Practice Labor!

I woke this morning around 4:00 am with some strong-ish contractions that were an average of 5 minutes apart. After timing them for awhile & deciding that it didn't feel quite strong enough to be the real deal, I was able to fall back asleep around 4:45. Harper woke Jeff and I at 6:30 & the contractions were still going. I told Jeff that today could possibly be the day! He was anxious, but I told him that if it was true labor, it felt like very early labor. 


Well, the contractions stopped around 8am. It was a "false" start, but good practice. On the plus-side, it motivated us to check off the final lingering items on our pre-baby to-do list. 


So, I wasn't expecting any real results, but I attribute this little practice session to eating a bunch of "Labor Cookies" last night. I might have to do it again to see if it will lead to the real thing. I've been feeling like labor is looming so thought I'd give them a try. I mostly did it for fun, but also because they sounded yummy! I have a somewhat high tolerance for spicy things, so I doubled the cayenne to 1 (very full) teaspoon when I made them. My mother- & father- in-laws tried them & liked them, so I wanted to share the recipe. If spicy isn't your thing, you could always omit the cayenne altogether, because they're a super yummy ginger cookie!


Jump Start Your Labor Cookies 
(source)


2 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 t. cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
8 T. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. molasses 1/4 c. egg whites


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda and spices and set aside. Cream the butter and sugars together. Add the molasses to the creamed butter, then add the egg whites until combined. Addd the dry ingredients slowly. Once incorporated, roll dough into 1 inch balls and place onto baking tray. Bake 8-10 minutes. Once cool eat as many as you can possibly stomach, lay down for a nap and wait for labor to begin!