Audra's birth story, Part 1

This is Part 1 of Audra's birth story. I happen to love hearing others' birth stories. If I know you and you've just given birth, I'm the one who will say, "Let's hear it. I want all the details." Then I'll sit down to hear you out. And then have a million follow-up questions.

So I'm going to write this like I'd want to hear it, which means it will be detailed. If details bore you or if you fear that your stomach might get queasy- what with the subject matter at hand- feel free to click away.

***

It all began at church on Sunday morning.

Adelia was getting too noisy in the service, so I took her out. We found a couch and as I bent to sit down, um... felt a slight whoosh. The best way to describe it is that it was a little seepage (if that's even a word) of moisture in my underwear.

I wasn't particularly alarmed, but definitely felt the need to go check it out.

I took Adelia with me into the restroom to empty my bladder. I did my thing, wiped, stood to pull up my underwear, and again, the whoosh. Puzzled, I wiped again, finished my bathroom business, and headed out.

We made it back out to the couch, only to feel the whooshing sensation once again. Lovely.

Back to the bathroom. Thankfully our church has a basket of pads on the counter in the woman's restroom. I set Adelia down, inserted big-beefy-church-pad, and we went on our merry way.

Back to the couch. A few minutes later, whoosh.

Back to the bathroom. Repeat the Changing Of The Pad.

You may think I'm a little slow on the uptake, but I still was not sure what was going on. I wasn't familiar with the whooshing sensation. Obviously I was wondering what was going on, and the water-breaking thought had entered my mind, but I didn't think it was that, for two reasons:
1) My water does not break on it's own. My doctor does that for me, at the hospital, during labor.
2) I was pretty sure that when ones water broke, it came as a gush, not a whoosh.

Also, and probably most importantly: I wasn't about to be one of those pregnant women who thinks their water has just broken, and rushes to the hospital only to find out that in reality, they had simply peed their pants. Nope, that would not be me.

During my third trip to the bathroom, I decided that I needed to have a consultation with my man. I was hoping he could shed some light on the matter for me, and at the very least I wanted to pass Adelia off so that she wasn't crawling around on the floor of the woman's restroom every five minutes while I changed out my pad. [Note: I must tell you that it completely grosses me out that she was crawling on the floor of a bathroom. That is so not something I would normally be okay with. And yet, it happened to be a secondary concern to my primary concern of keeping dry that morning.]

Decision made. I was off to find Mark. Because if this was in fact my water breaking, I figured I'd better get Mark before anything DID gush.

So, with a fresh pad on and a quick check in the bathroom mirror to ensure that all this whooshing hadn't become visible, I made my way out to Mark and the other three kids. I leaned over to him and whispered, "I think my water may be breaking. Or something. Can you come talk to me about it?" To which he immediately got up and followed me out into the foyer. Whereupon I began to give him the rundown.

I quickly described to him the whooshing, and the pads. And I asked him, "Do you think I'm just peeing my pants?" I can't remember exactly what he said, but the gist of it was that he didn't think I was peeing my pants (skirt) and that he thought maybe my water was breaking, but wrapped it all up by saying that he didn't really know. Mmm hmm. Me neither. And then he just stood there, not knowing what to do or say.

I kept talking, and it was at this point that Mark's sister Shelley walked up. I quieted, of course, and acted like everything was normal, me standing there wetting my pants every five minutes, chatting with my husband in the foyer with our one-year-old while the rest of our kids sat in church by themselves. Because, you know, I wasn't ready to convey that I thought my water was breaking when in fact, maybe I was only just wetting my pants.

So I chit-chatted for about a minute but then quickly ascertained that Shelley, mother of four and Knower of all things pregnancy and baby-related, was going to be FAR more help than my husband in this department. So I cut the chit-chat and blurted out, "We're standing out here trying to decide if my water is breaking or if I'm just peeing my pants."

At the point where I began filling her in on the whooshing and the pads and what not, the whoosh happened again and I passed Adelia off to her daddy and headed back into the restroom and to the dryness of another big beefy church pad. And noted that the supply was getting low. There were liners and there were pads in that basket, and the pads were dwindling. I knew the liners weren't going to cut it.

