It was Wednesday, October 1, and Amelie was 5 days late. I woke up convinced that nothing was happening and I would go another two weeks overdue until they induced me. We had an appointment with the midwife that morning, and she stripped my membranes for the second time. Luckily, the second time was not nearly as painful as the first, and I was better prepared for it and knew how to use Isaac as a support better too. The midwife said I was almost 4 centimeters dilated.
After the appointment, I didn't feel much different. I brought Elizabeth to preschool after lunch, then noticed that I felt a little off and was maybe having more Braxton Hicks contractions than usual, but they were not strong or painful at all. At 3:00, I walked to preschool to pick up Elizabeth and joked with one of the other moms that I thought maybe today might be the day, but of course I didn't know. On the walk home, Elizabeth wanted to run down and up the stadium steps by our house, so we did.
By the time I walked Elizabeth back home, the strange feeling was stronger and we settled onto the couch to read together so that I wouldn't have to move. I started timing the contractions, even though they didn't hurt yet, and noticed that they were 5-8 minutes apart. I called Isaac around 4:00 and told him that, but that I didn't think it was labor because it really didn't hurt. He came right home anyway.
By 5:00, the contractions were continuing at 5-8 minutes apart and were slightly stronger, even though they still weren't painful. But I had been warned that it might go quickly once it started, so I called my mother and asked her to come over so that if this did turn into labor, we wouldn't have to wait for our childcare to get here.
By 6:00, the contractions were 5 minutes apart and still not really painful. I gave Isaac a haircut, ate a spicy Mexican soup for dinner, finished straightening the house, and called the midwife just in case. She told me it was probably cramps caused by stripping the membranes, and I should go on a walk.
So Isaac and I left Elizabeth eating dinner with my mother at our house, and went for a walk around the neighborhood. During the walk, the contractions suddenly started becoming painful and were still 5 minutes apart. Isaac wanted me to call the midwife as soon as I got back, but I didn't want to be sent home with false labor. I knew I could still talk through these contractions, and that's one of the big signs that you don't need to go to the hospital yet. (As I would soon see though, I'm pretty tough and can talk through almost anything!)
We sent Elizabeth home with my mother and called the midwife again. Sure enough, since I was still talking pretty smoothly, the midwife said not to come in until I could only concentrate on the contractions and nothing else, even in between. That's when she said I would know it was labor.
Around 6:50, the contractions became way more intense. I could no longer walk through them, although I could still talk if I tried! Isaac worried that we would get to the hospital too late for an epidural, and finally I had bad enough contractions that I conceded we should go, although I still wasn't convinced it was real labor. At 7:00, I told the midwife we were coming in and we left for the hospital at 7:10.
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