here i go again

A few years ago, I was out in our little datsun pickup, about this time at night, picking up a friend who lived in an area that was under road construction. I bounced over the torn-up road into her driveway and dropped her off before heading home to bed. Jack was home with our oldest kid, who was in bed already. Jack and I sat around for a while and eventually went to bed. I was exhausted. But for some reason, I woke up, wide awake, at 3:25 am. I sat up and looked around the room and then after a bit, I laid back down and went back to sleep. At 3:30 am, i woke up again, wide awake. By 3:35 am, I thought, ah, more false labor. Time to get into a tub of warm water to stop the contractions.

I filled the tub and climbed in--just eight and a half months pregnant. But the pains didn't stop. They continued every five minutes for two hours. I was unable to raise up my fully blossomed body, so instead, I reached my toes to the drain and let out a bit of water every so often and replace it with hot water. Around 5:30, Jack wandered in, with a puzzled look on his face, asking what was I doing? I told him I was in labor but stuck in the tub, so he hoisted me out, handed me a large towel and found a phone to call the doctor.

We were told to get to the hospital immediately, which we took to mean after we took the dog to the breeder and Stu to Jack's mom's house. Somehow, it was after 9:00 before we arrived at the hospital and apparently, there were medical people there who were certain we had delivered the baby someplace along the way because they'd expected us around 6:30, ready to deliver a baby.

And because we were so tardy, the doctor had headed back for his morning appointments and was just five minutes away if I was ready to deliver. After the nurses did all of the prep stuff and hooked up the monitors, they checked me and after six hours of good steady strong contractions, I was dilated to a 1/2. The doc decided to come back around lunchtime and perform the scheduled c-section.

So we spent a calm morning waiting for 1:00 when the doc showed up and started the procedure. And in just a few minutes, I heard the most amazing thing--my baby's healthy cry and the nurse's voice announcing that she was a girl. A girl. A daughter. A sweet soft fluffy squeaky healthy darling. That was the best moment of my life. Even still.

Happy birthday sweetie!