Labor and Delivery;When You Know You're in Labor!

Giving birth is one of the most beautiful things one can experience. It can also be one of the most frightening! Especially when you know you are in labor, and the doctor tells you that you're not. My story happened 12 years ago. My due date was November 10th. On November 8th, I started to have contractions. I began to monitor them, and write them down. No problem, they were intense, but I could handle it. I called the hospital, they said "Call us when they are 4-6 minutes apart for at least two hours. Okay fine. I continue to do my household chores. I washed clothes, made breakfast, lunch, etc. If you are eating, skip the rest of this paragraph, lol! I went to the bathroom and out comes my mucus plug. Although I had given birth before, I had never seen a mucus plug. I wasn't exactly sure if that was it, so curiosity got the best of me, and I had to find out! I walked to my room, grabbed a wire hanger, and pulled it out of the toilet. Voila, I wanted to puke! This has got to be the mucus plug I thought, for it reminded me of the phlegm you cough up when you're sick, just lighter. I called the hospital again, to find out if I should come in and was told it doesn't matter, "Call when my contractions are 4-6 minutes apart for at least 2 hours". Okay, thanks.

Now it is about 6pm. Nervously, keeping count of my contractions, I decided to think about baby names. I hadn't completely decided on one because I did not know if I was having a boy or girl! I had two boys previously, and I wanted a little girl so badly. I chose to wait until delivery to find out the gender, so I would not be disappointed for the last 4 months of my pregnancy. Hearing the news of another boy would have depressed me. Hearing the first cry of my new baby would have made it all better, regardless of the gender! I made my boys dinner and then I sit patiently and watch t.v.

Around 10:45 I began to notice a pattern of my contractions. It was a weird pattern. Sometimes my contractions were 4-6 minutes apart then they would go back to 6-8 minutes apart. I could not understand this. I even had times when they would stop for a whole 15-20 minutes. I called the hospital again, only to be convinced I was having Braxton Hicks contractions. That's strange I thought to myself. I had given birth before. I explained to the nurse that I know the difference between Braxton Hicks and real contractions. She replies "Well I went to school for this, (with a snicker), "Sorry, but if you come in now, were just gonna send you right back home". Fed up, I decided to call my babysitter. I told her, "I know I am in labor, even though they tell me I am not, be prepared for my call."

Off to the bathroom I go. This is the fourth time today that I had a bowel movement. This also has never happened to me. They were regular bowel movements, but I had never had more than two in one day. Around 2 am I call again. I tell them, my contractions are not consistent with the 4-6 minutes apart for at least two hours rule, but I know I am in labor. She replies you are just nervous, can you still walk? I said yes. She replies "If you can still walk, then you are not in labor". I told her "I can walk, but my stomach feels extremely tight, and it hurts really bad". She tells me "I am just anxious and to be patient"!

Around 3 am, I thought I had to poop again. As I am walking from my living room, I said to myself "Screw these nurses, I don't care what they say, I'm going in"! As I walked into the kitchen I grabbed the phone. As I picked up the receiver, I let out this horrifying scream! I lived on the third floor of the apartment building, and I had waken everyone up! As I dialed 911, the operator answers and I scream "I'm having a baby". I scream again. AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH, they said to me "don't push"! I screamed again "It's coming out, It's coming out". My maternity underwear bulged and then dropped to my knees. I reached down into them and grab my slippery baby. My five year old was standing in the hallway and he looked as if he had seen a ghost. He asks "Mom did that baby come out of your butt?" I shook my head no, in amazement. The lady on the phone says, is the baby breathing? I answered yes, the baby is sucking it's hand. She asks do you know what it is? No, I replied as I slowly held my baby up in the air. I cried all over again, "It's a girl"! My beautiful, little girl with a head full of hair! Sucking the back of her hand! The cord was hanging and touched my leg. It felt like a cold noodle! The operator tells me to wrap the baby up, and sit down so I won't start hemorraghing. She told me to stay on the phone until the paramedics arrived. I stare in amazement at this beautiful healthy little girl. I hear the paramedics flying across the bridge! They were there within 7 minutes of me making the call. They cut the cord, and we were on our way. One of the men swaddled the baby with another blanket and carried her while the others carried me down on a stretcher. My two boys rode to the hospital with us. I had forgot to call the babysitter back, she met me at the hospital! Ecstatic that I had given birth to a healthy baby. Upset when the nurses acted so surprised. They were all saying "Oh my goodness, you had the baby at home by yourself"? Sarcastically after hearing it 3-4 times, I started to say. "Oh my goodness, I called you guys about 4 times, and you kept telling me I wasn't in labor" with a big smile on my face.

Well, we were both good to go. I didn't even spend 24 hours in the hospital.17 hours later, we were being released to go home! My baby girl weighed in at 7lbs 7 oz. This was one of the most memorable experiences in my life, and I didn't even have a camera!