Our November Surprise

Austyn was due December 12, 2011.  I had a perfect pregnancy.  Not a single problem.  Morning sickness was only something I heard other mommies discuss.  Leaky boobs?  Not a one.  Nausea?  Just a touch in the very beginning that lasted all of three weeks, maybe.  My boobs didn't grow into ginormous fun bags, my ankles didn't swell til the very end, and I didn't have terrible mood swings (although my husband might say something different).  All in all, an easy pregnancy. 

On November 30, I woke up as usual at 5 am.  This hour commute to work is for the birds!  I felt a little crampy, just slightly different from the Braxton Hicks I had had throughout my second and third trimesters, but not overly worrisome.  Took my shower and got dressed.  As I was getting dressed, another "cramp" hit.  Definitely not like the BH I was used to.  I figured it was probably just "practice contractions" as I was 38 weeks. I got the feeling that I had to pee, but when I sat down, just a gush of clear fluid came out...no pee.  Sorry, fooled ya!  That was the first of a couple small "gushes" that morning.  I stupidly thought, "eh, a panty liner will work."

I had been having trouble the night before with my phone holding a signal.  Texting was a pain because the signal would fade in and out.  (But Sky's phone was perfectly all right - same phone service, same phone.  Go figure.)  As I took the dogs out, I attempted to call my friend Tracie and ask her what her contractions had felt like when she had gone into labor (many moons ago).  My phone, however, decided not to cooperate and kept dropping the calls.  Tracie had gotten the gist of the situation and we switched to texting, which turned out to be the only reliable form of communication I had.  She offered to call my boss for me, who then in turn told her to tell me to go to the hospital.  As I was sitting on our recliner, I texted Tracie - asking if she thought I should just come in anyway.  Next thing I knew this big gush of water sprang from my nether regions like someone had turned a faucet on.

I ran to the bathroom to discover my panties were soaked clean through and another contraction hit.  Not too bad, but definitely NOT like the BH contractions.  I decided I should probably get myself to the hospital.  I dug out some clean underwear, crammed a dish towel in them, and put the dogs away.  As I climbed in my car, I tried desperately to call my mother.  She didn't answer.  I called my father instead (who was home due to a work injury) and woke him up.  Surprisingly enough, my phone held out long enough for me to tell him I was on my way to the hospital.  Soon after, my mom called me back.  She sounded more panicked than I was!  I told her to call Sky because my phone was acting up.  As soon as I got off the phone with her, I texted my husband one word:

BABY!