The Real Thing

I’m in labor. Yes, I know I’ve said it before, but this feels different. After all the fits and starts and false alarms, I was worried that when it was the real thing, I wouldn’t be able to tell. The doctors kept saying that I would know, and to be honest, I wasn’t buying it. But, they were right. I was woken from sleep at about 6 A.M. with a strong contraction. Since then, I’ve been timing them, and they’re about 10 minutes apart, and painful. When I went to the bathroom there was lots of bloody show. I’m pretty sure this is it.

DH is outside, frantically trying to finish the proverbial white picket fence we’ve been putting up in front of our house. It’s important to him that this be finished before the baby comes home. It’s OK with me, because he’s been very nervous and fidgety, and kept asking, “What do you think we should do?” I told him that he should take our daughter to preschool, and go about his business, because it would probably be a while yet.

So, while he’s doing that, I have launched full tilt into nesting mode. I’ve been cleaning and organizing, packing suitcases, and paying bills, all while huffing and puffing through increasingly painful contractions. I thought when this moment came, I would be nervous, but I feel strangely calm. Finally, we will meet this little girl who has already turned our lives upside down!