35 weeks and strong contractions!

Well here we are... a quick trip to the San Diego Zoo before school starts.  I found the double decker touring bus very accommodating and necessary. 

I have to say the days are moving faster and only weeks are left to secure the end of this journey.  I will be 35 weeks this Wednesday, the first day of school for my oldest child.  Also the intending mother will be arriving in the next few weeks to stay with us until the anticipated delivery.  There are mixed emotions about the upcoming birth and what is to come but most of them are comforted by a force of contentment that the journey is closing in on completion and life as we know it may start to resume.  I have to stay focused on the gift we are giving and not the pain it causes temporarily. 

The birth plan is set and I have my hospital bags out and ready to be filled.  I still have the rest of the details to work out like; will I pump breast milk for the baby and if so how long, and how and when will I ensure my children get to see the baby hopefully giving them a chance to understand fully what we've been fostering these last 9 months.  I have been reading a few surrogate blogs and have felt very comforted by their stories.  It has also opened up my mind up for the rest of this journey.  There is no ONE right way. 

The contractions are already stopping me on a daily basis, I have to stop what I'm doing to even get a breath.  I feel them mostly when Iam working out, every 10 minutes or less, and then on an irregular consistency during the day but growing stronger.  The contractions will no doubtfully prove to be moving me forward hopefully- when I go in for a pelvic exam tomorrow.  I'm assuming to be thinning and fully effaced, maybe dilated some- if not, I will be very surprised.  I do expect to be dilated for a few weeks before delivery so I do not expect to be delivering a baby in the next few weeks, although you never know.  Sleeping is not so productive right now.  Getting comfortable can be very complicated.  The numbness in my arms, that I experienced with my two other pregnancies, is starting again- thank God for chiropractic care.  I am keeping my thoughts turned to the fact I can give this precious Thumper to the parents soon and catch up on some well needed sleep then.

Update to follow RE: Obgyn exam.