Zephyr, good to know! I will now be sending you labor dust again! I hope that baby gets a move on! I know people say that going up and down stairs is supposed to help, so I can only imagine that going up and down a hill should be just as effective. Happy 39 weeks!
Cangraoo, I hope you get a chance to rest this weekend.
Yes, I caved and checked my cervix again yesterday.
It's hard to be sure, because I really have no way of recording how it felt one day versus another, but I think it's slightly more dilated than it was the last time, because I feel like I could almost get two fingers all the way through (though I didn't try, because I'm definitely not trying to stretch things at this point!). The nice thing is, I know I'm being more gentle with my checks than my OB is, because there's no discomfort at all when I do it, versus a little when she does it. A midwife on a site I was reading put it this way: someone else can stick their finger up your nose and cause a lot more pain than you would if you did it yourself.
Anyway, if I'm right, and it is a little more dilated, then I think I can conclude that the times when I get the pain in my pelvis during contractions is what's dilating me, because I had another stretch of those contractions on Thursday, between the two checks.