Restless

I remember the week before DJ was born, DJ settled down into my pelvic bone nice and solidly. There was no mistaking the distinct feeling of pressure in a spot where there hadn't been pressure before. I remember people asking me all throughout my last two months if I was uncomfortable, and I could honestly say I wasn't, until that week. I couldn't get comfortable no matter what the position, laying down, sitting, propped up... it didn't matter. Getting out of and into chairs was a challenge. Walking down stairs would seemingly knock the baby's head against my pelvic bone, sending a ping of an uncomfortable sensation through my body with every step.

But what I don't remember is being restless.

I have reached the stage again where the baby has settled into my pelvic bone, and I'm most definitely uncomfortable in the same ways I was with DJ. But this time, I'm having very restless dreams when I settle down for the night to sleep. When my alarm goes off in the morning, I feel like I haven't slept a wink. I know I tossed and turned all night, and there was nothing relaxing about laying in bed except that the belly has been supported by my pillows and my muscles are less tired. And because I'm basically awake all night, I now feel how often the baby is moving around. The belly gets uncomfortably tight as the baby flips from side to side or tosses an elbow or knee at the walls of my uterus. I also feel every kick to my relatively full bladder, and those kicks usually make me wince.

I have read that restlessness is a "symptom" (i use this word loosely as it's not really a medically sanctioned - for lack of a better term - symptom) that labor will be starting soon. The problem is, I also wonder how much of it is really just my being ready to just start the process of no sleep and healing from the pregnancy.

Another supposed "symptom" of labor starting soon is nesting. I started nesting last weekend. I put all the laundry away, cleaned the kitchen, gave my mother-in-law all of the bed linens for the queen size bed set we gave her, etc. It helped me settle down my brain of my "list" of things to do. Still, the bathrooms need to be cleaned, the kitchen needs to be cleaned again, we need to pull out the bassinet (not that that has to be done before we go to the hospital), and we really should vacuum one more time. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make the basement disaster organize itself but if wishes were fishes, I'd never go hungry.

And, as part of the nesting process, I started to pack my bag for the hospital. I think that's the other sign that I think the baby is coming sooner than later. Nevermind that I'm a planner...

I have a gut feeling that the baby will be here in a week or less. My inital prediction was September 15th. So we'll see!