How it all happened...

I know I have been quite a blog slacker these past two weeks...it has been pretty crazy around here! Anyway - here is how it all happened!!

Thursday May 20th I had an appointment with my OB. I was 37 weeks and 2 days pregnant. I was tired, swollen and just ready to meet little Caroline. The doctor had said that I still had a some time left and just try to stay as comfortable as possible. As I checked out that day, I scheduled my next 2 appointments and was kind of sad that I still had over two weeks to go. Two more weeks of exhaustion, two more weeks of dragging myself to work, two more weeks of telling people that even though I was HUGE, I still had a couple of weeks left to go, and thus two more weeks of people telling me that I was about to pop right then!!

That Sunday, Adam and I were supposed to have both of our families over to our house for one last shower for Caroline. We got up early on Saturday the 22rd and started to get the house in order. Adam went outside to work in the yard and I worked inside. I was a little crampy that day but had been having contractions for several weeks so I was pretty sure it was just more of the same. We worked all day long (although I took several breaks!). We were supposed to go to a wedding in Huntsville that evening, but after a long day of work and me feeling pretty crummy - we just stayed home to relax before our shower the next day. Also, Adam was due to teach Sunday School the next morning so he needed time to work on the lesson. Late that evening, Adam got to work on his lesson and I bundled up on the couch. We had been talking for several days about how we just needed Caroline to hold off until this last shower. Right before I dozed off to sleep, we both said how we were so excited that we made it and anytime after tomorrow afternoon, Caroline was free to come!!

About 3 hours later...It's 3:30 am and I've been tossing and turning for a while. I'd started having a few small contractions again. I was praying for Caroline to hold off another 15 hours. All of the sudden, I felt a small pop (like the elastic waistband popped on something while wearing it) and then a gush. I went to the bathroom, but there were only 2 small drops. I woke Adam up and told him that I think my water broke - but I wasn't too sure. After I sat on the toilet for a minute, it was like I was peeing a little but couldn't control it (your welcome for that mental image). I called the MEU (maternal evaluation unit) and told them what was going on. They told me to come on in since they couldn't say exactly what was going on without seeing me. So off we went.

The drive to the hospital was rough. I was having sharper, more painful contractions than I've been having. Plus - Adam was less than pleased. He didn't really believe that my water had broken. Considering that we had already been to the MEU three times, he thought this was another false alarm. He complained most of the way that he was going to be so tired while teaching Sunday School and then he'd have to rush home and start greeting guests, so this was just really not good timing. I was starting to feel guilty and wish that I had just gone back to bed at this point. Right about then, we pulled up to UAB Women and Infant's Center. Adam dropped me off at the door and went to go park. I was standing on the curb having what I thought at the time was the worst contraction ever. I was pretty sure this was it...