Pre-term Labor

Well, I may be having some pre-term labor. I'm only 33 1/2 weeks, so that's not good. I had some real contractions Saturday and Sunday. You know, the kind that start in your low belly and wrap around the back. I didn't have lots of them, but enough to make me miserable. I finally put in a call to my midwife last night and she said it was enough to be concerned about. I went in to see her today. My cervix is still closed, but soft and a little effaced, and the baby's head is "right there".

She gave me an herbal tincture called Blackhaw that is very effective in stopping PTL. I'm taking that every 4 hours. She also said I need to slow down, rest, take it easy, and NO lifting. I only need to make it 3 more weeks, so hopefully between the tincture and the rest, we will buy that much time. Of course, I could still go late but that's looking less likely.

Now I am completely panicking at the thought of having this baby in 3 weeks. I AM NOT READY!!!!! The baby clothes are still packed away. I still have to get our room cleaned out and rearranged for baby gear. I have NONE of my birth kit purchased or assembled. And don't even start on my Christmas knitting projects. Unfortunately, we are going to have to buy more than I was intending because there is just not time to do the knitting. I am trying to wrap my head around all of this. It really threw a wrench in my time table.