Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About My Mucous Plug (*But Were Afraid To Ask)

So here I am posting this morning, obviously not at the hospital. Yesterday was largely uneventful, save for a handful of random fairly painless BH contractions. Around 4pm, D and I found ourselves just sitting around the house, being hot and feeling anxious, so he had the great idea to go out to see a movie and get dinner. He thought it would take our mind off things and at least give us a chance to sit around in some air conditioning, instead of the melting inferno that is our living room.

So we decided to hit the movie theater and we ended up seeing Pineapple Express. It was alright, not great, not terrible. Someone in the theater was smoking up, which I didn't appreciate being preggers and all; but living in Canada it was not much of a surprise. I looked around but in the darkened theater I couldn't pinpoint where the pot smoke was coming from, otherwise, I might have asked the smoker to knock it off. I find that being pregnant has given me at once a zero bullshit tolerance as well as a serious set of steel balls.

About halfway through the movie, I started having contractions again. These were actually somewhat painful and I motioned to D what was happening with a "thumbs up". Afterwards, we went to dinner at this little Italian place and the contractions continued, albeit very randomly. Later that evening at home, I had a few more contractions here and there, but nothing significant.

The most exciting part of yesterday came just before bed when I discovered that I lost some mucous plug. (*I don't want to gross anyone out here so I will save the detailed description of my mucous plug for the blue asterisks-marked portion at the very bottom of this page. Read at your own risk. Personally, I was very curious about what to expect with regard to this ominous mucous plug I'd heard so much about, so I thought maybe someone else out there would like a detailed description of mine. If it's too gross for you, or if you're reading this post over lunch, I would recommend skipping the last bit...)

My mucous plug came out during the course of last night, in pieces. Every time I'd go to the washroom, I'd find some more. I'm not sure if it's still coming or if it's all out now. But I have to say that it was a welcome, happy discovery to finally feel like there is some action afoot. I feel like labour is coming now. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week. Progress is being made.

I have decided to post every morning from here on out until we're at the hospital. That way, if you don't see a post from me one day, you'll know we're giving birth! 









*OKAY now for the detailed description of my mucous plug:
The first bit came out and was roughly the size of a quarter. It was not what I expected it to look like as all the books describe it as a clear, blood-tinged snot-like substance. The first bit of mine looked more like brown jam - there were no clear bits at all. It was still translucent, like jelly, but it was much darker than I had expected.

As the evening progressed, it became more clear and slimy. Still tinged with brown but getting lighter and lighter. And unfortunately, a lot of it slid right into the toilet before I could get a chance to examine it, much to my dismay. I think towards the morning it even might have had bits of white in it, but that cannot be confirmed.

I will say that I could feel it sliding out. It felt like a gush of slime. Only time will tell if I've lost it all or if there is more to come.  All told, if I had to wager a guess, I'd say the entire plug so far has been roughly half the size of a roll of dimes, maybe a bit bigger.

Losing one's mucous plug is encouraging to say the least. I am so hoping this marks the beginning of labour!