Back out to Shelley and Mark. Shelley, having never had her water break on it's own, either, nonetheless assured me that my water was breaking and that no, Stacy, you are not peeing your pants over and over again. We then sent Mark back to the sanctuary, and I think he was really quite happy to go. He offered to take Adelia but I told him to leave her with me.

For the next 20 minutes or so, Shelley (and her friend Janet, who had joined us) tried to convince me- between trips to the bathroom- that my water was breaking. I was pretty sure it was, too, by that point. But I kept saying, "Are you sure it's not just pee?" I made those two swear to secrecy, just in case it was pee. So whenever anyone else walked up (Kamille, Talia), we all shushed and pretended nothing was happening. Except for when Tara walked up, and I told her immediately, because they were taking our kids when we went to the hospital, and I was pretty sure we would be going there sometime within the next 24 hours.

By the time church ended, I had the last of the big beefy church pads in, with one of the liners on top of it, and I was standing there praying I wouldn't gush as everyone filtered into the foyer after the service.

And of course, Mark was taking forever-and-a-day to make it out to the foyer, and I was getting more nervous by the moment. I was seriously worried the seeping had made it's way down my tights and might begin seeping onto the floor.

Shelley took charge, and went to the doorway to wave Mark down- frantically but subtly- if you can imagine that. She was gesturing for him to come on out with all our stuff and the kids, but he misunderstood and left the kids and stuff to come find out what she needed. She then gave him the big-sister look and ordered him back to get the kids and to get his wife on out of the building. He still took far too long while I stood there, watching the floor for wet spots. [There were none, thankyouverymuch.]

Eventually we made it out the door, and all I could think about was the fact that I really wanted to get home and stick a towel between my legs and that our hospital bag was not even packed yet.


[Part 2 to follow]

24 comments:

  1. How funny that it happened in church! Funny to me, I guess; not you! I've never had my water break before I was at the hospital, either, and I've had six. I'm enjoying hearing your story.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great start to the story. Impending labor is not something you can deny for very long!! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love details too! Thanks for sharing.

    My water broke in the grocery store. And I had jeans on. I'm sure the bag boy following me out the door thought I did pee my pants. Fun times. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hilarious! You are making me laugh. Mine never broke except in the hospital, too, but once I didn't even know. They were getting ready to send me home b/c I wasn't progressing. They went to help me sit up and said, Oh! Your water broke! Had my first baby 2.5 hours later. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the details...every last one.
    You crack me up, mostly because I would be the same as you. I wouldn't want to be told I peed my pants (skirt) either.

    Eagerly anticitpating part 2!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'll look forward to the rest of the story... speaking of birth stories, I still need to write Raphael's. And Peregrine's for that matter. (I've got his somewhere, just not on my blog. And don't feel bad, my water has always broken at the onset of real labor, and with Raphael I was unsure too. With the first two it was an unmistakeable gush, and with Raphael is was more like little whooshes. We had some friends over, and I kept going to the bathroom and second guessing. Has my water really broken? Alas, it had!
    Hope you're enjoying your sweet little one, and all your big ones too.
    Love,
    Rebeca

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh Stacy - I love it. I could totally imagine it all and got a good light-hearted chuckle from it this morning. Why do bodily functions have to be so awkward? Funny stuff God created our bodies to do... like leak fluid.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh Stacy! I'm so glad you're telling it like this. I feel like I just stated a new book that I won't be able to put down...and yet I have to wait for each new chapter. Fun.
    Thanks for the nod in the story. Shelly is often walking around during the service on Treasure Land bussiness (I assume:) but you and Tara and usually pretty good little church goers....
    Sorry if I said anything unfeeling (I obviously had no idea what was going on....good work!:)
    Didn't really think YOU being in labor was even an option...knowing the "I'M ALWAYS LATE" fact!
    Excited to hear more.
    As far as my water breaking...I was 3 seperate gooshes.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Stacy,
    I have been reading your blog for quite a while now (and enjoying every bit of it!) and have yet to comment. Wait, I think I commented for a giveaway you had once. Anyways, I just wanted to say how much I enjoy your blog, and how I was chuckling all through this post. Through your blog, you have been an encouragement to me, and have shaped many of my views on adoption (something that is in the future for us, Lord-willing). Thanks!

