the story

3 months ago today.

How has it already been three months?

I start to write the story of David's birth but it is either too long and detailed or not detailed enough- it is either too emotional and personal or not personal enough- it was one of the greatest experiences of my life and the words to express it just won't come out right. Or write. (ha.) But there's so much I want to be sure that I don't forget, and it's already been three months.

3 months. And so...here goes.

3 months ago today I was lying in bed and my belly was large and my ankles were swollen and my hips were aching. It was a little after 4 am and I rolled over from my left side to my right which took a lot of pulling and shifting and grunting. Finally I settled into my pillow, shut my eyes again and tried to find sleep when I felt liquid sliding down my legs. I layed there for a few moments realizing what this meant and my heart started beating faster. I reached over and nudged Justin. It felt like some cliche line in a movie when I shook his shoulder and said,

"Justin wake up- I think my water just broke."

He bolted upright and said, "What?". I explained what I thought was happening again as I climbed out of bed and walked to the bathroom. At my doctor's office the week before the nurse had told me "If your water breaks you're going to need a sham-wow." and she was certainly right. I had to stand in the shower because the fluid just kept coming. Justin asked me what needed to be done and I had a hard time clearing my head and focusing. Adrenaline was pumping through me and I just kept thinking "I'm going to meet my baby today...I'm going to see his face...I'm going to give birth..." Justin stood in the doorway of the bathroom and I stood in the shower, dripping, and we tried to figure everything out- what were we going to do with Audrey? What about the birthday party she was supposed to attend later that day? Should I eat something before we left for the hospital? Should we install the car seat now or later? How was I going to get dressed with all this water continually cascading down my legs??

We stopped our conversation short when I started shaking. I made myself get out and get dressed, which helped calm me down, then walked around the house with a towel between my legs as I gathered the hospital bag, my pillow, and everything else we needed. Downstairs I forced myself to eat a small bowl of cheerios and then asked Justin for a blessing. Afterward we woke up Audrey, wrapped her in a blanket and stepped out into the cold morning and climbed into our car. As we pulled out onto the street Justin said, "So, December 4th. Our baby's birthday is going to be December 4th."


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