Mar 04 2009
Am I in Labor?
It’s four AM and I’m very uncomfortable. This was the set up for my labor four weeks ago. I had a c-section scheduled and fully expected to avoid labor this time around (that’s not why I scheduled the c-section, just a bonus). Unfortunately, I was wrong. Even more unfortunately, I wasn’t even sure if I was really in labor this time.
When I was pregnant with son #1 I poured over birth stories and Discovery channel birth specials because I was slightly paranoid that I wouldn’t know the difference between false labor and real labor. When I did finally go into labor it was obvious and the contractions were easy to time so I had a good idea of when to head to the hospital.
This time I wasn’t so sure. On Wednesday afternoon I came home with a slight but constant pain in my belly. It continued all afternoon and night until I was finally able to get to sleep. It never occurred to me that I was in labor because it didn’t come and go like contractions. I tossed and turned all night and at 4AM I wasn’t able to go back to sleep.
I got up and wandered around the house wondering what was going on. My husband couldn’t believe it “How can you not know if you are in labor?????” It just hurt constantly - no contractions. Yes, I had already had one baby but this time I felt ridiculous because I had no idea what was happening.
When I got to the hospital (6:30AM) they asked how far apart the contractions were. Feeling dumber than ever I had to explain that I couldn’t actually feel contractions - just a constant sharp pain that seemed to be getting worse. I don’t know how many times they asked if this was my first baby and I had to say no.
Obviously, I was in labor and they did the c-section within a few hours but it just goes to show how incredibly different each experience can be. I’ll have another post on the annoying nurse who tried to prepare me for going home (before my doctor showed up and said “no way” would he send me home in my condition) but for now know that you just never know!