    I'm looking forward to the rest of the birth story. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Stacy, this is a great story. You are a good writer. I LOVE all the details and find that people usually don't give enough and then I just look stupid asking loads of follow-up questions that are really personal. Anyway, keep the details coming!! I feel like I'm really there with you as this is all happening :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. p.s. from my midwife/RN side of things, it is quite uncommon to experience a huge GUSH when your water breaks. For most people, they just keep trickling like you did. Very healthy and normal. Probably means that your amniotic sac had a tear near the top or near the bottom and your baby's presenting part (probably head) was moving back and forward, allowing the fluid to come out.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Stacy, Oh I love love the details of your story!! It's kinda funny because with Ben I had the same kind of little trickles when my water broke.....I was just a few hours earlier on Sunday morning last year, so I had a bathroom very handy!! But I too was expecting a big gush.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love a good birth story. I had 3 girls and my water didn't break not one time on it's own. I would have been just like you.

    With my first child I was 18 days past her due date and didn't want to go to the hospital when I thought I was in labor. WHen I got there I was like..Uh.. I am probably NOT in labor... When they found out I was almost 3 weeks late they said, You are NOT leaving here without a baby. lol

    In Him,
    Beth

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for not portraying me as stupid as I felt. Yes, I knew your water was breaking, but then I remember standing there asking, "So... what are we supposed to do when your water breaks?" It's been far too long since that childbirth class (over 7 years) I guess.

    I see that you say Part 2 is to follow. But at this rate, it's likely that parts 2 through 10 are to follow. But thanks for chronicling the details. You really are an entertaining writer.

    Loving you.

    Mark

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love your details! And since, in just four short months all of this awaits me, I can't wait for parts 2 - 10! :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I whooshed in the super intendants office at school. Drove home, and made a mud puddle in the driveway! Your worry was founded. So glad you had those pads! You know it was the up and down motion that made the woosh and not the gush. It was the tipping of the uterus as you moved that either opened up a way for the waters to leak or be stopped up. Like me getting out of the car - gush! Can't wait to hear more - that was so funny!

    ReplyDelete
  17. L.O.L.
    Stacy, you are too cute with the whooshing and the pads and the church foyer and the peeing :)

    I've done the whooshing (Miss M) and the gushing (Miss I) and the not-at-all-till-the-dr-helped (Mr S). It would be so fun to get togther and trade these stories!

    Looking forward to part 2. Love, Q

    ReplyDelete
  18. I LOVE birth stories. My water broke with my 2nd. I woke up and really thought I was peeing in the bed. My husband however knew exactly what was happening. I went to the bathroom and gushed and gushed over the toilet. So no public places for me! However, I didn't have my bag packed and we didn't call the doctor but just went to the hospital. We probably should've waited until I was having contractions. Oh well! :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Ha! I totally thought this was going to be part one of two. Clearly not, as we're not even out of the church yet! I'm looking forward to the rest. Bless you!
    Annie

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh my! You are funny :) I had never had my water break until I had my 6th and it was exactly as you described!! Well, exept the fact that I was at home. I can't even imagine all that went through your mind since you were at church!

    Can't wait to read more...

    -Laura

    ReplyDelete
  21. So fun. I love birth stories too. Shelley had told me about this part and I thought it was funny that you were wondering, because my water broke with both my girls on it's own. I had more of the gush with Veronica, but trickle with Cadence. I remember thinking with Cadence b4 water breaking, "how will I know when to call the midwives if my water doesn't break?"

    ReplyDelete
  22. Okay. I totally loved reading this. So much, that I forgot that I was looking up something for E online. Oops!

    I am sitting here shaking with laughter. You are telling this story just like I want to hear it - with all the juicy, whooshy details :-)

    This is great. Love it.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I was JUST telling some girlfriends this evening how much I love hearing about women who had their water break and wondered if they were peeing their pants. Like any of us ever just stand around randomly peeing ourselves.

    I'm loving the whooshing and the term "big beefy church pads". Looking forward to Part Two!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting! I love hearing from you, and I will do
my best to reply back to you in the comment section.