37 weeks! False labor?

I hit 37 weeks today. I could go into labor and they wouldn't stop it. Such a crazy feeling! It felt like it took forever to get to this point, yet, I feel it has gone by so fast at the same time. To update you on pregnancy, we'll start with yesterday. I woke up at like 4 in the morning. At around 4:30 a.m. I started to have contractions. They seemed fairly consistent so I started timing them just to be safe. They started out smallish but kept getting stronger and more consistent as time was going on. They were roughly 2-3.5 minutes apart and were lasting about 2 minutes each time give or take. They stayed consistent for a while! I kept trying to change positions or get up to see if that made a difference and they still stayed very consistent. This whole time I have a million thoughts running through my head. Is it seriously time to have this baby now? Do I go in? Do I wait it out? Did we make the right decision pre registering at a hospital that has just a small nicu in case she did come now and would possibly need the nicu? Do I wake Caleb up yet? It's almost 6 a.m. at this point and the contractions were still very consistent. I figured they seem like the real deal but I don't want to go to the hospital just yet because I was totally able to manage them and felt like I should still wait it out to see. I woke Caleb up and told him I was having consistent contractions and that I was going to go upstairs to take a bath to see if that would help or change them or anything. Note to self, if having a hard time waking up the hubby, just tell him you might be in labor. He'll perk up in seconds! Haha anyway. I got in the bath trying not to wake up the whole household. I soaked in the tub for probably half an hour. It felt super nice because all while having these contractions I was having a lot of lower back pain, hip pain, and even down my thighs and legs. So it was more soothing than anything. The contractions still stayed consistent. While in there, I could hear my mom and dad up and about getting ready to head to work. I got out and mom was wondering what in the world I was doing up so early. I told her I was having contractions and just wasn't quite sure what to do. It was around 7 a.m. at this point. I went back to our room to see if I couldn't just try to rest and still just wait it out and see what happens. Caleb asked what the plan was. I had a doctors appointment later that day so I figured I'd call the office at 8 if they hadn't slowed down at that point and see if they couldn't get me in earlier or to get an idea of what we should do. Caleb was originally going to have to work a double that day but that morning he was able to take off both shifts just in case this baby was on her way. 8 o'clock rolls around and I'm still contracting, but they seemed to kind of become more irregular at this point. So, I waited to call the office and just continue to watch them. By 8:45, they had almost completely stopped. I was able to fall back asleep and slept for a couple of hours. When I woke up, I wasn't having any real contractions, still plenty of braxton hicks though, was still feeling a bit crampy, and I had a splitting headache. I decided I'd now just wait till my appointment at 2:15 to see what that was all about. Both me and Caleb started getting ready and I also packed the rest of our hospital bag just in case. I was 99 percent sure I was going to be coming back, but ya just never know. It was time for our appointment. As far as that all went, it overall went great. My blood pressure was slightly high but I did have more anxious feelings just with everything going on and I'm sure that played a factor in that. I didn't gain any weight in the last 3 weeks which was a shock. I have total only gained 7 pounds this pregnancy which I am happy with. They did the group B strep test and also checked my cervix to see if the contractions had done me any good. I was dilated to a 1 and 100% effaced. I am happy with that! Especially because I was barely 37 weeks the next day. My doctor said he's certain the contractions got my fully effaced which is awesome. Now, I just need to continue to dilate. He said that labor can do that, where you'll have contractions even if they are consistent, then they'll just kinda slow down or stop. He basically said it's early labor and that the next contractions I get could very well send me to the hospital to have this baby. It all is a waiting game. So, now that I'm officially 37 weeks, I am going to try all the things to induce labor. I figure it's worth a try, what do I have to lose, even if nothing works, I'll at least know I did all I could. It's crazy how real this is getting! Any time people!! They said at my last appointment that if I was thinning or dilating any and I still hadn't gone into labor that they'd induce if I wanted too at 39 weeks. So, if a baby isn't here soon, I have at most 2 weeks. eek! So exciting, nerve wracking, overwhelming, crazy, and EXCITING. We can't wait.