a baby, so I'm drinking my Red Raspberry Leaf tea and am going to call the midwives for any other help. Technically, this is called "Early Labor". I want to go back to the 5 minute contractions I had to breathe through! Hopefully we'll have a baby soon. :)

Well, if you do, then you might learn that I think I'm in labor. No joke. That is, I think.

I've been feeling funny all day. But I've been thinking, hey, that's what happens the day after you get food poisoning and are up all night throwing up and what not. Monday night Aaron got us Olive Garden (the same meal I had the night before I went into labor with Joseph - we were hoping that was the key...). :) But by 10:00 I was sick! And by 11:00 I was very sick - just me, my bowl and the toilet. I was up till 4:00 am with nausea and abdominal cramps. These cramps caused me to have continuous contractions (Braxton-Hicks I think).

But today they didn't stop.

I was thinking that it's probably because I was overtired, a bit dehydrated and still dealing with a sensitive stomach (all of those have caused contractions with me). I got out of the house with Joseph this afternoon to do some shopping. By the time we had shopped at Kohl's and Target I was having to breathe through a few of those Braxton-Hicks and was exhausted.

We went over to the McIntyre's to hang out and I felt relieved for company, but still icky and tired. Linda wowed at how low the baby had gotten the past week and declared she didn't think I'd be "late" at all this time - in fact, she believed the baby could come anytime. Since she's the one on call to take care of Joseph, she said she was going to start sleeping with her clothes at the foot of her bed in readiness.

WHAT?! Was she serious? I've got at least a week, I was thinking! I haven't been resting up (which she encouraged me to do right away), we haven't prepped the bed, I hadn't made my post-partum menu or labor grocery list, or finished practicing my Hypnobirthing. At least Aaron got the Grapefruit Oil today. Mmmm...(We did all the above when we got home, by the way. Aaron insisted.)

So, the contractions continued and I noticed that the "Braxton-Hicks" (I'm putting quotations now since I'm not so sure they're just practice contractions!), were coming at a semi-pattern: just about every 10-14 minutes. Some I had to stop for.

So, we went to bed and at 1:45 I woke up because a contraction was so strong. I went to the bathroom to shake it off, but they kept coming, this time closer to 8-10 minutes apart. If you remember from Joseph's birth, in order to handle labor, I stood up nearly the entire time. For some reason, this was the only position I found comfortable enough. So, I'm laying in bed thinking, am I in labor? I need to stand up. These are uncomfortable. I tried to rest some more. Tried sitting up in bed, which helped some. But finally I gave up sleep and am watching Animal Planet and learning how two tigers, Ron and Julie, are learning to live in the wild.

My contractions are now 6-10 minutes apart. Crazy. Will I have a baby today? Or is it a fluke thing from my illness yesterday? I have an appointment with the midwives tomorrow at 4:00 pm, but I think I'll call to see if they have something earlier so they can help confirm or deny real labor. The earliest I could even hypothetically get in is 10:00 am. Funny if I didn't even make it to that... ;)

Fall

Unfortunately, I don't have beautiful pictures of fall foliage like Miss Chrystal does over at her blog. But it has been beautiful here, and (true to the season) we're gearing up for change.

Last month, Aaron and I planted a bed (rather, fixed a bed) in front of the house. The walkway is much more pleasant now. :)

I'm also VERY pregnant and getting ready to welcome our new baby! (That's why I honestly haven't felt like updating this blog.) I'll be 38 weeks tomorrow. We were originally planning on staying here in Norman for both holidays, but being the risk-takers we are, we're heading to FTW on Wednesday to celebrate Thanksgiving. Aaron is praying I don't go into labor. ;)

Here are a few pictures for you:

Joseph is my toddling toddler - a proficient walker, well sort of. :) He's still only got 6 teeth (but seems to be fighting many). He signs "more", "all done", "food", "please", "book" and more. He SAYS food, please, all done, book, dada (not mama!), down, don't touch (hehe), sock/shoe (hard to tell which he's saying!), and more. :)

He is a DADDY'S BOY. :) Within the last month no one can bring him greater joy than "Dada". He looks and asks for him all day. He runs to the glass door to watch for him when it's time for Aaron to get home. When Aaron is home, Joseph ONLY wants to be held by him. He loves his Daddy. I can understand. :) It probably comes at a good time. In a few weeks I'll be very distracted with another Baby, and unable to hold him as much.

He is a very delightful boy, for those of you who are unsure. :) We've worked on teaching him manners, not to be whiny, and to do what he's asked with a pleasant attitude (okay, this is MOST of the time). :) God has also given him such a calm, sweet disposition that he's happy to be happy. :)

Right now, he loves his hammer and books. He reads and reads and reads some more. He'll yabber away when he's looking at the pictures. I wonder what he's thinking?

You know, when Joseph was littler (younger than 3 months), it seemed that he changed dramatically each week. In fact, I updated each week then, because he was so different each time. I feel like we've come back to that. Just when I've finished giggling over something new and cute he's done, or awing over a new skill he's developed, there comes another one. Don't you think that makes him tired? I suppose that's why he's been a bit "sensitive" lately. :)

So, in his first year of life, Joseph got sick ONE time (this past January). But since he's turned one, he has been sick 3 times now! I am still claiming that 2/3 of those times was teething gone awry, but right now he's fighting some sort of stomach bug. Poor Aaron, that's all I have to say. :(

Please pray that Aaron and I continue to love Joseph as Jesus loves us. That we can be the kind of parents that look only to his best interest and not our own. Please pray, too, that Joseph's heart would be molded to be godly and soft toward God Himself. And please pray that Joseph naps better during the day. ; )