I hate false alarms

I was a little stir crazy yesterday by the time Dean got home from work. I did take the boys to play group in the morning, which is always fun for them to play with other kids, and for me to visit with the other ladies - so many interesting topics of conversation! So, Dean let me go run around for a few hours late in the evening. I hit some sales at Michaels and Staples, stocked up on baby wipes at Sams Club (the last baby item on the list), and not wanting to walk for miles at Walmart just for extra virgin olive oil, went to the Food Lion. It was the last stop and I was pretty thirsty, so I went down the soda aisle to satisfy one of my guilty pleasures - diet soda. I had never tried Sun Drop before, and just assumed it would be caffeine free and gave it a whirl. It wasn't, though, so having a big glass of it at 10pm kept me from sleeping until about midnight, or I assume that's what it was.

I was awake again at 3am; with the carpal tunnel problem, if I don't find just the right position, my arm is exquisitely uncomfortable/painful/tingly, and there's no possibility of sleep. Then I proceeded to count about 5 contractions in 20 minutes or so, and then less frequently after that until I finally got up around 5 am. I just have no inclination to do anything in the middle of the night, so I picked a book from the bookcase (one of James Herriot's - always a pleaser) and sat on the couch reading and monitoring contractions until Dean woke. I told him I thought it was time, as the contractions were still coming, though not regularly. They ranged from 2-10 minutes apart, and were not painful. I did a whirlwind tour through the downstairs and finished packing my bag, and straightened things up - more nesting I guess, and who wants to come home to a mess anyway. I fixed oatmeal, and the boys were down and showered by about 7am. I called Penny and woke her up (sorry!), to let her know that I thought it was time and we'd have the boys over by 8am. I had a conversation with Kyler about being on good behavior at Miss Penny's, so unbeknownst to us, after eating his oatmeal, he trotted right over at about 7:10. We just assumed he was upstairs with Hunter, but should have known better since there was no noise... Dean was putting baby's carseat in the car and noticed Kyler's bike across the street at her home, but assumed he must have left it there last night. That's our boy!

So, we got to the hospital soon after 8am, and the contractions were still irregular, coming 3-10 minutes apart, and I was dilated to between 3 and 4. The nurse said it should be between 4 and 5, so sent us out to walk around for a couple of hours then come back in for a recheck if I was still contracting. I was, but still not regularly, so a recheck 3 hours later showed no progression, and alas, it's not time for baby! So disappointing! We were so excited that maybe it was finally time! I feel awfully silly for getting it wrong. They do say that the contractions should be regular, and progressively closer together and more painful... I should have known better. It just seemed like such a convenient day; Dean somehow didn't have anything scheduled at work. So we came home dejected mid afternoon. He picked up the boys and went fishing while I took it easy. They actually caught a couple of croakers.

Hopefully soon!