This morning, no one expected that this could happen. For those who are too lazy to read the long text, I'll summarize: a boy was born, weighing 6,8 lbs and measuring 19.2 inches. Everyone is healthy and breathing, though a little shocked by what happened. Now for the details.
I was 38 weeks and 2 days pregnant. Last Thursday, I went for my regular checkup. Everything was fine, just a slight thinning of the cervix, but overall, I didn't have to worry for at least another week. My belly had already dropped a month ago, and I wasn't worried by it — after so many pregnancies, including multiples, it drops quite early. And I'm actually happy about it, because it's becoming easier to breathe, the heartburn that usually plagues me throughout the third trimester has almost completely disappeared. The baby was healthy and active, kicking me all over from the inside, and he's already positioned himself with his head facing the exit and has moved quite low, which has affected my gait and the frequency of my trips to the bathroom. The days leading up to the weekend were fairly routine. I went on paternity leave two weeks ago and have been doing chores (as best I can) and preparing for the birth. My husband has to work hard for both of us, and he now has to do most of the chores, as I'm struggling. My sexual quirks have ended, so now all he could do was caressing my belly and massaging my back. By the way, my back has been hurting quite a bit in recent days, and this may have been the main warning sign that no one noticed.
Tonight passed as usual – light sleep interrupted by kicks, practice contractions, and trips to the bathroom. The process probably started in the morning, but I was sleepy and apparently didn't notice that my water broke during my next evacuation. We woke up fairly early, had a light breakfast, and I sent my husband to the mall with a shopping list. Overall, nothing foreshadowed such a rapid development.
After seeing my husband off, I went to lie down, waiting out another rather strong practice contraction (which already wasn't just a practice contraction). About half an hour later, I suddenly felt a strong urge to poo. I sat down on the toilet and suddenly realized I wasn't just having contractions, I was already pushing. I didn't know where to run (or rather crawl) – to get the phone in the other room or to get a towel so I could catch the baby, who was almost there. I made it to the towels and right there in the bathroom with a few intense pushes delivered this eager little fellow. Surprisingly, there were no major tearings, although the whole process took barely 30 minutes. After the placenta came out, I finally crawled to the phone and told my husband I finished it. Half an hour later everyone rushed in, and I was already feeding the baby.
We were taken to the clinic to check that the baby is okay and to get me back to normal. I think in a couple of days I'll be home, and the boy will be with his new parents.
What a fun Sunday it turned out to be 😉