So August has arrived and I am no longer sleeping. The nesting instinct is so strong that I beg my husband to hang a shelf at 10:30 on a week night. Camp should be declining into those lazy hot end of summer days but instead things seem to be operating at "All Systems GO". After a particularly long week my Friday was filled with drama and discomfort. At the end of the day I plop down in a chair by my also-super-pregnant friend and jokingly say, "I hope this baby comes this weekend so that all this discomfort is for a reason."
Well JOKES ON ME.
Let's back up a bit and get to the gross details. (You've been warned)
My 8 months check up was super easy. Had a swab that was a bit intimate but hey they need to run some tests to make sure you don't pass anything icky on to your baby on their way out. At this point that area was pretty much old news for everybody so I wasn't too phased by it. Anywho the only comment that had me thinking "wow I'm getting close" was that it seemed like the baby was out of room. I have an extremely short mid section and baby had no where else to really go. My OB wished me restful nights and sent me on my way with a "see you in two weeks!". She was wrong....
Fast forward a week and....(Gross part shield your eyes!)....I lose my mucus plug. CUE INSANE GOOGLE SEARCHING.
So what I found was that it is very common to lose and doesn't really mean too much. Although, I did have a friend who told me that it only took 3 days from plug to labor. So I figured I had anywhere from 3 days to 4 weeks until baby arrived.
Two days later on that horrible Friday, I went to a party at my sister's house. I nibbled and lounged but couldn't get comfortable. I was constantly flushed and sticky. (which is not really unusual for a pregnant lady in August) So as the party nears its end I ask her if I can take a shower because I am gross. LADIES AND GENTS...I truly believe that shower was the start of my labor. I stood under the warm water and swayed to stay comfortable. I then put of a pair of borrowed basketball shorts, stayed for about an hour, and went home to pretend to sleep. Since I was feeling funny I put down a bed liner and did my best to relax.
Later that night I got up to use the restroom and (Gross part again!) I get a warm little trickle. I think "Damn it! Now I am going to pee a little every time I get up" WRONG...but I didn't know that yet.
Saturday was relaxed and I made sure my bags were packed and ready by the door just in case the advice my friend gave me about the plug is true. That night we watched a movie and I went to bed. The first time I got up...warm little trickle. Second time I get up...warm little trickle. Third time around 8AM...bigger trickle...made it to the floor....hummmmmmmmmm
So at this point I am not sure if I am peeing myself or if my water broke. I have a friend who told me that when your water breaks you will know it because it is not subtle. So I hop in the shower and think I'm fine. No contractions, no worries. I dry off, take two steps out of the bathroom, anddddddd trickle.
I tell my husband that I could be leaking fluid and he's all "wait, what?"
CUE GOOGLE! (What did we do before google? seriously....)
So I learned from Dr.Google that amniotic fluid smells like almonds and should be clear. And now you know what I did with the next trickle....Sure enough.. it smells like almonds. But Google is not a real doctor so I call my OB. They are very kind and joke about how it's my first. I play it off like "oh yes, silly me, it probably pee." Anywho they want to run a quick test. They tell me to come into the hospital (NO RUSH...they actually said NO RUSH). So ok cool, I'll eat breakfast. We let the dog out and text the family that I am going in for a test. Grab a coffee on the way and listen to some music. (In hindsight...this is a huge blessing. We were calm, collected, and relaxed.)
The OB told me to enter the hospital through the ER instead of coming right up to Maternity. So I think man....this is totally pee and I am an idiot. I of course did some googling and found that it is rare to leak amniotic fluid and is much more likely for your water to break. (which, side note, is also kind of rare. Usually they break it in the hospital) At this point I am preparing myself to be super embarrassed when they run a test and have to tell me that I'm just peeing myself.
So we enter through the ER and check in. Maybe two seconds later a man with a wheel chair arrived and he Speed-Racers me up to Maternity......cue butterflies. This is the exact moment where I thought "Omg what if I am having a baby?" which was immediately followed by "Omg what if I made this man push me all they way up here because I'm peeing myself."
So they take me to triage. I get super lucky and my regular OB is scheduled so I get to see a friendly face who might not judge me too much for my incontinence. Anyway she asks me a million questions one of which was "are you having contractions" to which I replied "nope". They then strapped on the monitor and sure enough...contractions were happening. NEWS TO ME. If those were contracts, I think I was having them since that shower on Friday night.
So the doctor takes a swab and leaves. Nurse tells me we will have an answer is a matter of minutes. So while I am chatting away with hubby who cant believe we are hear because I peed on the floor, I am preparing for extreme embarrassment.
In comes doctor. She sits down smiles and says. "So you're having a baby today, probably around dinner time"
TBC in Part 2!
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