Prodromal Labor

So, I've spent most of the morning googling trying to figure out what is going on with me and why my labor keeps stalling out. From what I've gathered, I'm experiencing something called Prodromal labor, which is not the same thing as Braxton Hicks contractions, nor is it considered false labor. Everything I've seen says that prodromal labor is a very early stage of labor. Contractions are typically 5-10 minutes apart and may or may not hurt. (If they do hurt they don't get progressively stronger like actual labor contractions.) That it can last for hours, or even days before active labor. Good news is that there is usually some sort of progression, but at a slower pace than actual labor. All the sites I went to said that this kind of labor can be caused by baby's position in the pelvis, and that a lot of the time it is the body's way of trying to re-position the baby better in the pelvis for actual labor. (So like how Sam was sunny side up and I had terrible back labor, trying to move the baby to a different position to avoid that... I'm kind of thinking she might be in a similar position Sam was in because when I've had contractions they have hurt in my back like they did with Sam.) Unfortunately this kind of labor also exhausts the mother and the uterus so that when actual labor comes around it makes it a more difficult experience....

I did find some tips on how to deal with it, so I have a plan in place for tonight so I can get some sleep and go to work in the morning. Hopefully it will help these contractions either stay away or I'll be relaxed enough that true labor will happen. They say that the key is to not focus on the contractions... which I'll admit I have focused way too much on them the last few nights hoping that I was actually in labor. It's funny cause I didn't time Sam's contractions at all, I just went to the hospital. So I'm thinking maybe part of it is that I'm obsessing about it. Another thing they suggested is to take a sleep aid, like Tylenol PM, if it's true labor I won't be able to sleep through it even with Tylenol PM, if it's not then I should be able to sleep through them. And right now, getting a good nights sleep is like the top on my list of necessities. So here's hoping I can actually sleep tonight!