Maybe tomorrow?

I am 40 weeks & 1 day pregnant today. I had another appointment with my widwife & she did what is called "sweeping of membranes," or cervical massage. The aim is to separate the amnion around the baby from the cervix. This releases hormones called prostaglandins, which may help to start labor. I was expecting a lot of pain during this procedure, however, I had no discomfort whatsoever. Sally asked if I was being stoic & I said that it didn't feel that uncomfortable. She said this was good news since it meant my cervix was soft & "ripe" for labor. She was able to insert 2 fingers inside it. It was 3 cm dilated & 65% effaced (or thinned out). Sally did something different with my platelets last week. She asked the lab for a manual instead of an automated platelet count. My platelet count came back at 144,000! We were both happy about this number since manual platelet count is more accurate than automated one.
I got home around 4 pm & have been having mild intermittent contractions & back pain ever since. I have made a quick trip to a grocery store, done a load of laundry, started the dishwasher, washed the kitchen floor, cooked a bunch of brown rice & made an ox tail soup, sorted out dry clothes, organized baby's toys & vacuumed the carpets. Definitely nesting.... Also, I wanted to be on my feet as much as possible so the contractions would not stop. My husband got excited again, so convinced we are having the baby tonight (even though I told him the contractions may slow down & go away), he called our friend Ananth & asked him to come over just in case. By 9 pm I was still having contractions, so Ananth drove to Tacoma to pick up my hubby's Mom. We've talked about waiting till morning, but then we didn't want him to be caught up in a rush-hour traffic. The worst thing that could happen if my labor stopped is that Gerritt would have a day or two of fun with grandma. I get excited every time I feel a contraction now; glad that the labor may be on its way. My husband said he is not ready to be a father. I tried encouraging him by saying that you are never ready. He clarified that he wasn't ready to be a father to a little girl. The responsibility still scares him. :-) I told him he has many years to master his role & he doesn't have to be ready overnight. I will have to learn to be a mother to a girl as well. What an experience!