It's 8:49 pm and I *think* both kiddos are asleep for the night, but one never knows... I'm exhausted and it's been a long day of solo-parenting while P is on shift, but it's too soon to pump again so we'll see how far I get with writing this :)
I was overdue. Again. Though not as much as with N (thankfully). My actual due date was May 14 - Mother's Day (oh, the irony of that day). At my doctor's appointment the week before, I was still not dilated AT ALL, despite having had on-again-off-again, round-the-clock contractions for most of the last month. I spent the entire weekend doing all the things to try to put myself in labor: spicy foods, long, vigorous walks, off-roading through bumpy fields in my husband's truck... and yes, even the horizontal tango. Of course none of that worked (does it ever? really?).
My next appointment was on Monday the 15th, and the plan was for the doctor to try to sweep my membranes (translation = conduct an aggressive cervical exam) in the hopes of spurring things onward. That could only be done though if my cervix was found to be 'favorable' for it. Thankfully, it was: I had progressed from 'clamped shut' to 'a solid half a centimeter' dilated, but it was apparently enough for her to get access to the membranes and sweep away. I swear the doctor's hand was so far up there she was practically in my esophagus - it was not the most comfortable experience. Nevertheless, she mentioned that during the course of the sweeping, she may have gotten me 'up to 2 cm', so I was thrilled. She cautioned that there were no promises, but she wouldn't be surprised to see me back in the next 36-48 hours.
While we were all hopeful that I would still go into spontaneous labor, there was some concern about the possible size of the baby (and my increasing levels of discomfort), so we agreed to tentatively schedule an induction as a back-up plan. I left the OB/GYN office on Monday with assurances that someone would call to schedule me for an end of the week induction (likely Thursday or Friday). I went home that night and walked another 2-3 miles before eating a dinner that involved red chili pepper flakes.
By Tuesday afternoon, no one had called yet and I was getting antsy. I couldn't tell that much had changed - the contractions still came and went with varying frequency and intensity. I called the doctor's office and they assured me they hadn't forgotten but were still waiting to hear back from the hospital about availability. That evening I walked up and down the lakeshore path that is near my office (and the hospital where I was delivering) before finally giving up and heading home.
As Wednesday rolled around, my mood spiraled downward. I called the doctor's office again (twice, actually) and got the same response as on Tuesday. Meanwhile I was starting to feel panicky because it was looking less and less like it would happen before the weekend, and P was scheduled to return to work the following Tuesday (because of how they do their time off at his work, he had had to pick which shifts to take off several months ahead without knowing for sure when the baby would arrive). And to make matters worse, another woman in my office who was actually due 3 weeks after me was in labor. As I prepared to head home that evening, I poked my head into the office next door to say goodbye to a co-worker. She was also pregnant (and also due in about 2-3 weeks) and every evening we would joke about how she hoped not to see me the next morning. That evening though, I told her I was starting to think she would also deliver before me, and rather than our usual 'hope I don't see you tomorrow' banter, I said 'I'm pretty sure I will see you again in the morning.'
I got home that evening and was feeling pretty depressed. My hopes of a spontaneous labor were growing dimmer. I was worried about P's work schedule and whether or not he would even be there for the birth of our child. I was tired of the discomfort. Tired of going on walks that made the swelling in my feet and ankles worse but didn't induce labor. Tired of people at work saying 'oh hey - you're still here!' Tired of being tired. I just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep.
Unfortunately, P had decided that it was the perfect time to buy a new truck. I'm not even kidding. In the midst of everything else, he had arranged for the dealership to bring the new truck to our house to do the trade-in for his old truck that evening. So at 8 pm that evening, we were signing papers and handing off keys in our driveway. Once the dealership people left, we loaded N and my mom (who had been staying with us since the early part of May) into the truck and all went for a test drive. We were gone maybe 15-20 minutes before heading home to get N to bed (it was way past his bedtime) and eat a late dinner. P and I finally crawled into bed sometime between 10:30-10:45, as I lamented the fact that I once again would be heading to work in the morning.
As usual, despite my fatigue, it took me a while to fall asleep. Just as I was drifting off around 11:30 or so... I felt a little gush of fluid leak out. I was nearly asleep and it was just a tiny gush, so I immediately assumed it had been pee. Nevertheless, I got out of bed and traipsed to the bathroom to investigate. As I sat on the toilet, nothing happened. I waited a few minutes before deciding that it had been a false alarm thanks to weakened pelvic floor muscles. But just as I was about to stand up and return to bed... there was another gush. I thought to myself, I did NOT just pee. It was just after 11:30 pm on Wednesday, May 17, and my water was breaking... at last.
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