False Alarm, Really?!

This morning as we were about to leave for Ted to lead worship at church I felt a gush of something down below. I was talking and stopped mid sentence in awe, leaving the guys of the house wondering...

"I think my water just broke... or I peed myself. I don't know"

Ted remembered them saying the fluid wouldn't smell like urine but sweeter (which makes me laugh now) so I ran to the bathroom and sure enough, my underwear and my gouchos were wet. So I checked it out (...) and it wasn't urine, that's for sure! I changed quickly into new bottoms which I also wet by the time we got into the car. Before we made it to the hospital I felt 4 "gushes".

We did called our doctor, who sent us to the hospital because I have GBS and if my water had been broken, I needed antibiotics immediately. As we grabbed our hospital bags, took off and got to the hospital I felt the an array of emotions (and Ted did too). This could be it! We might meet our baby today!

We got checked into a labor and delivery room, did a urine sample for them, stripped down and put a gown on, then waited at they monitored the baby and my contractions. The baby HATES being monitored. He/she kept moving like crazy inside. Poor baby.

I was having contractions, but that's pretty normal right now. The baby's heartbeat was great and the only worry was my blood pressure. It was the first time in pregnancy that it was high, but she told me she thought it was because I was anxious, nervous, etc. and told me to lay back and try and calm down. It was hard, but my blood pressure went back to normal after 45 minutes. I was going crazy inside!

Anyways, she checked out the fluid inside and shocked Ted and I both by telling us my water had not broken. The look on Ted's face still makes me want to cry. We were so sure that it had. We had heard that it could come in trickles, gushes or full blown and yet nothing for us.

I wanted to cry right then, but felt like I couldn't in front of the nurse. I felt so disappointed and somewhat like an idiot. I know it was best for us to be safe than sorry, but this was so shocking!

She went on to tell us that my cervix was soft and ready, but that it hadn't released anything yet. She told me that the gushes "were a good sign that the baby is coming soon", which honestly at that point didn't comfort me at all. I had already gotten my hopes up for today.

We were monitored for another 30 minutes, which seemed like 3 hours because we just wanted to get out of the hospital. Once we were released, we both agreed that we didn't want to go home yet, so we stopped at starbucks where a lady told me two of her birth stories (which happens all the time now) and then we went to a thrift store to take out mind off things. It didn't help really.

Ted told me he just wishes it wasn't so complicated, wondering "is this it?". We both realized more and more that this is not going to happen like it does in the movies. You know, where the woman's water breaks in a huge gush, they rush to the hospital, and bam there's a baby. Most of the time this is not the case.

I prayed and asked God to let it be really obvious to us, cause today was so disappointing. I've heard many women say, "Oh you'll know when you're in labor." Maybe for some this is true, but obviously not yet for me.

I know the baby will come in the right timing. And honestly, once he/she does arrive we will have forgotten this disappointment, but right now it's hard! Please pray for us in this final stretch!