Two weeks ago, I didn’t feel very good. Lily and I spent Sunday the 5th in the car, driving up to Central Massachusetts for my cousin’s baby shower. When we got home that night, I was crampy and achy, and I chalked it up to spending a lot of the day driving along bumpy country roads. But the next morning, I didn’t feel much better. I dropped Lily off at school, and every step out to the car, my belly felt heavy and low, like he’d fall out at any moment.
I told Sean it was probably going to happen that week. He got serious very quickly and we went to my doctor to get checked out. After a delightful cervix check (can you sense my sarcasm?), I was told there was no progress and to go home and rest. I had another appointment scheduled two days from then, so I figured maybe by then I’d see some progress towards labor.
We got home and called Sean’s mom to see if she could come down for the night. Sean is usually home on Mondays, but he was scheduled for overtime that night. She came right down to help with Lily so I could rest. We did some quick power cleaning and vacuuming and made sure our ducks were in a row, and I think at that point, we both knew any day could be the day.
Sean went to pick Lil up from school and I rested a bit. They got home, and his mother arrived shortly after. He left for work around 5, and I started making some dinner – chicken tikka masala in the InstantPot. I was just about done cooking around 6 and went to sit down on the couch while the rice finished cooking. I felt a little gush of what I thought was pee, and rushed to the bathroom, because when you’re 37 weeks pregnant, these things happen and no one wants to pee on their couch. I had some spotting and when I stood up to wash my hands, I had another gush of fluid. Nope, that wasn’t pee.
I called Sean and told him to come home – my water broke.
Things were a bit of a blur for the next hour. I sat in the bathroom so I wouldn’t leak all over the house. When your water breaks, the fluid comes out in gushes ranging from a dribble to a hearty gush, and it’s a weird feeling, because unlike pee, you can’t hold it back. Sean’s mom made sure Lily was eating dinner and happy, and she helped me gather some things. I called my mom to let her know plans changed and the baby was coming that night. Once Sean was home, he packed a bag and got everything out to the car. Then it was time to go!
I’ll be forever grateful Sean took this picture of me and my baby. I felt alllll the emotions hugging her goodbye, knowing all our lives were changing that night. She was so sweet and excited. Leaving her was incredibly hard.