Braxton Hicks

I'm talking about the contractions.  I have read about them, mainly when I was pregnant with P (my 1st). The thought of false contractions seemed so foreign to me as I had never experienced them before.  I don't remember ever having Braxton Hicks contractions with either of my first 3 pregnancies.

But as they say, every pregnancy is different and true to form, so is this one.  Not only am I in more pain with this pregnancy from daily aches and pains but I have experienced my feet swelling up (something that never happened to me before).  And since it seems to have been forever ago since I was last pregnant, my mind is just not fresh with all the baby basics that seemed like second nature to me when I was pregnant with number 2 and 3.

Back to the BH contractions.  I never had them and so when I started getting them, I freaked out like a first time mom would.  Since I wasn't sure if they were indeed contractions, I went to Google for some answers. What I initially thought was just weird positioning of the baby turned out to be Braxton Hicks.  I think in the back of my head I knew because like I said, I had read about them.

I was really relieved to know they were just BH and so settled my mind a bit.  But then, they kept coming and coming and kept getting more and more uncomfortable to the point of feeling painful (just a bit).  I started having them around the 20 plus week mark (I want to say after the 5 month mark) and they kept up for 2 or so weeks straight.  When they started getting stronger, I decided it was time to get checked out to make sure I wasn't actually contracting and dilating.

A quick visit to the hospital and everything checked out fine.  My cervix was closed (so I was NOT dilating, which was amazing news as it was just too early) AND baby A was doing just fine.

Let me tell you, no matter how many kids you've had prior, each new pregnancy is like a new chapter with new learning curves.  As a 4th time around mom, I should be an expert but I am finding myself nervous about the same things a first time around mom would be nervous about.  I am also finding that I need to brush up on some of the skills I have since forgotten about baby caring and such... like, how do you swaddle a baby again?  Yeah, I am clueless.

I know the essentials. I have done it 3 times before so I know I'll be fine but I find myself wondering about feedings and diaper changes and such.  I wonder how I remembered which boob I fed one with my other 3 kids and how I reminded myself which boob to feed on next.  I had no clue what to pack for the hospital (I got a list off the internet). And of course, I worry about the sleepless nights, the crying for no reason and the nasty blowouts (poop related).  I even worry about certain movements the baby makes and if he;s Ok in there.

I feel the best way to stop my mind from going insane is to prep as much as I can.  Or at least brush up on the info I need before I hit the home stretch.  At least now when my belly gets hard and I feel that slight crampy feeling and pressure down there, I know it's BH and that it's normal and not labor.  One less thing to freak out about.