The UPS man came with a package--a surprise baby gift!--and I called C. to tell him about it. I also mentioned that I'd been having some pretty strong Braxton-Hicks contractions (or "practice" contractions--not painful, no big deal, very normal), and then all of a sudden, they started getting stronger. And stronger. And the next one was a whopper. They were getting intense, but I was finding myself getting more excited and happy, feeling like, "Well, now we're finally getting somewhere!" I even found myself feeling kind of giddy and laughing a little while C. was obviously worried and wondered aloud if he should come home early to be with me. I told him that maybe he should just stay at work since he only had an hour to go, but I could tell that he was too worried about me to keep his mind on work. He was coming home, whether I wanted him to or not. He suggested that I call our doula and then we hung up.

Still a little dazed and feeling really distracted and excited, I hunted down the doula's number and dialed. I didn't know exactly what I was going to say, since I was just in too much of a flurry to time any of the contractions. But then it turned out it didn't matter, because her line was busy, and then a minute or two after that I began to realize that the contractions were easing up. They continued to get easier and lighter, until they just went away altogether. By the time C. got home, I hadn't had one for at least a half-hour. I tried not to feel disappointed, but I was. I couldn't help it.

I keep taking comfort in knowing that all of this is preparing me for the big event. While it's kind of a big tease, it's what happens, and I have to go with it.

Wow, this thing really is going to happen, isn't it? I'm really going to have this baby. I can't wait!