4th baby, totally different, starting to worry

[investmama]

Brief history (always knew ovulation date, so dates are based on that):

1st born 3 days before due date, always laying ROA, born posterior, sort of had that "overdue" look...dried, wrinkly skin, no vernix, etc. 04/2000

2nd born 8 days before due date, looked right on time, had fat rolls, healthy pink skin, etc. 02/2003

3rd born also 8 days before due date, but after 5 days of prodromal labor. always laying ROA, but born anterior, looked overdue like the 1st, midwife commented that baby had lost weight in utero. 05/2005

now i'm exactly 39w2d with #4. i really expected to have this one by now. i know it's been 5 years since i've had a baby, but the whole "looking overdue" in previous pregnancies, when the babys were early has gotten me a bit over the edge. i also had prodromal labor all night long about 10 days ago and nothing else has happened. as of saturday, i was 3 cm dilated and my baby is still floating around in there and not even close to being engaged which my midwife thinks is what is keeping from going into labor. but lots of babies don't engage until labor starts. and while most of the time she was laying LOA, she's now ROA and nothing i do is encouraging her to move...LOL. which wasn't an issue to me before this. i've been losing my muscous plug over the past couple of days, but have been having NO contractions. but my back is aching from doing hands and knees and sitting/bouncing/rotating on the ball.

ok, so basically, what i'm saying is i know logically that a lot of what is happening is "normal", but it's not normal FOR ME. and i'm just wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences to put my mind at ease. I'd like to not feel crazy and irrational anymore and be able to actually sleep. LOL

[~Demeter~]

My 4th was a stubborn little thing. I lost my plug starting around 38 wks with her, she was born (by induction) at 42w2d. Her whole entire pregnancy was very different, she never engaged on her own, she was happy to just float around in there. I didn't dilate until hours into my induction. Each pregnancy is different, each labor is different, each delivery is different. I would try not to worry about it.

[investmama]

thanks for your response. did you ever feel like you were going backwards? for example...early in pregnancy i had soooo many braxton hicks all the time. they would be super strong and sometimes i coudln't even walk during them. i barely have any now and the longer this pregnancy goes on, the fewer i have.

Also, my baby is laying posterior now, this is AFTER doing all fours and sleeping differently hoping to get her LOA. it's like if i do nothing, nothing happens, if i do something, it doesn't help, but actually hurts. LOL.

i also wonder how strongly my emotions are affecting this. my sister and her kids are moving out of state today. she is the only family i have here and her timing really sucks. she only told me a week ago. i'm not necessarily super upset about it, i think it's the best for everyone that she's leaving...but at the same time, it's a big change.