Baby #2 on Delivery Day {Part 1}

Because, one day, I'll wish I had written it down... 

Luke's  Birth Story

This is the story of Luke Christopher Herbeck.

 Born: July 25th, 2013 at 12:37pm

Weight:  7 pounds, 12 ounces

Length:  21 inches long

I wrote the post Baby #2 at 38 weeks on Wednesday night, published it at 11:56pm, and tried to fall asleep.  What I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions had been keeping me up since 11 o'clock so  I took advantage of the free quiet time and for the first time in weeks I actually published the weekly pregnancy blog post on time. In fact, everything was finished... the blog post, the nursery, the hospital bag, the laundry, the cleaning, and I'd even gone out for a pedicure. Everything was ready and we were now playing the waiting game.  

I was certainly ready to have the baby, but also confident that we had a few more weeks to go. With Owen I was induced at 40 weeks after having no signs of going into labor on my own. Based on that experience, I expected that I'd be induced again. My midwife told me at 36 weeks that I was 3 cm dilated which totally freaked me out. But, assured me that dilating earlier is normal for your second pregnancy and it didn't necessarily mean he'd be born early.  My 37 week appointment showed no change and again no change at the 38 week appointment.  I asked her when this baby was coming out as if she was all knowing and had some magical insight to predicting baby delivery dates.  She said, "I don't know why you haven't had this baby yet." As soon as the words came out of her mouth I was ready to wrap my open-backed paper exam gown around myself and march up to Labor & Delivery. Then, she burst my bubble by saying, "But... now that I've said that you'll be pregnant for 2 more weeks!"  Her words had sealed my fate, I prepared myself to be pregnant for a few more hot weeks. 

That night following my appointment I watched the clock strike midnight, I was officially 38 weeks and 1 day. The Braxton Hicks contractions were still keeping me up and around 1AM, after reading every article and Facebook post that the internet had to offer, I finally fell asleep.  Every 45 minutes those darn Braxton Hicks contractions were back. I tossed and turned and started trying to time the contractions, they were coming more frequently, but they weren't in any pattern. I'd nap and wake up, nap and wake up, all night long until I finally gave up on sleeping and decided to take a shower. Brendon woke up and I told him about the contractions. I also said that I needed him to stay home from work for the day to help with Owen. I kept repeating,  "I'm not in labor. I mean I don't think I am at least. I don't even really know what going into labor feels like." Brendon went into a tailspin and by the time I'd finished blowdrying my hair, he had dressed and fed Owen, arranged for him to be watched by our friends, packed the bags in the car, and got himself ready.  He also insisted that I text my midwife to see what she thought was happening. I just knew she was going to say that I was being a weenie and I should call her in 2 weeks when I actually go into labor! I was more than surprised when she immediately replied, "How soon can you be here?" Once I read that I started thinking that these might be real contractions and I really hoped so because being sent home from the hospital would be embarrassing. 

Thirty minutes later, we had dropped Owen off with Crystal and were on the way to the hospital. I told Brendon that we shouldn't call our parents yet... I still didn't know if this was actually happening. B watched me squeeze the door handle with each contraction and started timing them. They were much more frequent  and becoming more painful. When they were 4 minutes apart I think it set in that I was going to have a baby today.  I remember thinking how weird this was to be doing so many everyday things WHILE IN LABOR--- sitting in the car driving to base, sometimes in pain and sometimes just singing to the songs on the radio, giving our military ID to the gate guard just like the hundreds of other drivers that go in the gate each day, walking into the hospital that I'd been in just one day before for a routine checkup... but today I was having a baby while doing all this! It felt weird, but exciting. And, although I loved being induced with Owen, the surprise of going to labor naturally was really fun for me!

 For now, I think I'll "park" the story right here and you can expect to read Baby #2 on Delivery Day {Part 2} tomorrow!