False Alarm

It was 7:30pm, nearing the end of a fun, full day, and I suddenly felt really sick. From church to Costco to cleaning to errands, we'd been on the go nonstop, which is why I'd just pulled out a bagels-and-lox dinner for the boys to scarf down before bed. They were happily eating at the island when the nausea and back pain rolled over me like a truck outa nowhere. I lay down on the couch. Josh was outside trying to water our dead-as-a-doornail lawn. Both boys wanted more food. I could not get up. So I sent Noah to get his dad for help.

An hour later, Josh had finished the dinner routine and put both boys to bed. I was now in bed myself, with little change. Until the contractions began.

Let me first say, both of my previous labors have been the same. I have braxton-hicks contractions (no pain) throughout my pregnancy, but once they start hurting, it's time to go to the hospital. Both times, that has occurred right around my due date, and I have underestimated how quickly the contractions would become excruciating, which has made getting the epidural more difficult.

So when I feel a painful contraction, Josh and I both hear alarm bells. At 36 weeks, they're good alarm bells, but alarm bells all the same. They continued every 5-10 minutes while Josh packed his hospital bag and I called our neighbors to see if they could take the boys.

But I kept wondering - Can this be for real? Are they hurting enough? Isn't it too early for ME to be in labor? I don't have early babies! 

But wouldn't that be EXCITING!?

We decided to play it safe and take the boys to our neighbors' before it got too late. That way, if it developed into labor, we wouldn't be waking them in the middle of the night. Then, we packed a few more things, filled the car with gas, and started driving toward the hospital. By the time we'd gotten near Vandy, I'd gone 30 minutes without a contraction. I still felt weird, but no contractions. So we stopped in at Waffle House to wait and see (who else is open at 10pm on a Sunday?). The longer we sat there, the more our hearts sank.

Really, we shouldn't want the baby to come yet. Josh has major work deadlines over the next couple weeks, my in-town relatives are out-of-town, and my mom is tied to Florida until late July. Not to mention 40 weeks is probably better than 36. BUT I WANT TO MEET THIS BABY!! And there for a little while, we thought we might get to do it early.

Looking back on yesterday, we're pretty sure the false labor resulted from me not eating well, drinking enough, or napping yesterday. Dehydration and exhaustion are classic causes. Someday it'll be a funny story, and it has already given me even greater sympathy for those who experience false labor. But today, it just meant an ordinary day felt a bit more ordinary in light of the day we thought it might be.