Moriah's Story, Part One

It all began yesterday morning--Monday, April 9--at 1:50 AM.  That's when I suddenly awoke with the realization that, just like with Tobin and Shav, my water was breaking.  I was elated.  Not only was it a sure sign that the wait for Moriah would be over soon, but it was also a clear indication that I should go to the hospital in the not-too-distant future.  Because my contractions tend to be quite manageable until close to the end, I wasn't sure how I would know when to head for the hospital if I didn't have the advantage of a ruptured sac first.

I debated for a moment about whether I should wake Jeff and let him know what was going on or let him sleep longer while I took my typical pre-going-to-the-hospital shower.  Eventually I decided to go ahead and wake him; but if I had known how things were going to go, I would have let him sleep.  I did tell him, after I woke him up and informed him that my water had broken, that he could go back to sleep.  :)  He didn't.  ;-)

I showered, Jeff dressed, he called my parents to let them know what was going on.  After all, Dad was going to need to come up to our house to stay with the boys, and Mom needed to get ready to go with us to the hospital, so we wanted to give them a little time to prepare for that.  Again, if I had known how the morning would unfold, I wouldn't have been in such a hurry to wake them; but in the back of my head I was thinking, "With Tobin, it was only about five hours from water breaking to delivery; and with Shav, it was only about three and a half.  Maybe we should hurry!"  :)

When I called the hospital to have them page the midwife on call, I was delighted when the phone rang and it was Ann on the end of the line.  She listened to my report, asked me some questions, and agreed that I should come to the hospital, telling me that she would call ahead and let them know I was on my way.

We didn't spend much more time at home, only long enough to gather the last few things we needed to take with us.  The house was quiet and dark, and I took a moment to tiptoe into the boys' rooms and silently say "goodbye" and "I love you" to each of them.  I also wished that I could somehow be two places at once, so that I could go to the hospital and give birth to baby sister, but also be at home to hear and see the boys' reactions when they awoke and realized that it was THE DAY!  :)

I rode to the hospital on a seat covered with an old plastic tablecloth, just in case I continued to leak amniotic fluid all over the place.  But oddly, I didn't leak more.  I was sure that the liquid I had felt at 1:50 had been my water breaking, but I was surprised that more was not gushing out; and my contractions were so mild--no stronger than the ones I'd been having for weeks.  I felt a tiny bit of doubt about whether we should indeed be going to the hospital so soon, but regardless, we were on our way and there didn't seem to be anything else to do but go and find out what the midwife had to say about my condition and progress.  As we rode along, I looked out my car window and noticed the beautiful moon--just past full-moon status--shining down on us.  I also thought about how quiet the streets were, and I wondered what the other (few) people who were awake and driving around were doing at that hour of the night.  I do remember having one contraction during the drive that was more powerful and felt more like the "real deal"; it wasn't painful, but it did have more intensity, and it reassured me that maybe we were doing the right thing by going to the hospital already.

We arrived at the hospital and entered, as instructed, through the Emergency Room door.  A nice young man completed the check-in process and--I know he was only doing what he was supposed to--asked some of the strangest questions to complete the forms he was required to do.  One was, "Are you taking any college courses?"  Will someone please tell me what in the world that has to do with the fact that I'm on my way to Family Birthplace to HAVE A BABY??  ;-)  Of course, I didn't say that to him--just laughed and answered, "No."  But really, why do they ask such questions?

While we were waiting there, I felt calm, contented, excited, peaceful.  I wasn't having pain at all.  But I did glance around and notice the people waiting there in the Emergency Room, and then my heart was saddened at the thought of the situations they were facing.  One couple came in with their sick infant, dressed in a cute little sleeper; and I wondered what was wrong with the child and felt grateful that we've never had to take a child to the Emergency Room.

In a few minutes, the registration process was finished, and someone came to push my wheelchair (I really could have walked just fine, but protocol, protocol!) through the deserted hallways to Family Birthplace on the 3rd floor.  The adventure was beginning, and I wondered with great anticipation what lay ahead along the path to meeting Moriah...