I Was Sitting, Wishing, Waiting…

One Week Overdue

Friday April 3rd was my due date. It came and went. The hospital was still allowing birth partners, but with each passing week, it was still a concern of mine. The following Tuesday at my midwife appointment, they checked me, and I was not dilated at all and only 50% effaced. A future induction was my biggest fear. I was scheduled for a non-stress test that Friday at 41 weeks and an ultrasound to check fluid levels on Tuesday of the following week. If labor did not start on its own, they would schedule an induction for 41 weeks and 5 days. 

Friday April 10th- The beginning of contractions

On Friday, I had my Non-Stress Test. Because of the pandemic, I had to go into the Labor and Delivery on my own, while my husband stayed in the car. Everything looked good on the test. I was having some contractions that I didn’t even realize were contractions. The baby’s vitals looked good. I was hopeful that labor would start that night. The advice to help jump start labor by well-meaning people was starting to get on my nerves. I had tried it all. I ate an entire pineapple, walked 3 miles every day, used my breast pump for nipple stimulation, bounced endlessly on my ball, and nothing worked. The world was a crazy place during this time, so I didn’t blame the little guy for wanting to stay in.

Friday Night

That night I woke up in the middle of the night with contractions. They weren’t very strong, but they were uncomfortable. Out came my phone and I started timing them, thinking maybe this was it. They were anywhere from 5-7 minutes apart. They never got closer than that. Eventually, I was able to fall back to sleep, but this was after losing a couple hours from the discomfort and anticipation.

Saturday April 11th- The Blizzard

The next morning the contractions were gone. I would randomly get them throughout the day, but nothing consistent. A blizzard had also occurred that night. We got 14 inches of snow on April 10th that knocked out power and cell phone service. It was like being in the Twilight Zone. I thought with my luck, I would definitely go into labor during these wild conditions. Shawn got the generator fired up, cleared the driveway and eventually the power came back on. I tried recording a video directed at Nolan asking him to come out. However, another day went by and still no baby. 

Saturday Night

Saturday night was similar to Friday, but the contractions were stronger. When I woke up around 1 or 2 AM, I thought, maybe this is it. They were inconsistent, sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes 3 minutes, sometimes 7 minutes apart. I tossed and turned in discomfort and barely slept. When I got up that morning, the contractions started to spread out and dissipate. Much to my demise, it was another night of false labor. 

Easter Sunday- April 12th

Sunday was Easter. We zoomed with my family, but I had to get up from the table due to cramping and discomfort periodically. They had no idea. After our Easter zoom call, Shawn and I went for a walk down by the lake. There were still power lines down from the blizzard, but it was sunny and warmer out. I had to stop due to contractions at times, but they were still pretty spread out. That evening the contractions were still coming, so I took a bath and cried at the thought of another night of contractions and lack of sleep. Shawn called the on-call midwife to ask her about it. When she said that it sounded like prodromal labor and could go on for a few more days, I just started sobbing. She told me I could take Benadryl to help me sleep, but I didn’t like the idea of taking anything.

Sunday Night- The Real Deal

I was able to get to bed that night, but once again woke up around 2 AM with contractions. This time they were more intense. I tried rolling back and forth, but eventually had to get up from the pain. When I went to the bathroom, I had the bloody show. The realization came to me that this might actually be the real thing. Shawn woke up and I told him what was going on. I took a shower, but the contractions were much more intense and just didn’t know how to handle them. They were so bad that Shawn had to blow dry my hair for me, while timing my contractions. I tried different positions. Hands and knees position was terrible and sitting on the ball didn’t feel good. Holding onto Shawn and rocking back and forth was what helped the most. When the contractions were becoming more difficult to manage, lasting more than a minute and were 3-4 minutes apart, so we decided to go to the hospital. It was finally time. 

Continue with my Birth Story: April 13, 2020-The Longest Day