The morning of Thursday, April 21, my contractions started around 6:30am. They were completely mild and innocuous, reminding me of the cramps I sometimes get to signal the start of my period. I had three or four, about 15 minutes apart and didn't think much about it.
Around 9am, I had a few more contractions still about 10 or 15 minutes apart. I texted Brandon to let him know, and also told him that I had decided to go on with my plans for the day as normal. He was excited, but both of us were thinking we didn't want to get our hopes up.
I made plans to have lunch with my friend Stephanie in Longmont before going to get a manicure and pedicure at a spa up there. I got to the restaurant a little early, and was sitting in my car listening to the radio when my mom called to tell me that my friend Ken was on the radio in Dallas. I told her that I had been having contractions on and off all morning, and she was very excited. I was careful to tell her not to get TOO excited, because it was probably nothing.
Stephanie and I had a nice lunch, and when I told her that I had been having contractions, she too got really excited. She wanted me to go into labor right then so she could have the honor of taking me to the hospital! Alas, the buffalo chicken tacos I had did not send me into spontaneous labor.
After lunch, I drove to Sunflower Spa and settled in for my mani/pedi, which was lovely. I had asked Whitney, my doula, if it was OK for me to have a pedicure, having read or heard somewhere that foot massage could send a woman into labor. She said I was at 38 weeks, so even if it did, it wouldn't be an issue. I had another couple of contractions while I was there, but they were still really mild and far apart.
I met Brandon at home and we had dinner. At around 6pm, I had some more contractions, a little stronger and definitely 10 minutes apart, but I only had about three before they stopped again. We still were not thinking it was go time.
Between 6pm and 9pm, things started to move. The contractions were getting a little stronger, but they were still somewhat erratic and at least 10 minutes apart. Starting at around 9, the contractions were coming regularly 10 minutes apart and they were starting to get stronger. We decided to call Whitney a little before 10pm, before it got too late, and she told us to get some rest if we could.
We couldn't.
After we called Whitney, the contractions started to get really strong, though they were still pretty short, lasting only 30 to 45 seconds. Sleeping between contractions wasn't an option for me, and because Brandon was focused on helping me through contractions, it wasn't an option for him either. The weirdest and most difficult part for me was that most of the pain was concentrated in my upper thighs; I had thought the pain would be in my abdomen, and having it in my legs was surprisingly hard to deal with. I had prepared myself for pain in my belly or pain in my back, but none of the different laboring positions we had learned seemed to help the pain in my legs at all. I remember several times just saying, "WHY? Why does it hurt in my legs???" But of course, Brandon couldn't give me an answer. ;)
The contractions got progressively more intense, but remained steadfastly 10 minutes apart until around 2am when they suddenly jumped from 10 minutes to about 3 minutes. They were still only 30 seconds long as they had been the whole time. I was starting to get a little frantic, trying everything I could think of to find even a little relief. I was afraid to walk or stand during contractions because the pain in my legs was so intense I was afraid I would fall. I ended up sitting on the edge of the bed taking a lot of weight on my arms for most of them.
We decided to call Whitney again, and she gave Brandon some ideas to help me with counter pressure on my hips and legs. She told us that if the contractions got longer, closer together, or more intense we should go to the hospital.
I was somehow fixated on the idea that the contractions would get longer, so I never really thought it was time to go. In fact, I was starting to consider getting in the shower to see if that would help with the pain. Brandon, however, decided pretty quickly that the contractions were getting closer together and more intense. I would have a contraction and then he would disappear, and by the time I was going into the next contraction, he would be back with his jeans on, or carrying our bags, or asking me where my shoes were. And that was when I realized we were going to the hospital.
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