Painful and regular contractions (notice no capital CON) started around 10am, waking me up on Sunday morning and continued every half an hour till 1.15pm when we decided to head down to the hospital. Some CONs in between.

Must be the placebo effect for the dang contractions stopped then. They put a heart monitor to gauge the heart beat of BB and measure the contractions. His heart was racing. To my surprise I was having 1 contraction (no longer CON?) in 10 minutes although in the 1.5 hours I was there, I only felt one moderately painful one. Dilation was disappointingly only 1cm although my cervix was softer. But the doc did say I was in established labour because of the latter and reckoned I'd be back tonight or tomorrow.

So we came home. My folks brought mother's day lunch to me and we ate up hungrily. Watched telly till about 5 with no contractions till they returned at 6.18pm when I was dozing. Another arrived at 7.18pm and continued every half an hour to forty minutes all through CSI.

Anxious to avoid another having to come home thingy, the hub examined me (still 1cm - dang!) and has gone to sleep (around 2am) while I forge on with the annoyingly more regular painful contractions since midnight (every 15 minutes) and now edging along 10-12 minutes. The contractions seem more bearable when I sit up, so I am sitting on my squidgy cushion and surfing to distract myself.

The contractions (those even worth logging) range from ho-hum to back-breaking howlers (that being me). Let's see how long I'll hold out here...

I don't know if this is a good thing... after the membrane sweep, I have had no more painful CONtractions. Yeah, the uterus still contracts regularly. BB now kicks more in the morning, hassling me to wake up and feed him, but has stopped the nightly kicks. Very strange.

Speaking of which, I better feed him now again. He just did a song and dance...

After the FiveCat Bath Exercise, I am pleased to say that Kaku's tail looks better. The fur around her tail and bum area is growing back.

The one thing I learnt from this pregnancy is to expect the unexpected.

What I have always learnt from my Mom is to be prepared.

With pregnancy throwing curve balls left right and centre, I sought to be as prepared as I could possibly be with the few variables I can control:

1. I read every single book I could get my hands on about pregnancy and child-rearing, and asked for advice from those who have gone through it.

2. I packed my hospital bag at 34 weeks.

3. We agreed on an English name way in advance, and at 36 weeks, a Chinese name when no better suggestion came along.

4. I paid all bills for the month and some even for next month.

5. I ground 4 months worth of medication for Boy.

6. I made sure the kids have enough food to last a month.

7. I got all my hospital paperwork done and arranged to donate his cord blood.

8. I bought all I need for BB.

9. I wrote and packed my birth plan.

10. I completed, handed over, planned 3 months worth of content, and trained a capable young woman to handle my work for the duration I would be away.

11. I arranged for my home to be reshuffled and repacked.

12. I even suffered a membrane sweep to try to be on schedule.

That's why I loathe last minute things. Stupid petty things that I should NOT have to stress about in the final week before my due date and that we had already prepared in advance, to be dissected and criticised. The time to speak up has come and gone.

At the end of the day, this is my child. I suffered and bled for him for 39 weeks. I should be the one making decisions for him. If you want to do the same, go have your own child.

This morning I woke feeling raw and tired still but with a bit more rest and some reluctant affection from Boy, I felt better towards the afternoon. A little brown spotting today.

Hubby called it cervical shock when he had a look at me last night. Basically I had a closed cervix and the Doc had forced the cervix open to sweep the membranes. Highly NOT recommended.

That explains the faintness I felt and the weak in the knees feeling all yesterday. I hadn't imagined it possible, but my body was in shock.

Okay, for those NOT in the know, the dang pregnancy books won't tell you about membrane sweeping. I only read about it in a candidly-written book called Hello My Name is Mommy, written by a radio DJ in the US with a great sense of humour.

She was peeled off the ceiling after her membrane sweep and lived to warn everyone else that it is painful. Somehow in my eagerness to be on schedule, I forgot all about that chapter. I mean, membrane sweeping sounds mild, even elegant.

I tried to read a bit but dozed off at 8pm. Woke around 11pm and called the Hub, who was working on his project. He came in, sayanged me a bit, and made me some oatmeal yogurt and orange (my new fave).

Stayed in a fugue state till he finally came for bed. He brought in Boy (who stayed at the foot of the bed) to deflect my attention while he dozed off. :p

In the morning, Boy did walk up for a pet or two, but he largely left me alone. I struggled to get up, my body feeling slightly less beaten up. Had a couple of buns and some milk.

The shock should be over soon... oh look, there's some remnant of me still on the ceiling.

One week before due date and cervix has not opened yet. Is apparently still thick!

Doc gave option of a membrane sweep which statistically results in due date birth. Warned it would be painful. Ah heck, how painful could putting a finger in and scraping innards be?

They had to peel me off the wall when it was over. I felt horribly faint. Rather violated.

Staggered home. Cab driver gave me a 10c discount. I think.

No blood, I checked. But achy feeling. Rather hollow. Ow.

Washed meself. Keeled over.

Ski Divine Wild Strawberry yogurt with oatmeal and a cut orange.

Very hotel breakfast-like. :)

Sam wandered cautiously past us several times and we studiously ignored him. He must have thought bath time was over. I bent down to feed him and caught him. He howled as I brought him to the shower, even grasping the shower door.

He bathed with much protest, despite me reminding him it was for his sister's benefit. Finally, it was over, and he scurried away like a drenched rat, refusing even supper. I should feed everyone again before bedtime. :)

All cats have finally been flea/tick bathed. Another round in 1-2 weeks. I have to be an opportunistic bather in my condition. Unless I pop first...

Kaku's bum fur looks like it is regressing. :( I grabbed her and bathed her today with flea and tick shampoo (second line of defence), even waiting the 4-5 minutes stated on the bottle. She was a real sport, just sitting quietly at the door while I lathered her and talked to her gently.

After, I wrapped her in a towel and hugged her for the longest time and she let me. :D Oh, the few joys in life: holding your baby in your arms and have her look at you with dilated pupils and wonder (I think). :D

I tried to feed a biscuit to her but she didn't want it. She did lick her mouth and soonafter struggled to get out. I fed her some biscuits and she chomped happily.

Sam was impossible to catch. He was slippery like an eel. We ignored him for a while, instead catching Boy who understood the deal all too late. He too, had a bath, courtesy of his Dad but declined the towel snuggle after.

The past few days I have been having stronger CONtractions. The due date is near...