dug 
Yeah, it’s the real thing (at least it’s all going ahead as one would expect). Contractions now every 8-9 mins, lasting 45 secs to 1 min. I have been beetling about doing washing and organising the kitchen and what not, and have just woken up Dug with breakfast in bed (for the last time ever! I don’t think he has quite grasped this fact).
Almost three hours in, it’s not really sore yet, just very abdominal with surges across my lower back, but it certainly makes me sit up and take note. The most pain (or discomfort) is from diarrhoea which is absolutely red hot and stinging (too much information?), but I would rather the discomfort now than the indignity later. Dug bought me a big clear plastic ball for this very moment (beach games? now? surely shome mishtake) and I’ve been bobbing up and down on it for the past 45 mins, drinking peppermint tea and reading up on what to expect. The ball is great and seems to absorb any pain which is very civil of it. The cat is being weird - she is normally comatose at this time of day, only rousing herself to soak up the early rays on the window sill, but she’s been steadily following me around since I got up and has spent a long time sitting staring at me.
As for when we go to hopsital, who knows. We’ll see how it goes. If it all gets a bit hot and heavy we might make a move in that direction, but not for several hours. My experience last weekend put me off the whole thing and the less I see of the labour ward the better. I’ll keep you posted.
Off for a bath,
Love N
PS I have no intention of getting my hair cut and returning to hedgehog state. It’s taken me this long to get this far, and I fully intend to pursue my femininity until I have exhausted it (motherhood, flowing tresses, leg wax, etc), so no scissors, no siree.