a year ago today

I can remember this time last year like it was just yesterday. I can’t believe our boy will be 1 on Tuesday- they are not kidding when they say time flies.

A year ago today was my due date. I was SO ready to meet our little boy. I wasn’t nervous but excited and, well, ready.

I went in on Friday, the 5th, for a checkup with my midwife- I was 3cm dilated and things appeared to be moving in the right direction. We decided to “strip my membranes” and see if that helped things along… It hurt but was manageable. I figured giving birth would be a lot worse so I didn’t complain. Laura said that generally, if it works I would go into labor in 24 hours. That would be Saturday afternoon/evening.
Later that day, I had an ultrasound to make sure things were okay. We couldn’t believe how detailed and accurate the ultrasound picture was. It was truly amazing. Everything came back okay and we all agreed to call and schedule my induction.

Sunday was my sister’s birthday and the Super Bowl. We were to report to Mercy at 9pm that night. Then we got a call that the date was changed and were to report on Monday night instead. I was hopeful he would arrive on his own before that….

I knew that weekend would be our last weekend with it being just Denny & I. We enjoyed it thoroughly… and I slept as much as I could and tried to just be patient. I was enthralled at the idea of finally meeting that little person I grew inside me. I felt him kick, push, turn- I felt him grow bigger and bigger… but meeting him, actually meeting him, was something that took my breathe away.

I didn’t have Braxton Hicks contractions at all during my pregnancy so I was still wondering what real contractions would feel like… but everything was normal. Saturday came and went… a fairly good size snow storm was approaching… according to the forecasters the storm would arrive on Monday. I briefly thought about not being able to make it to the hospital because of this storm...and then chuckled because I knew everything would be okay and we’d be able to drive the 7 minutes to the hospital regardless.

Sunday morning I woke up craving a big breakfast… So I hopped in the shower and thought about where we would go – I couldn’t wait to have some pancakes (one of my favorite things while pregnant). Then… it happened… and I couldn’t believe it.

I felt water trickle down my leg… but I was in the shower with water pouring all over me so I was a little confused. Was I imagining this or did my water really break?! I called Denny into the shower… I said, “I think my water broke”. He asked if I was sure…but I wasn’t because I was standing in the shower. So I anxiously finished taking a shower and Denny and I got really nervous, excited, scared, and assorted other emotions.

I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel… and a gush of water hit the floor. I laughed and said “yep, my water broke”. It was 10am on Super Bowl Sunday.

I called my midwife and told her that my water broke but I wasn’t having contractions… she said to relax, eat some lunch, and call back when I started having contractions. I didn’t plan on going to the hospital until completely necessary. I had planned on having a natural childbirth experience… so Denny & I enjoyed the afternoon and waited excitedly for contractions to start…. We listened to some of our favorite music, ate lunch, played with our dog, and got the bags ready for the hospital. We were giddy with excitement, we laughed often, and held each other tight- we knew that within 24 hours we’d be holding our son.