38 weeks

we've made it to week 38, which makes me as pregnant as i was with samantha when she was born (technically, she was 38 weeks and 4 days).  the real question is, will this baby follow in his siblings footsteps and arrive before 40 weeks?  or will he continue the pattern that so many have pointed out to me: noah at 36 weeks, sam at 38, this baby at 40?  only time will tell, but i am getting curious to see what happens!  i honestly thought he might show up on the 22nd because i woke up that morning with *really* strong and regular contractions.  i actually even contacted my mother to give her a heads up that she might need to come and stay with the kids and as the morning went on, we discussed matt calling into work.  the contractions started around 5:30 am, and continued to be regular until about 9 am and then tapered off.  i'm not sure what really happened, but i assume part of it was that my body kicked into "mother mode" for the older two kids and decided it just couldn't have a baby that day.
of course, the same thing happened on saturday night (the 24th) with regular enough contractions that i not only notified my mom and my husband, but also my friend/doula stacy, and eventually decided to stay home from work -- something i've only ever done if i'm in labor!  while the contractions were really strong, i probably could have gone to work if my job wasn't 35 minutes away down the *worst* possible stretch of highway in the area, which is also currently under major construction (see this rendering of the LBJ express, if you're curious.  you can skip to about minute 1:30 in the video to see the true size of the project).  everyone i consulted said that yes, i should stay home if i was having contractions 3 minutes apart lasting 1 minute each.  unfortunately, that wasn't going to be baby boy's birthday, either.  as the night went on i was increasingly anxious -- for no apparent reason, other than maybe i felt guilty for calling into work? -- and the contractions slowed down and eventually stopped by around 2:30 am.  shucks.
i have to remember it's God's timing, not mine!
also, baby is allegedly weighing around 6.8 lbs and has a length around 19 1/2 inches this week.

maternity quiz
sleep: no notable changes, but it is getting difficult to roll from side to side
best moment this week: after all that contracting, the midwife told me she'd be "surprised if you made it another two weeks to your due date."  i am ready to meet this baby :) i was also told that i actually haven't gained any weight since week 32 of the pregnancy.  it's just kind of fluctuated within about the same 3 lbs for every visit, despite everything else showing that baby is getting bigger.
what i miss: nothing i'm really missing, but i do feel like i'm hot a lot these days.  so i guess i "miss" being cooler, or maybe just the cooler weather?
what i'm looking forward to: a birthday!
weekly wisdom:  just relax! ;)
milestones: i'm officially the most pregnant i have ever been!