Just one year ago...

One year ago today, Eric told me that he was taking our family out to dinner for the evening "because it might be our last chance as a family of only three!" I thought he was crazy, but wasn't about to turn down the opportunity to not cook dinner at 39 weeks pregnant! We ate at Applebee's, then stopped at Nate's favorite store--the pet store to visit the kitties! Afterward, feeling guilty about skipping my evening let's-get-some-contractions-started-and-maybe-I'll-go-into-labor walk, I insisted that we take a stroll. We walked around the plaza, window shopping and chatting. It was hot outside, and [as usual] I did start contracting a little bit. But, as usual, they stopped as soon as I stopped walking and got into the car.
We came home, got Nate into bed, and watched a bit of television. We went to bed later than normal, and I was glad to finally slide into bed. Then, just in those final moments before sleep came, I felt the baby squirming around. Obviously, I knew the feeling well, but this was particularly noticeable because it was much more movement, very fast, and stronger than normal. I smiled and closed my eyes, thinking that the baby must really be having a party in there tonight. Then, I felt my water break! Just like that, no contractions, no tricks, no medical interventions, nothing at all. Just a little pop, and I was in labor--and my body was doing it all on its own! More importantly, I was having a baby very soon! It was hard to rest with the adrenaline pumping through my body, then by the time I'd relaxed enough to rest, the contractions were getting too strong to sleep. Eventually, I was able to fitfully doze off for a couple of hours, waking every few minutes to drowsily time contractions, but falling asleep before the next one began. By the time the sun began to rise on August 11, I was up out of bed and ready for our family of three to become a family of four!
Continue reading Levi's birth story here....