(In case you missed it, I wrote about my pregnancy with A. right here!)
That night, my water broke. Of course, I didn’t know that at the time. You see, given the fact that most women’s waters do NOT break spontaneously, I assumed mine wouldn’t either. Also? I would have expected a big gush. Instead, I pointed accusingly at a trickle of clear liquid sliding down my calf and asked my husband, “What is THAT??” He, of course, did not know.
I called my OB just after midnight and got to the hospital just after 1 am. And it was there that I was asked the question I will never forget:
“Are you sure your water broke? Is there a chance that you maybe just wet yourself?”
And, folks… I was so close to sure that NO, I had NOT wet myself. But can you imagine how embarrassing it would be to say you were sure and then have them announce, “Nope! You just peed on yourself! Go on home now!”
So, I stammered around. And, finally, a nurse laughed and said, “Don’t worry. We’ll do a litmus test.”
My water had broken. I was admitted. Less than seven hours later, I gave one final push and heard…
“It’s a boy! And he’s BIG!”
This surprised everyone, given how tiny I had carried… and is just more evidence of what I always say- they can’t predict a baby’s size with any real degree of accuracy, in my experience. Now, I was expecting to hear that I had just given birth to a 10-pounder or something at that point. I had not. A. weighed in at an even eight pounds. Twenty-one inches long.
They stitched me up and cleaned him off. My husband asked how I was doing. I replied…
“I cannot WAIT to do it again!”
I was Mommy. I had a son. I was in love for the second time. All was right in my world.
to be cont…
My water broke before I had any contractions, and my son was bigger than they expected (based on his prematurity, not my size), but that’s about it for similarities when it comes to this birth story and mine!!
I love how different birth stories all are! This story, my full-term son’s, is so different from his preemie sister’s. There is almost nothing alike in those tales. But they were both amazing adventures, that’s for sure!
I was so thankful that my water did not break on it’s own. It really cushioned my contractions. I had 6 hours of labor but only about three of them were extremely painful. I find it remarkable that your hubby was ready to do it all over again. My hubby was NOT. I was a screaming person and I think I scared him, LOL! I had a third degree tear (I had an episotomy) and it was painful for months. Sorry if this is TMI
.
Not TMI at all… if I were squeamish about birth details, I most certainly would never share my stories here! I tore badly, too… many, many packages of stitches were used. And here’s the thing… it took awhile for us to conceive the first time, so I think we both figured, well, if it takes us 15 months to get pregnant, that will make the babies two years apart. Never occurred to us that I’d wind up pregnant mere months later! Your story is very different, my friend…
oh my, do you think some poor woman has actually been told “Nope! You just peed on yourself! Go on home now!” How embarrassing. I think I might be too embarrassed to go back when it was really time. Ha ha!!
Oh, I imagine even worse has happened before! Seriously, I just stood there. I was so afraid I’d find out I’d just been incontinent… can you imagine??
Nice to have a great birth experience! Alas, I ended up with post-partum depression, so mine…wasn’t the most optimal (15 years ago).
I got out of it, mind you, and did enjoy the last 3 births.
[...] can catch up on A’s story right here: The Pregnancy, The Birth, The Infancy, The Quiet Toddler, Advocating, What He COULD Do, Just A Boy, The (Hard) Next Step, [...]
[...] can catch up on A’s story right here: The Pregnancy, The Birth, The Infancy, The Quiet Toddler, Advocating, What He COULD Do, Just A Boy, The (Hard) Next Step, [...]
[...] can catch up on A’s story right here: The Pregnancy, The Birth, The Infancy, The Quiet Toddler, Advocating, What He COULD Do, Just A Boy, The (Hard) Next Step, [...]
[...] can catch up on A’s story right here: The Pregnancy, The Birth, The Infancy, The Quiet Toddler, Advocating, What He COULD Do, Just A Boy, The (Hard) Next Step, [...]
[...] can catch up on A’s story right here: The Pregnancy, The Birth, The Infancy, The Quiet Toddler, Advocating, What He COULD Do, Just A Boy, The (Hard) Next Step, [...]
[...] can catch up on A’s story right here: The Pregnancy, The Birth, The Infancy, The Quiet Toddler, Advocating, What He COULD Do, Just A Boy, The (Hard) Next Step, [...]
[...] can catch up on A’s story right here: The Pregnancy, The Birth, The Infancy, The Quiet Toddler, Advocating, What He COULD Do, Just A Boy, The (Hard) Next Step, [...]