In the week leading up to my due date, I spent a lot of time with my friend Nicole, who was just about two weeks late. Even though I was just near my due date, I was starting to get antsy too. I had been on vacation for over two weeks and was starting to get bored. I tried not to get my hopes up though. I was anticipating that I'd go late like my mom, so you can imagine how surprised I was when my water broke at 3am the day after my due date.
We went to our clinic, got the confirmation that we were in labor, and headed to the hospital. I didn't want to text Nicole though, not wanting her to feel bad that I went into labor so early compared to her. As the day progressed, I didn't hear from her at all, so I "knew" she must be in labor too.
Sometime late in the evening, our doula Lyndi, said off hand, "I heard they are transferring someone from the home birth center, but I'm pretty sure it's not your friend." (She was planning on having her baby about a half an hour south of our hospital.) I thought that was strange because I knew the birth center didn't take too many patients, but as you can imagine...I couldn't put much thought into it.
As I was finally pushing (31 hours later after my water breaking), my midwife Candace was bouncing back and forth between at least one other birth. Every time she would leave, I would stall. Two other doctors rotated in, but I never seemed to make much progress, even though it seemed like with each push Holden would make his appearance.
In the last few pushes, I looked my doula in the eye and said, "Is Candace in with Nicole? Is she having her baby here?" Of course Lyndi couldn't confirm but she may or may not have given me a sideways smile by that point. Then I finally heard, "Okay, Candace is back for good." I looked at her and said, "You just delivered my friend Nicole's baby, right?" She, too, didn't confirm anything, but the look of disbelief on her face was enough to tell me.
So, this was the final motivation for me. It had been a long labor with things not exactly going according to my expectations, but I knew that if Nicole was at the hospital (not her plan at all), then I could suck it up and get this baby out. Holden made his appearance half an hour after Addison.
If you think Nicole and I have a lot in common now, she's a full time photographer, former dorm parent, swimming enthusiast, and of course, lover of babies! Check out her
blog and
website. Thank you Nicole, Travis and Addison for the wonderful visit and family photo swap!
