Owen's Birth Story Part II

Monday February 22nd I had my weekly OB appointment. I was greeted happily by the nurses congratulating me on still being pregnant and looking great despite the bed rest. I can’t imagine what other people looked like if they thought I was one of the better ones. I was 2cm dilated and 80% effaced. As I left the office our doctor told me I might have some slight bleeding from the exam but not to worry. I felt like we were going to have a baby, very very soon. A month or so prior I had a feeling one day that I would have a baby on February 25th – that seemed like a realistic target. That night we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant and I ate a burrito the size of my head. It was awesome. That night I wondered out loud what it would be like when I was actually in labor. My husband’s reply, “Tam, it’s not like your water just breaks out of nowhere. You’ll be having contractions – you’ll know.”


Tuesday morning at 8am Jeremy left for his outpatient clinic 45 minutes from our house. At 8:40am I got up for my usual pee and back to bed. I saw some light red blood, remembering what the doctor said, I ignored it. As I walked the three feet back to bed I felt a little dribble down my leg. Rumor has it that pregnant women pee their pants all the time, but I was not one of these women. So I called Jeremy to let him know that I thought my water just broke --out of nowhere! He told me I probably just peed my pants but he would come home anyway. I went and woke my mom and told her to come look (I know, gross right?) I wasn’t having any contractions, just some slight cramping in my back. I called the doctor. They told me they would work me in at the end of the day for a check. My mom and I packed my bags for the hospital.

Jeremy came home to a seemingly-not-in-labor wife and we had some lunch. I was finishing up some work when I jumped off the couch and over to the laminate floor just in time for a big gush of fluid. Jeremy looked at me with eyes wider than I’ve ever seen, “I guess your water did break.” Still no contractions from a woman who just spent ten weeks on medication to stop contractions, just mild cramps in my back every 5-7 minutes.

That little puddle scared our soon-to-be Daddy into high gear. He packed the remaining items for our bag and brought the car seat up from the basement for me to install. The only thing we had ready for the baby was a pack of diapers and some clothes. Our dresser and changer that we picked out two days prior were at the store waiting to be picked up and we had not set up the cosleeper yet. With Jeremy’s busy schedule he had put off reading any birthing books – so he spent the next few hours speed reading Husband coached Childbirth and Natural Childbirth Bradley Method while I sat on the couch laughing at the circa 1970 images of a naked lady and man sitting on the floor doing odd and sundry laboring positions. We also compiled a playlist of songs to listen to in the hospital while I labored. Better late than never, I suppose.

Jeremy, my mom and I headed to the doctor’s office around 4pm. My underpants felt like wet goulashes in a downpour and after one peek at me the doctor proclaimed, “Grossly ruptured – we’ll give you until morning to start up labor.” After explaining that my water broke at 8:45am, he decided that I had to be in active labor by 9pm or else I would need to be induced. I was given 24 hours from my water breaking to have the baby before I would need a c-section to avoid infection. It was 5:30pm and he told us to head over to labor and delivery. I was still only 2cm dilated and 80% effaced.

We knew it was going to be a long night and my mom and Jeremy needed to eat. I, however, was not allowed to eat or drink anything. We went out to one of my favorite pizza places and I sat there – water broken – while they had a giant pizza. It was all I could do when the waitress asked if I needed a plate to say, “No thanks, I’m in labor.” I didn’t want to freak anyone out, so I leaked while they ate.

On our short drive to the hospital we couldn’t believe it was actually the day we would meet our son. I was excited and thankful that he was full term and ready to be born.

Me: “I can’t believe we’re going to be parents in the next few hours...”

Jeremy: “I know, I’m so glad I wore this Duke t-shirt.”