Is today the day?

Alright world...I have been having contractions for the last 13 hours.   They started last night around 6:00 at 20 minutes.  I timed them for a few hours and then decided to try to get some sleep.  Around 1:45 I woke up to a contraction.  Again I started timing them, and now they were closer to 8 minutes apart.  This continued for a few hours until I finally fell asleep around 3:00.  I woke up at 4:00 and the contractions had continue, and now were about 7 minutes apart.  At this point I timed them for an hour, then woke up Nick and we went for a walk around the neighborhood. 

I had read so much online, in baby books and heard my doctor say not to call until the contractions were 5 minutes apart.  They weren't very painful, just an uncomfortable feeling starting in my lower back and wrapping around to my lower stomach, like I was having bad menstrual cramps and my uterus would tighten up.  At this point, I was convinced that I was having real contractions, not Braxton Hicks, but I wasn't quite sure what to do.  I did some picking up around the house and then decided to sit down and blog to distract myself.  I know that labor (if that's what this is) can end up going on for MANY hours, but the waiting is especially hard.  At this point, they are getting closer to 5 minutes and I have a call in to the doctor to see what to do next.  I dread going to the hospital only to be sent home after all this, but I know that's always a possibility.  Who knows...maybe little Lexi will make her appearance into the world sooner than we thought.