And We Had A Baby, Part Duex

We got home at 11:30 a.m. I called Allen to let him know that I'd had these regular contractions for a couple of hours, and would be calling labor and delivery if they lasted until 1:30, two hours later.

Because of the whole VBAC risk of rupture thing, we were deliberately trying to avoid labor. The whole point of a scheduled c-section is to prevent labor because the risk is that the uterus will rupture during contractions.

Yet here I am, two weeks early, having lots of strong contractions. I felt silly calling and was pretty sure I'd do the walk of shame (that's when you are convinced you're in labor, but when you get there you're not, and you have to leave with no baby) and come back home if I did go in. But, I certainly didn't want to labor all day just to have a c-section.

I mean, really, what are the odds that the ONE time I'm not supposed to go into labor, my body goes willingly, on its own, and early?!? I swear I have the dumbest uterus ever.

And now I find myself with lunch to be made, piles of laundry waiting to be done, three kids to pack for, a baby to pack for, me to pack for, a car seat to put together, and schedules to type up for those who might be caring for our kids since I could very possibly be having a baby today. And I hadn't even gotten my pre-baby pedicure. That was supposed to happen on urgent care Monday. I know that may sound trite, but who wants to have ugly feet when they are having a new baby? The rest of you feels so gross after, and you don't get a minute for yourself for months on end; a pre-baby pedicure is mandatory in my book. But, alas, I digress.

I have to say, when I need my girls on board because timing is tight, they always respond willingly. I told them exactly what was going on, that I needed their help in packing, that I would need them to play nicely while I did all the chores, and that they would be going to Grandma's shortly. We worked as a team, did all we needed to, and even got everyone lunch.

I called labor and delivery, explaining my situation. Of course, they wanted me to go in to be checked. Allen came home, we dropped off the girls with Grandma, and joked about how we loved to do the "walk of shame", would treat ourselves to dinner on the way home, and call the whole thing date night.

When we arrived at 3 p.m., they stuck us in triage and started me on fluids. If a pregnant person gets dehydrated, contractions can start, but as soon as you get hydrated, they will stop. This is one way to find out if you're in true labor or not. The little monitor showed I was having regular contractions every 3-5 minutes.

After the fluids, the contractions only got stronger. The doctor came in and confirmed: I was in labor.