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The contractions were happening. The doctor was called. "Yep, bring her to the hospital," she told my husband.

A wave of anxiety came over me. "No, this can't be it," I thought. I was just getting into bed for a much-needed night's sleep. I convinced myself that we would just go to the hospital, they would tell me it was too early and we could come back home. "Okay, lets go," I said, with the comforting thought in my head that this was not really it.

I pulled my pants back on with much effort. The boots, well... "Honey, please can you put my shoes on?" During those last few days of pregnancy, bending down to put shoes on was pretty much impossible. My coat was left wide open—no hope of closing it over my huge belly. Why didn't I ever buy a maternity coat? This is freaking November!

We went out of the warm house, into the cold car and the off to the great unknown. Ohhhhhh…a contraction. Maybe it was just one of those Braxton Hicks things. On the way to the hospital I explained to my husband that we would be going home soon. This can't be it.

As we pulled in, my husband asked, "Do we park in Emergency?"

"No, no, I can walk," I assured him. Ever so slowly, I eased out of the car.

"Do we bring in the overnight bag?"

"No, no, this isn't really it." I took baby steps across the parking lot hoping I could get to the door before another contraction. Suddenly I felt a warm gush. What the??? I peed myself! Oh, no. Not pee. My pants were soaked. Oh, God. Maybe this IS it!

We arrived at the front desk. "Hi, I think I'm in labor," I said to the check-in nurse. The nurse told me to go into the bathroom to collect a urine sample. "A what?" I thought. What for? I'm here to have a baby. Ohhhhh... ahhhhh... now!!!

The contractions were strong enough for me to have to stop, pause, breathe and then… relief. Ahhhhh! Sanity returned for a moment.

This was my first time, so I wanted to do everything right. I wanted to do it by-the-book, even the urine sample. I carefully opened the sterilized cup package and found a folded instruction booklet that was four pages of really small print. I didn't want to mess up anything so I decided to read all the instructions. Carefully, I ironed out the booklet with my fingers, placed it on the sink and proceeded to read. What language is that? Okay, skip, skip, here's the English... "Pull back the foreskin..." What? What foreskin? Does this mean if I'm having a boy? Stumped for a moment I paused to process that information and struggled to make sense of what they wanted me to do. Ohhhhhhh, contraction!

Oh, forget this! Insanity returned. Instructions went in the trash! I ripped the cup cover open, squatted, peed and…gush. That cup filled up fast!

Ohhhhhh, contraction. Pause, breathe... ahhhhh. With my trophy in hand, I presented the filled-to-the-brim cup to the nurse.

"Oh," she said with brows up, "Your water broke. You're in labor all right."

"No, really?????" I thought sarcastically.

After all that, I was ushered into the evaluation room and hooked up to all the monitors. This was IT!!!

After a visit from the epidural man (which made everything wonderful!), I had a calm moment. I listened to the thump, thump, thump of the baby's heartbeat. I smiled and thought about the funny events of the evening and how I would remember this night forever. The pain, the fear, the denial, the silly stuff and eventually the unbelievable and uncontrollable joy.

About five hours later, my daughter was born, forever changing my life, for the better.

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Lodging on the Hospital Porch?
-Toni, Wisconsin

I was a week overdue and had an appointment with my OB/GYN for the next morning to discuss plans for an induction. I was more than ready to have this baby. That night at 2:00am, as I lay staring at the ceiling wondering just when I was going to have this baby, I suddenly heard a "POP." I jumped up and ran to the bathroom. My hunch was right: my water broke. I called my step-mom and told her it was time.

Until my water broke I didn't have ANY contractions or other signs of labor, so I was very confused and in shock. A few minutes later I did feel a contraction in my lower back. I already knew the baby was posterior, so I knew I would feel it there. It wasn't bad at all. Then another one came just five minutes later.

I called my doctor and they told me to go to the hospital. My step-mom, who is a nurse, kept telling me to stay at her house because I had hours and hours of labor ahead of me. She said I should stay with her so I would be more comfortable. I decided to listen to my doctor and off I went to the hospital. On the way there, my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and barely hurt. When I got in the hospital room, though, they definitely got worse. I was 3-4 cm dilated when I was admitted at 3:45am, so I was well on my way and I was in SUCH pain.

My hospital does not offer the epidural, so I couldn't get that. DRAT! Beforehand, that fact had never bothered me. I had planned on having no drugs whatsoever throughout the labor and delivery. But, after only an hour at the hospital I was begging for drugs. The nurse told me I had to be at least 5-6 cm before I could have any pain relief.

While I was waiting to be checked, I went to the bathroom and I was contracting like crazy. My back felt like someone was trying to break it with a very large bat! I started having the urge to push and I couldn't stop it. The nurse told me, "YOU CAN'T PUSH!" and to get off the toilet. She checked me and I was at 8 cm. I was told that I could not have any drugs now, because it was too late. I was pretty scared about the pain factor.

About five minutes later I told the nurse that I could feel the baby's head WAY down there. The nurses didn't believe me and my doctor was still not there. She planned to come in between 6:00 - 7:00am. It was 5:15. I was checked again and I was at 10cm. The nurses believed me then!

They had to pull in the ER doctor so that I could deliver. The doctor looked like he was scared out of his mind. "Oh well, who cares!" I pushed three times and out came my son. PERFECT! The doctor caught my son and passed him off to the nurses to take care of the rest. I later found out that the ER doctor had never delivered a baby before!

I am now expecting baby #2 and my husband is quite afraid I may deliver at home. The doctors and nurses told me I wouldn't have made it to the hospital had my son not been posterior, which is usually a much slower labor. They also told me if I ever have another child to SLEEP ON THE HOSPITAL PORCH!

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