Exciting End to a Crazy Day

Today was a crazy day!!  It all started last night.  I was more tired than usual and went to
bed super early.  Seeing as how I was at the pool all afternoon with the boys I didn't think
much of it.  But then in the morning I woke up and was feeling a little nauseous.  I remember
getting sick before Owen was born so part of me was wondering if this might be it.  Ryan
asked me if I wanted him to stay home and at first I told him no.  I felt bad asking him to skip
work since I really had no clue if today was the day or not.  He ate breakfast, showered, got
dressed, and walked out to his car.  It wasn't until he was pulling the car out of the garage
that I let my stubbornness go and ran out and asked him to stay.  I didn't know if today was
the day or not, but either way I wasn't feeling great and could use the help.

We took the boys to swim lessons and that's when the Braxton Hicks contractions started.  I
had been having them pretty consistently up until a few weeks ago but then they had gone
away for the most part.  When they started up again today of all days, after I wasn't feeling
well, it added to my feeling that labor might be coming soon.  They weren't painful, but they
kept coming.  I was going to meet some friends at the pool after swim lessons but decided
to take a pass because of how I was feeling.  I knew I wasn't in labor, but things were just
off.  I called my doctor to ask what she thought.  Since my water broke with the other two
boys, I didn't know what to expect labor to feel like when it didn't.  At what point should I go
in knowing how fast my deliveries have been? 

Based on what I was telling her she said it didn't sound like I was in active labor, but I could
come in to get checked to see if anything was progressing.  At first I told her it wasn't
necessary.  My regular appointment was tomorrow and I figured I could wait until then.  But
after talking with Ryan I decided it couldn't hurt to go in.  Better to be safe than sorry.  He
was home and could stay with the kids so I might as well go see what was going on.  I took
his car (my old 2005 Acura) and left him the Durango in case he needed to go anywhere
with the boys.  I saw Dr. Onia (my doctor had left for the day) and she told me I was still at
1.5 cm.  I hadn't progressed at all.  Now I was feeling stupid for thinking things were
starting.  But at least I could go home knowing things were OK and I still had some time.

I got in the car and started to drive home.  The car had been acting really strange on the
way to the doctor.  The dash lights would turn on and off, the AC wasn't working and when I
idled the car would practically turn off.  I turned onto Lower Wacker Drive on my way home
and it was doing the same thing.  I actually called Ryan to tell him what was going on and
joked that the car better not die and that's when it happened.  The car lost all power and
completely stalled in not only the middle of a lane on Lower Wacker, but the middle of an
intersection.  It was 90 degrees out, no AC, I couldn't roll the windows down and even if I
could I wouldn't want to because you never know what crazies are lurking down there.
Oh, and did I mention it was the middle of rush hour?

I sat in the car and called Roadside Assistance and the police while car after car passed me
honking their horn and giving me nasty looks.  Really people??  Do you think I enjoy being
stuck down here?  Do you think I purposely parked my car in the middle of the lane to screw
up your commute home??  45 minutes I sat there waiting for a tow truck.  The city tow truck
came first and got me out of the way.  He towed me to an area that made it easier for the
other tow truck to find me.  I sat in my car and waited again for the tow truck my insurance
company sent to come and get me.  Thankfully it wasn't long before he found me.  He
hooked up my car and we began our hour long drive back to Oak Park in bumper to bumper
traffic.

One thing I learned about tow trucks, the ride is definitely not smooth.  If fact, it's the
opposite..SO bumpy.  The braxton hicks had not gone away and all of these bumps were
making it worse.  I was so uncomfortable.  I sat there thinking, please don't let me go into
labor in this tow truck.  What would I even do??  Stuck in traffic, heading the opposite
direction from the hospital...what a mess.  

We finally made it back to Oak Park and dropped the car off at the repair shop.  Ryan was in
the middle of feeding the kids dinner, so I decided I would start walking home.  Clearly I
hadn't had enough activity or excitement for the day, so why not walk 1.5 miles home?
Thankfully I only got a few blocks before Ryan pulled up with the car.  We got home and all I
wanted to do was sit down.  My doctor told me that one of the main differences between
Braxton Hicks and real contractions are that when you sit and rest, Braxton Hicks should go
away.  Since I was just at the doctor and knew things weren't progressing at that moment I
was sure that if I sat down for awhile I would start to feel better.  I actually said to Ryan
when I got home, "If all that didn't put me into labor it looks like we're in for the full 39
weeks."  Looks like I spoke a little too soon.

I laid down and the contractions didn't stop.  I started timing them and they were 5 minutes
apart and coming consistently.  I stayed still and watched tv thinking it was all in my head
and I needed to rest.  It was a really long day so I figured my body just needed to relax.
After an hour of them not going away I was starting to get nervous.  Then when they started
becoming a little painful I thought there was a chance that this really was it.  Without my
water breaking I had no clue.  I didn't want to waste anyone's time, but I also didn't want to
wait too long if this was it and end up giving birth on the expressway.  I told Ryan that I think
we might need to go to the hospital.  I went upstairs and decided to lay on our bed for just a
few minutes longer to see if things got better.

 Not more than 20 seconds after laying on the bed I felt the all too familiar "pop."  There
were actually 2 little pops this time.  Like two small rubber bands snapping inside my belly.
Crap!  I got up and ran to the bathroom knowing instantly what had happened...my water
broke!  No more guessing on when to go in.  We needed to go now!  Thankfully Tim had
come over to hang out with Ryan so he was at our house already.  Everything was working
out perfectly.  Ryan was home, it was late at night so there would be no traffic, the kids were
asleep, and Tim was already at our house so we didn't have to wait for him to get there.
Tonight's the night....we're having a baby!!