Chapter 13

That next morning I went to my doctor again for a check up. The doctor checked me and determined that I was 3 centimeters dilated (at 10 you are ready to push to deliver the baby). I was not too concerned as I had dilated early with my other two children, but not in the 8th month. The whole day I felt pressure and at dinner time I could not eat. I sat on the couch the rest of the evening while Joey did yard work. When we went to bed, Joey fell asleep quickly, but I could not. I started to have contractions, not the Braxton-hicks kind, but really painful ones. I got up several times to use the bathroom; it seemed to make me more comfortable. I noticed twice that Kayla had gotten up and turned on her bedroom light and was playing with her toys. She had not done this before. It was almost as if she sensed something was happening. The second time that I went to put her back in bed, I had to stop at her door and breathe through a painful contraction. I went to bed and nudged Joey. I told him that I was having painful contractions and that I was scared. I did not realize that he was in such a deep sleep that he did not hear me. I was not sure if I should try and sleep through the night or not. I prayed for God’s help to show me what I needed to do. Then like a bolt of lightning a contraction hit me so hard it practically threw me across the bed. I grabbed at Joey and cried out “HOSPITAL NOW!” He really woke up this time. Joey called his folks to have them come over to be with the kids and I looked up the number for the hospital and my doctor. Luckily, that evening I had packed a suitcase just-in-case. So when Jud got there we left for the hospital. I called the hospital to let them know I was coming. They wanted to know how far apart the contractions were. I was not sure. I knew I was ready though and that I had a birthing plan there for them to follow. I had on my robe and slippers and a towel between my legs and we were off. There were no cars on the road, just us. As we were riding, I felt a contraction, so I told Joey. He was timing them and said they were only a few minutes apart. Oh, the reality was starting to hit me hard. I realized that giving birth could mean the end of this baby’s life, and I was only 34 weeks along.