The home stretch

OK, here's what's happening lately. My midwife says baby is about 7lbs. now and that he's actually pretty long. Now I definitely knew that because those little feet could reach so far to my sides that he was practically wrapping himself around me. But it's official, he's going to be long and skinny, wonder who he get's that from!
Another thing that's been happening over the past week is that he's been 'dropping'. I've been waiting for this dropping thing to happen and was sort of expecting it to be more of a sudden plunge downwards (look ma, a cannonball!), but it's been quite gradual with very subtle sensations of internal stretching and a little more room created for my ribs and lungs. My midwife said his head is nice and tucked into the pelvis now and needless to say he's still in the optimal position for birth. I bet he's going to be an athlete because he's got his body and rhythms all figured out. Speaking of rhythms, I've also been feeling some breath-like motions in there, as if he's trying out his new lungs, which is very cool and makes me think he's almost ready.
Josh and I had a private lesson with a prenatal massage therapist to help us, mostly him, learn the best massage techniques for labor. Unfortunately for him the one I liked best is one that probably looks very silly and definitely requires the most strenuous use of his body because it entails him pushing his butt up against my lower back. But it creates such a wide area of counter-pressure in the most tense area of my lower back that he'd better start working out those quads because when I'm in the throes of labor the last thing I'm going to want to hear is him say that his thighs are tired.
These massage techniques also entail the use of specific pressure points which, if stimulated too early, can be dangerous because they can actually bring on labor. Clearly I'm at a point where it's safe but that just shows how powerful they are, and since that day I've actually begun to feel some contractions. It's normal to feel random contractions as the body prepares for birth but since that massage day I have definitely noticed them more. It basically feels like menstrual cramps + back pain and it makes me just generally feel more serious and tune inwards because I know it's really going to happen soon. It can happen any day now!!
Here's what we look like on the inside, c'mon cervix, start thinning!