Labor - Game on

Tuesday of last week I lost my mucus plug at work. Really lost it. Not what I thought was the plug...and there was a difference. A big difference. I also started getting a little crampy and even told a co-worker I thought the day had arrived. Of course, I had been saying that for DAYS so I only half believed it.

That night went as usual for me. We watched The B*ggest Loser and SP made dinner. I even bounced on the exercise ball trying to bounce the baby out. When bed time came, well, I figured I would get up the next day and go to work like I had the day before.

I was up around 11 a little uncomfortable but it wasn't until closer to midnight that I thought maybe something was a little different. The discomfort was different. Sometimes in the front like cramps. Sometimes in the back like a bad back ache. I tried to get comfortable and sleep but the discomfort increased and at times it was both in the front and the back.

I took a shower. I woke SP. I called the Doctor on call around 2. I was having what I soon discovered were contractions every 5 minutes or so...that whole timing thing is for the birds.

The doc on call is a pretty hard core chick. I like her but I didn't like it when she told me that she could tell by the sound of my voice that I didn't need to come in. She told me I wasn't in enough pain and here I thought I was. So, I stayed home based on her recommendation because I didn't want to be sent home and she thought that would be the case if I came in.

So for the next 4 hours or so SP rubbed my back with Copper's slobbery tennis ball. I took a bath. I lay in bed listening to my "very slow" labor music while squeezing this hand strengthener thingy that SP has and at times cussed into the pillow.

The weather here was supposed to get bad. It had been snowing with freezing rain and it was approaching that time when people would start heading out to work. I did NOT want to get stuck on the interstate in labor but I wasn't sure if I should go in to the hospital.

Based on our count, my contractions were about 3 minutes apart when we decided to head to the hospital. By this time, I was having what SP was calling light and heavy contractions. During the heavy ones, well, they hurt like a (insert curse word of your choice here) and started making me puke.

We drove to the hospital in the snow with a Kroger bag in my lap and me practically crawling the sides of the car when those heavy contractions came. We parked in the valet area and opted to not use the decorated elevator for moms to be that went straight to the 9th floor.

Thankfully, we had our dry run on Monday so I could bypass a lot of those questions about whether I was abused or used drugs. I continued to puke with each heavy contraction and also was peeing too. Glamorous.

We opted to not call anyone before heading to the hospital but I could have shouted it from the roof tops and my family would have heard when they told me that I was 4 cm and would be staying.

As SP said when he made the calls - GAME ON!