Quincy's Birth Story, Part II

       After a day off at home together, on Monday Jon returned to work for his regular 48 hour shift.  We approached his absence with some trepidation. Me more than him, I'm sure. Our "going into labor" plan was pretty rough around the edges. We had a bag halfway packed. We'd be phoning my parents (who were 3 hours away) and they'd be heading up to help, but other then that we didn't know how things would play out. Being one week out from our due date, and because of my earlier contractions we figured I could pop at anytime. Thankfully, baby held off for the 48 hours, but we had one more immediate hurdle. After Jon's shift ended on Wednesday he stayed in Reno to take a test for his department. That meant that baby needed to stay put for a few more hours.
       That morning I could feel the weight of the baby in me. I felt constant pressure on my bladder. I think I may have gone to the restroom twenty-five times that day. In addition, pain was creeping its way across my lower back. Uh-oh. I was determined to hold that baby in until Jon completed his test at around 3:00pm. I opted for sitting and molding play-doh with Nolan instead of doing many chores. We read lots of books. When Nolan napped, I napped. We knew that Jon wouldn't be able to answer his phone for the hours that he was testing, so we hoped for the best. Finally, at 3 o'clock Jon called. He was on his way home. Phew. We were just four days away from my due date now, and had dodged another bullet.
       Jon walked in the door just after 4 o'clock. He noticed that I had done my hair. I reminded him that I was going out that night for my "Mommy Shower". My closest friends were getting together at a nail salon for manicures and pedicures, appetizers and drinks. I knew it would probably be my last outing for a while. We knew we were cutting it close with the date of the shower, but it looks like we had made it. Jon greeted me with a "That's right. I totally forgot. It's guys night too!" What? Apparently the husbands had decided to get together for dinner and drinks with the kiddos, while we were all at the nail salon. I knew getting out of the house by myself was too good to be true. Instead, we rushed around getting Nolan ready and Jon changed so that we could head out to my Mommy Shower and what was now also guys night. Awesome.
       I dropped Jon and Nolan off at our friends house and I headed to the nail shop. For the next two hours I got to catch up, put my feet up- literally, eat and was pampered by generous gifts from our friends. It. Was. Awesome. And it ended way too quickly. We loaded up our cars and stood in the parking lot joking. Maybe the foot massage during my pedicure would put me into labor (I had heard several times that there are pressure points in your feet that can cause someone to go into labor). Maybe all of the sugar in that cupcake I just devoured would do it. Maybe the next time I saw all the girls, I would have a baby in my arms. Picture me throwing my head back and laughing.

Silly me failed to have my camera at hand that night, 

but thankfully a friend snapped some of these on my phone. 

Very much wishing I had more to capture the great night!

Our friends were so generous!

Classic.

       With my car freshly loaded with lots of diapers and gifts, several of the girls and I headed to Lulana and Matt's house to collect the husbands and kids. Walking in the door, it was apparent the guys enjoyed their night just as much as I did (insert image of Jon with a beer in his hand here). Nolan greeted me with open arms, demanded to be lifted up and I obliged. I sat down in a very comfortable over sized leather chair to rest my heavy belly and Nolan bounded onto my lap. The house was bustling. Nolan was one of three kiddos under the age of three. Pizza boxes littered the counter. A basketball game played out on the television. And then, I felt something. A sharp cramp spread across my lower abdomen. Ignore that, just ignore that, I thought. Ignorance is bliss, right? A few minutes later, in that busy house with our closest friends I felt a wave of cramps rise up again. I attempted to ignore those as well, but I knew I was already pushing my luck with the signs that I had been having. I looked over at Jon, letting him know that it was time to go (he is pretty good at ignoring the looks that I usually give him). His response included something about my being "intense." Always the sensitive husband that Johnny.  From my previous night of cramping, he was skeptical of the cramps I was feeling. By the third surge of pain that rose up, I knew I wanted to get home. It was about 8:00pm.
       Matt & Lulana's house was just about five minutes from the hospital, and probably less then a mile as the crow flies. Jon asked if I wanted to go straight to the hospital now to get checked. Knowing that labor would only be in the early stages and we didn't have our hospital bag in the car, we opted instead for the thirty minute drive in the other direction, towards our house. After prodding Jon a bit, and experiencing some more discomfort, we were loaded into our car. I remember wanting my sweat pants, and to be laying in my bed. On the thirty minute drive home, I began paying attention to my contractions. I experienced four contractions on the drive, all about seven minutes apart.
       At home, trusty Jon continued to doubt me a bit (this from the man that thought we would still be going to a friends BBQ after I had been in labor at home for four hours with Nolan). While I got comfortable in bed and continued to track my contractions, Jon got Nolan to bed, fed the animals, changed the litter box, and did about ten other things on our "going into labor list".  It was about 9:00pm. Eventually he made his way into bed with me, where we timed my contractions together. They were bearable. I was in my own bed. And Jon and I rarely had QT time together, so it was kinda fun. Except for the whole pain aspect. An hour and a half later they continued. It was probably time to call my parents.