Waiting can be expensive

Last Tuesday, I started getting mild cramps. For you runners out there, I don't mean hamstring twinges. I mean cramps in my girly regions. Like menstrual cramps, only I'm pretty sure that I haven't ovulated in many moons.

This crampy feeling often signals the pending onset of labour. Many women experience these sensations a day or two before the big event. After a couple of hours of said cramps, I notified PapaBear and my mother. In a nutshell, I didn't want them to make additional commitments for the next few days.

These cramps continued on Wednesday and intensified. I skipped work and organized the rest of my hospital bag. I walked for hours, hoping to encourage things along. But nothing really happened. The cramps got stronger and more frequent, but I was definitely not in labour.

Naturally, the most appropriate solution was to shop, nest and walk. Whenever a cramp would hit, I stopped briefly to double over with my hands on my knees. As the pressure passed, I went about my day again. I've learned to keep tissue handy, as some of the back spasms involuntarily bring me to tears.

On the plus side, amid this on again / off again silliness, I have accomplished or cheered for others working towards the following:

1. Updating my front porch with a new doormat, a planter of flowers and a welcoming wreath

2. Washing my patio furniture and polishing windows to a sparkle

3. Spreading 25 bags of mulch on our back gardens

4. Pouring a pea gravel path where muddy flagstones once hovered

5. Planting 3 climbing rose bushes

Our backyard has never looked better. As an added bonus, all that walking and squatting have nudged BabyBear towards her escape route. The waiting is tedious, but it's also nice to have dilated to 3 cm with only sporadic discomfort. 

I would wish for the next 3 cm to be as easy, but I don't think we can afford it. All this waiting has melted my Amex and spiked sales at the Leaside Home Depot.