Very VERY long night of very painful, strong contractions. They were at least as strong as the last ones I felt before I got my epidural with Ben. They never got regular though, in fact they ranged everywhere from 30 minutes apart to four minutes apart and back again. So no, no 2:30a.m. trip to L&D was in order even though I was in a TON of discomfort. I really would like to avoid the 2:30a.m. trip to L&D at all costs, so even if they WERE the real thing? I was holding out as long as I could...

This morning, I'm still having them on and off, though they aren't as strong. My lower back is a little uncomfortable... If it keeps up over the next few hours, I'm entertaining the idea of perhaps taking a ride over to the hospital just to get checked out. I don't want to set any Ben/parent/godmother/inlaw plans in motion though unless I'm sure something is going on... which I'm doubtful of since I had this kind of scenario happen at least three times with Ben. (check out this entry from almost 39 weeks with Ben)

I'm very proud of my track record of never having gone to the hospital and been sent home in false labor. ;) Though I suppose getting sent home in false labor once or twice is better than having a baby on the floor at home because you didn't go get checked out. ;) So we'll see...

p.s. To my neighbors who are keeping an eye on the status of our car in front of our house to determine if I'm in labor or not, if you see us load my hospital bag into it this morning it's "just in case". Don't panic... I will call or email with any news! ;)

**update** It's 8:30a.m and the contractions seem to have stopped. Oh well... back to your regularly scheduled program. We're going to clean upt he backyard today. You?