Birth Story -- Addallee Marigold Part 1

My water broke with Tracey at 38 weeks 5 days, and she was born the next day with about 8 hours of active labor.  I went into labor with the twins at 36 weeks 1 day and they were born about 4 hours later.

 

As a result, I thought I was going to go into labor with Addallee anytime after 36 weeks.  For weeks I would go to bed expecting my water to break, and think about who we would call to watch the kids if I needed to go to the hospital today.  Also, so many people told me how fast labor would go with my third pregnancy, fourth child and so I shouldn't delay getting to the hospital.  Add to that the fact that a bridge in Glenwood Springs was closed during the weeks leading up to my due date, and so we would be dealing with unusual traffic issues and detours to get to the hospital... and one of my closest friends had her baby in the car on the way to the hospital a few months before.  I was on pins and needles for weeks.

Once I made it to 39 weeks, I almost seemed to relax -- this was uncharted territory.  I had never been pregnant that long before, and this baby would come when she was ready.

At 39 weeks 6 days, I started to have some regular contractions during the evening that were making me uncomfortable.  I still did the kids normal bedtime routine with some help from my mom.  I made sure to braid Tracey's hair before bed, just in case we needed to head to the hospital that night.  I got into bed as soon as I could because I was uncomfortable with the contractions, and I knew that laying down would either make them subside, or they would continue, but at least I would be laying down and able to try to relax through them.

Laying in bed, the contractions did not subside.  I began to time them, and they were less than five minutes a part and lasting about 60 seconds in duration.  They were not horribly intense yet, but we had been told not to delay getting to the hospital since it was our fourth child, and so I mentally prepared for our heading out soon.

This was a Saturday, so Hubby hadn't taken a shower that day.  As he was getting ready to climb into bed, I said, he might want to take a shower first.  He asked why, and I said, "In case you have to take me to the hospital."  He asked if I thought there was any reason we should be prepared for that, to which I responded, "Well, maybe.  I've been laying here timing contractions that are 3-5 minutes apart of the last hour, so yeah, you'll probably be taking me soon."  He apparently had no idea that's what I was doing in bed... he just thought I was laying down relaxing.

Once he realized the situation, he was very attentive, and layed with me, rubbing my back during contractions for about twenty minutes to see for himself how frequently they were occurring.  Around 11:00pm, while he took a shower, my mom came to sit with me during contractions, which I thought was really special because she had never actually seen me in labor before or witnessed the relaxation techniques I use to handle the contractions.

A little after midnight, Hubby and I left for the hospital, on exactly my 40 week due date.