Let me just say I can't believe it's possible to do so much work without ANY measurable results. On Monday, I had the flu, and was throwing up etc. all day. That night, after the fever broke, I woke up to some cramps that came on pretty regularly, but I just tried to sleep through them. In the morning, I had "bloody show" and my husband and I were really excited and identified the cramps as labor. I continued to lose the mucous plug all day. The contractions were about 45 seconds long, going from 7 minutes to 5 minutes apart, off and on, no percievable pattern for a long time, just coming on all day and night and the next day (yesterday). Josh thought that they were about a minute at times, and so we just counted them as that (hey, we don't really know what we're doing!) Many times we thought that we should go in, but when I lay down, they stopped, so we tried to sleep. They were painful in my back starting around midnight two nights ago, and I had to moan through them. It was so hard to relax! I couldn't get in a good position.
Then yesterday I had an appointment with the midwife anyway, after more of the same but more intense all day, because today is my EDD, and she checked me and said my cervix was thick and closed!! Also the baby is a little bit posterior, so hence the severe back pain. We were shocked, I'd barely been able to walk into the office, but she told us to go home and have a beer and sex and try to sleep. But I can't lay down because my hips hurt too bad, and when I do I get those surges of back pain that are so unbearable. I had to sleep sideways in an armchair last night with my legs all contorted to ease the surges of back agony. Today, I am so loose in the hips that I can't really stand, and have to sit forward straddling a chair or propped up with pillows. My husband is so wonderful, he is helping me in every way, picking me up and bringing me to the bathroom, rubbing my back, etc. He's stayed home from work three days now. I'm encouraged by loving friends and family, but have my moments of dreading the real thing, because of how hard this trial run has been.
Then yesterday I had an appointment with the midwife anyway, after more of the same but more intense all day, because today is my EDD, and she checked me and said my cervix was thick and closed!! Also the baby is a little bit posterior, so hence the severe back pain. We were shocked, I'd barely been able to walk into the office, but she told us to go home and have a beer and sex and try to sleep. But I can't lay down because my hips hurt too bad, and when I do I get those surges of back pain that are so unbearable. I had to sleep sideways in an armchair last night with my legs all contorted to ease the surges of back agony. Today, I am so loose in the hips that I can't really stand, and have to sit forward straddling a chair or propped up with pillows. My husband is so wonderful, he is helping me in every way, picking me up and bringing me to the bathroom, rubbing my back, etc. He's stayed home from work three days now. I'm encouraged by loving friends and family, but have my moments of dreading the real thing, because of how hard this trial run has been.
Having all these seemingly real contrax. that go nowhere IS frusterating. *sigh* Right there with ya! And I am leaking water, and getting TINY amts. of mucousy blood (TMI, sorry) when I wipe. I want to get checked but if I hear nothing is happening I will lose my mind, so I'm not. In other words, I get it. 
: for a break!
(I doubt mine could even lift me at this stage!). Let's hope the 'real thing' gives you an easy time to make up for this!
Follow Mothering