Mommy woke up at 1:30 AM and thought that her water might have broken.  Since you had only been inside me for 36 ½ weeks, it was a bit early to go into labor!  Mommy waited a little while, but decided to call the doctor to see what to do.  Dr. Allen said that we should come to the hospital that night.  We hadn’t packed any bags yet, but Mommy had a list of things to bring, so Daddy and Mommy threw things together and drove to the hospital.

There they tested and said that Mommy’s water hadn’t broken yet, but that she was having regular contractions (which she couldn’t feel – they didn’t hurt yet) so they wanted to monitor her.  We walked for 45 minutes and then were monitored for a while longer.  Some of the nurses said that it was just false labor, but one nurse said that she thought she’d see us back that evening.  Eventually the hospital said that we could go home. 

We stopped for chick-fil-a for breakfast and then took a nap.  Then Daddy was going to go to the Braves Bus Trip, where every year a bunch of our friends rent a bus and go to a Braves game.  He was in the parking lot at 2:00PM and ready to go when Mommy called.  She thought again that she was leaking amniotic fluid but wasn’t sure.  Daddy made the very good decision to come home! 
We tried to take a nap but Mommy started having some contractions.  She thought that they were Braxton-Hicks contractions since they felt a lot like the back pain she’d had throughout her pregnancy.  So she rested a bit and waited.  They started hurting more around 4PM, but we still thought it was from the lack of sleep and stress. 

After waiting a bit, with the contractions much stronger and close together, we finally decided to go to the hospital about 6.  Daddy was writing down the contractions as he was driving!  We got there at 6:30, and by the time the nurse checked Mommy at 7:00PM, she was 4 to 5 cm dilated!  Mommy got some quick narcotics that were supposed to “take the edge off.”  Daddy called our family and friends to let them know that I was definitely in labor.  Derek was still on the Braves Bus Trip and announced the news to everyone who was there, and there was a big cheer – they were all looking forward to your arrival!

Even though she was still nauseated pretty much the whole time and afterwards, by 8:30PM Mommy got an epidural that made her feel MUCH better.  It was a little weird – like her legs were asleep – but she couldn’t feel the contractions, just pressure.  Jean was our nurse and she was really nice and helpful.  By 10PM, it was time to push.  Daddy did a great job – even though he passes out at the dentist’s office and doesn’t like blood at all, he was right there helping Mommy push and even saw your head!  After a lot of pushing, Dr. Allen said that he needed to use forceps for the delivery.  Mommy and Daddy looked at each other – since this wasn’t what we hoped – but decided that it was the best way to get you out safely.  So even though you have a little conehead at first, it will go away fast.