Two years and three months ago, a crazy blizzard hit our hometown hard–so hard that everything (besides the indomitable local coffee shop) was closed. No one was going anywhere. That particular morning, Jason was outside shoveling feet of snow and I was inside on the couch, almost 28 weeks pregnant, and having contractions every five or so minutes apart. The day got really interesting from there: a call to the on-call dr. at the hospital led to an unexpected outing, a morning spent on monitors, me talking myself off the ledge about having a baby at 28 weeks, and J spiking a fever of 104 at its worst. Turns out major (quick) changes in barometric pressure can cause funny things to happen…and going into false labor would be one of them. Noted. We returned home exhausted and relieved, and didn’t welcome Henry into the world for another eleven weeks. Good little man stayed nice and put until just the right time.

Fast forward to tonight, and the realization over dinner that I was, indeed, having fairly intense Braxton-Hicks contractions–right near 28 weeks along. Maybe this is just my body’s fascinating way of preparing for every baby, or maybe it has something to do with the fact that storms have been rolling in and out of the area all week and the temps have shifted 50 degrees in 36 hours. Regardless, I’ve decided that practicing labor is more than unnecessary this time around, so we’ll be done having said contractions from now until it’s really go time, thankyouverymuch. In the moment (ok, hour), I did what any clear-headed mama would do. I excused myself from the dinner table, took a five minute break on the couch, and declared it time for a walk with the munchkin. After all, we hadn’t explored nearly enough together yet today, and I knew a distraction would do me good. What will resolve B-H contractions in no time? Well, precisely the following…

First, you’ll need a toddler and a reliable plastic vehicle (preferably a $6 garage sale procurement in the form of a John Deere Tractor):

Next, it helps to wave at the neighbors for a little while:

After that, you’ll probably want to take inventory to be sure that both (or all) of your children are along for the adventure:

Check.

To really make the experience more pleasant, it’s good to admire the blooming flowers and local landscape for a bit:

And supposing it starts to drizzle as another storm rolls in, it’s best to spend a little time in search of pill bug families on the porch:

If you have luck in finding any, your next move should likely be to designate appropriate names for each pill bug, using monikers like “Mommy,” “Daddy,” and “Henry,” or other such titles that are readily familiar:

Next, wander around the yard for a while admiring the newest plantings and grass seeding efforts. Hard working people (like husbands/dads) seem to appreciate this sort of thing– and plus, it’s a good way to get involved in the fun:

After a time, make your way “back home” and indoors on account of the threatening thunder, but be sure to note the beauty of distraction and the delightful nature of Springtime as you go:

And certainly, remind yourself that B-H contractions are just part of the process, that all will be well, and that barometric pressure can simply be a bugger sometimes. Park the toy tractor for the night. Dust off the little one. Put on some comfy pajamas. Smile.

embracing the promising signs of change…and all of the practice 😉

mm