Premature Labor - Dealing With the Unexpected

Last Sunday morning started out much the same as most Sunday mornings. My wife Lori got up with our 2-year-old son Ty, and they went downstairs to get started on their normal routine.

It was not a normal morning though, as we were soon to discover.

About an hour after getting up, Lori's water broke. This was not supposed to happen. She was only 34 weeks pregnant - her actual due date wasn't for another six weeks.

At first, Lori wasn't exactly sure what to do because it wasn't like you see in the movies where a 5 gallon bucket of water splashes to the floor. After an hour of consistent leakage, and Ty asking her 50 times why she kept running to the potty, she decided to wake me up.

We have three separate phone lines in our house, including one in each of our offices and the main line. Rather than come upstairs and wake me, Lori called me on the main line from her office phone.

"Honey, are you awake?" she said gingerly.

"Yep. Yep. Yep. I am....now. What's up?" I said in my half-delirious, fake-it-till-you-make-it chipper voice.

"I think my water broke about an hour ago," she said nervously.

"Are you frickin' shittin' me!?!" I said.

"No. I'm almost positive it broke, and I think I should call the doctor," she said.

"I agree. Are you OK?" I said. (Keep in mind - we're still talking to each other on the phone from within the same house)

"Yes, I feel fine, but I think this is really it," she said.

"Alright, well you said that it was getting close, so I guess today is as good a day as any!" I said.

Lori and Ty came upstairs. I took over watching him, while she made several phone calls. I decided to take advantage of a quick opportunity to jump in the shower, and I brought Ty in with me. By the time we were done, she came into the bathroom already dressed to go.

"The doctor said I should go to the hospital now," she said. "I already called my parents, and they're on their way down to watch Ty."

"OK. What can I do? What do you need from me?" I said, as I was trying to hurriedly get me and Ty dressed.

"Nothing. I feel fine," she said. "I'm just gonna go on up to the hospital, then you can meet me there after my parents get here."

"Uh, OK. Are you sure you're alright to drive? You know people are gonna give me shit about this, if I don't drive you," I said.

"No. I'm fine, and it's not that far to drive," she said. "I'll call as soon as I get there."

Both of us knew that things would go smoother if we did not take Ty to the hospital with us. I gave her a kiss and tried to say something reassuring, even though I was totally freaking out. And with that, she left, and I stayed.

"Daddy," said Ty. "What doin'?" "Where mama?"

"Mama is going to have a baby today," I said, while trying to act excited for him.

"A baby?" he said.

"Yes, a baby." I said.

"Baby kat?" he said. (The whole time Lori was pregnant, Ty called the baby kit-kat. I think he thought Lori seriously had a cat in her belly. I hope he isn't disappointed.)

"Yes, baby Caitlin," I said.

Then, I put him down for a nap; talked briefly to Lori; and, wrote a blog post and Twittered while waiting for Grammy and Pop-pop to get here. It was hard not to worry that something might be wrong because this was preterm labor.

Even though none of the doctor's visits or tests taken during the pregnancy gave us any reason to think something might be wrong, premature labor usually happens for a reason, and unfortunately, that reason is not often a good one...

I'll share more about our story tomorrow, after I get some much needed rest. In the meantime, feel free to see pictures of our new baby girl Caitlin Arielle.

Related Posts:

Introducing Baby Caitlin
Sorry Folks - Quick Change of Plans