Her week off!

Sunday came and went. We took the train. All went well.We had just dropped the car off at her parents’ house. The little dude has been kicking hard for weeks, but recently it just got a whole lot more painful! We knew it was getting close to due date, but still had a few days before Friday, due date Friday. We got home, went to bed, and slept. For several hours. Then at about two in the morning, Monday morning, I am woken up by her in pain. I say sorry and ask if there is anything I can do. The next thing she says is “this time it’s serious, we need to go!”. Those of you who are parents know exactly how this feels. You suddenly go from 0 to 100 in about 0.0001 seconds. Sound asleep to fully awake, heart racing in less than half a bloody quarter of a second. The next thing you know, we’re in the car and it’s moving on it’s own accord. We’re at the hospital. Which route did we take? I have no clue, but we’re here.

We go in. Get checked and are told it’s not time yet, we are not in labour. Only two centimetres dilated, and we need at least four to be taken seriously. Seriously? As if the pain she’s going through isn’t serious enough! Can’t you see? Maybe you should turn on the lights in here. It’s a bit dark. Maybe then you’ll see she’s in pain. But no. (It’s the middle of the night and to keep things calm and relaxing in the birthing ward the lights are kept dimmed) We go home. The little guy is still kicking but less so. I mean, she had contractions, but apparently not enough for anything to happen. We get home at around five in the morning. The alarm is turned off, of course, so we can sleep the extra bit we missed out on. It works.

Monday morning, latish, we wake up. He’s still kicking hard but less so. The task for today is to send out final emails before she takes her “week off”, not really a week, just three days to be honest. In any case she says it’s her first real “week off” in about five years. She’s been looking forward to her time off before the birth. To relax and meditate. Not to worry about emails or deadlines. Get her mind ready for Friday. Our little one is different, of course. He’s part of a group of five percent of babies who decide that they don’t want to turn for normal birth and stay upright in what is called breech position. So the birthdate has been set. It’s a beautiful date really, 3.3.2023, and a good date at that. She’s trying to send out her emails but it’s not working. The little dude inside has other plans. His plan for the day is to kick so hard that she can’t concentrate, can’t think, just reacts to his strong little legs pushing outward from within. After a long day of pain, she somehow makes it until six in the evening, before she finally gives in and says we need to go to the hospital again.

We go in. Get checked and nothing has changed. She’s still only two centimetres dilated. Contractions are real, yes, but it’s not enough to get taken in for anything. We’re told she’s in the “latency phase”. What the hell is that? We’ve never heard of this. And believe me, we’ve done a lot of reading. We are ready for everything, well, almost everything. What is this phase? We go home again. This time with some medication so she can at least have a good night’s sleep. Before sleep though, the latency phase. This is where labour has started but has not gone anywhere. This could be because the child isn’t ready or the lady isn’t ready to let go. Oh my. It can last for weeks. Luckily, we only have until Friday. But what about her relaxing week off. Well that’s not going to be relaxing like this. Nothing we can do, except let go and wait. We go to sleep. Seems she really wants her “week off”.

Tuesday morning, we wake up. We’re in a cuddling phase. The latency phase can wait. During this phase we talk and manage to convince ourselves that we are ready and the little one can come. 5 minutes later and her water breaks. Or so we think. But no! “Don’t worry. Take your time.” The hospital says. “Have your coffee, maybe even something to eat. Then come and see us and we can take it from there.” What on earth is going on? This sounds like madness. As if my heart needs caffeine right now. It’s racing at 200 beats a second. But ok, I’ll try keep my cool and eat something. And drink a coffee. Bloody hell am I ready now. Did we drive here? I don’t know but I’m sure this is the hospital.

We go in. Get checked and no, her water has not broken, and she has not gone any further than the 2 centimetres of yesterday. Bloody latency phase! We are told to go home and wait it out. We go home and get to bed. We manage to have a good night’s sleep. Perhaps the little dude is tired after all the exercises he’s done the past two days, none stop.

Wednesday is a calm day. The contractions have slowed down and the little dude isn’t kicking as hard. He’s tired, she’s tired, I’m on point, just waiting. As if hanging from a cliff waiting for the thin line to just snap before you fall. Of course, it’s a beautiful fall. A biological miracle. A beautiful wonder of the universe.

Thursday, we go back into the hospital, this time, not because of any pain or anything but for final checks and the Ts and Cs about the C-section taking place on Friday. Last week we thought it was cool to know the date and not have to wait in anticipation all the time as the due date came closer. This week, and today especially, we are feeling a little different about this. The nerves get tense. We can’t relax. We are ready, but tomorrow must come as quick as possible. The waiting is killing us now. We watch something. We cuddle. We enjoy. We fall asleep.

Its Friday. Did we sleep? I think so. I feel good. Got some butterflies flying around inside me, but everything is good. She didn’t sleep. Had a baby boy in her belly, kicking her all night. It’s our final drive to the hospital alone. The next drive we have, we will be a beautiful little family. Her week off was interesting. Its 7.52am, 3.3.2023 and out little baby boy is with us. He’s 52 centimetres tall, weighs 3.8 kilograms and is very healthy - and Isa is also healthy :-). Words literally cannot describe this feeling. We are so lucky and so happy. ♥