40 days and 40 nights.

I've been working from home since February 2nd, and I'll be honest - it's a lot harder to do than one would imagine. Take for instance the fact that today I had to fax something to work - which necessitated a trip to FedEx/Kinkos as we don't have a land line (something I'm going to have to fix - as given the number of conference calls I've been on lately my minutes are going into unchartered OH MY FUCKING GOD THIS IS GOING TO BE EXPENSIVE levels). And, while I could've scanned the documents and e-mailed them, the scanner/copier/fax we bought isn't compatible with Mac's Leopard operating system, so it's unusable to me at the moment. So, a trip to FedEx to send a fax cost me $1.49 for the first page and $.99 for each remaining page. And it took about 2 minutes per page for the fax to go through, so it was a looooooong expensive excursion.

The Braxton Hicks contractions I've been having are increasing with regularity and apparently I'm one of the "lucky" ones who have really strong contractions that border on downright painful at times. The other night, I was convinced I was about to go into labor as they were coming with increasing strength and frequency. Patrick was timing them and begging me to pack a bag. Instead, I had a glass of wine (it's what my doctor recommended, and I actually only drank about half of it) and promptly fell asleep on the couch. Thankfully they seemed to ease up with the nap. Based on the earliest ultrasound I had, they put the estimated due date at May 5th. I've still never understood how this was possible given that I found out at home on August 20th and have been measuring ahead the entire time, but what do I know? Anyway, based on that date, I'm only 30 weeks, 4 days along. Three weeks ago, I was measuring close to 32 weeks via ultrasound. I need J to hang tight for exactly 40 days and 40 nights before he makes his appearance.

I got an email today from my advisor at work, and he said that if something were to happen now, I'm entitled to 8 weeks at 100% of pay based on my short term disability policy. That's great as I honestly thought I wouldn't be entitled to any leave as I haven't been with the firm a year yet. However, if I can make it to my one year anniversary with the firm (I started April 9th last year) I'm entitled to 12 weeks at full pay and an additional 8 or 12 weeks of unpaid leave. We were contemplating me taking some additional unpaid leave, but that won't be possible if J comes early.

Now, they say most first pregnancies last longer. However, based on the number of contractions I've had, the amount of amniotic fluid J is lounging around in and the fact that he appears to be a giant (or at least has delusions of such) they're betting I won't make it that long. So, at this point - I'm asking for any old wives tales that might exist for how to keep the kid cosy inside for at least another 40 days. I've read all kinds of urban legends about how to get labor started, but what I want to know is how to prevent it.