Thursday December 3rd.
I wake up through the night to go pee, not unusual for the past few months The backache is still there and I curse myself for not having any pain medication in the house that isn't codeine or aspirin. I decide I'll just go back to bed and hope that the pain goes away.
At 6a.m I wake up from the pain in my lower back that is getting stronger and fading, then getting stronger and fading. I think about my day ahead: take H-man to work at 7:30, go to my diabetes meeting at 9:00, then an appointment with my baby doctor at 11:30. I consider canceling the diabetes meeting, because I'm just too damn achy and tired. I'd rather sleep than do anything. After all, I have this horrible backache that keeps coming and going and the doctor told me to take it easy if I don't want a baby this week...... oh. I'm in labor.
I roll over to H-man, sleeping blissfully and I whisper oh so gently....
"I think I'm having contractions, I think I'm in labor"
"HUH! WHAT! HUH!?"
" I can still take you to work, but I think I'm going to stay home from the doctors this morning, unless you think I should go to the hospital now, before the labor gets to strong for them to stop it..."
"Let's go"
I change quickly and grab a few things that I think I would need for the hospital: a hairband, the cell phone and charger and the battery charger for the camera. After all, I want to be prepared if I do have the baby, but I really think that instead they'll stop the labor ( I'm only at 36 weeks) and we'll be going home very soon.
We get to the hospital at 7 am, we check in and head upstairs to the birthing center, the same place I've been having the non-stress tests performed for the past week or so. I greet Judith, the older, brusquer nurse as she straps me to the table and calls Dr. Young to come for the "vag exam"
20 minutes later Dr. Young wheels in an ultrasound machine and a medical student, we watch my baby on the screen for several minutes, his tiny fingers resting on his belly and his head pushing against my cervix. "you're in -1 station, and 4 cms dialted, and 100% effaced" he informs us.
"Am I going to have this baby today?"
"yes, most likely" he responds
H-man and I look at each other, "call everyone" I tell him
