Birth Story Part 1

Monday February 27, 2012

I was a week from my due date and feeling great!  I'd read so many accounts of women feeling "done" with pregnancy by this point, but I just wasn't.  Sure I was big and sort of uncomfortable, but I hadn't crossed over to feeling HUGE and awful.  I told several people that I'd even be happy to go slightly overdue!  That said, I'd been experiencing a serious resurgence in my fatigue.  For a few days I'd been feeling exhausted.  I think even more so than in my first trimester.  I was a champion napper!

Ross' Uncle Jeff was in town for business so we went out for lunch and dinner with him.  I felt so uncomfortable all throughout both meals.  I thought Linus' feet were pressing up into the top of my belly and ribs, which was strange considering I was under the impression that he'd dropped.  I spent most of the day gently rubbing the upper sides of my bump and lightly pressing down, trying to get him to move a little.

Tuesday February 28, 2012


My fatigue and discomfort continued, but nothing was raising any red flags to me at this point.  I figured I was just feeling the way you do at the end of a pregnancy.  I'd been sitting on the couch, surfing the net, and chatting with a friend on gchat.  At about 4:00pm, I felt something very strange.  I'd read online about women who weren't sure if they'd peed themselves or if their water had broken.  I'd always thought, "How can you NOT know?!?"  But when I felt a slow bursting feeling, followed by a gush of liquid, I just wasn't sure what to think!  The best way I can describe it was like a soft balloon bursting, as opposed to a pop.  More like you'd overfilled a water balloon and the balloon just gently gave way.  I went to the bathroom to check things out.  Still not entirely convinced, I walked back into the living room, looked at Ross and said "So, um... I think my waters just broke..."  Ross looked at me in confusion and asked what I meant.  We debated how to proceed.  Since I was already chatting with my friend Elizabeth, who is a pregnancy expert (you know, cause she's had babies...), I decided to get a consultation.

It suddenly hit me that we would, in all likelihood, be having a Leap Day baby!  The thought had occurred to me back when we'd first found out my due date, but I'd dismissed it because everyone knows a first baby is always overdue, right?  (Turns out my older brother was 10 days early... oh well).  How exciting and cool!  I continued to chat with Elizabeth and finally heard back from Mandy with word that I should go into the Birth Centre to get checked.

From the moment I'd made my announcement, Ross had been running around the flat like a mad man.  If only I'd known that telling him my waters had broken was an excellent motivator to tidy things up, I might have tried it earlier!  He had things cleared away at lightning speed and even gave his hair a trim in the bathroom.

We loaded up the car with my birth bag, a bag of stuff for the baby (diapers and clothes mostly), my birth ball, and the car seat and headed to Tesco.  We wanted to pick up some provisions as they recommend that you bring food and ice with you.

Ice, water, fruit, cheese, cucumber, shampoo and conditioner, 

and a donut for my sweet tooth

We were nervous and excited!  It was almost time to meet our dear baby boy.  I was convinced that we had a Leap Day Baby on our hands.  Little did I know, our journey had just begun...

In the checkout line

Tesco self-portrait

to be continued...