Carey's been working on a project deadline this week and working 15-16 hour days. Pains in my pelvis seemed to indicate that the baby was moving down and my pelvis was spreading. When I mentioned that the baby might come earlier than we expected (due date: March 1), Carey said, "Just please wait until Thursday, after my deadline!"

So I did. Thursday morning I started having contractions that felt like the practice labor contractions I had with Monty the two nights before he was born. I was excited but doubtful that it was more than just a little practice. After all, my friend Erin was in and out of labor for weeks recently before having her twins. Not wanting to bother Carey and get his hopes up, I called my friend Meredith to chat with her and tell her.

Shortly after getting off the phone with Meredith, the contractions got heavier, requiring me to stop and breathe through them. This was about 11:30 am. I decided to call Carey and suggest that he try to organize things so that he could leave work suddenly if necessary.

The contractions continued to get faster and harder, and I felt a strong desire to spend some quality time with Monty. I had planned to go to the farmer's market and to take Monty to the park, but the contractions were making me need to pee every three or four minutes, so I decided I'd better stay close to home. So after fixing chicken salad sandwiches for us, I took Monty outside, into the grassy area behind our apartment, and played ball with him. I had to sit down and breathe through my contractions, but it was a lovely way to spend early labor. The sun was shining, it was warm and beautiful out, and my little boy was running and laughing with joy. Sometimes I would hum the "I am opening" song to myself and envision my body opening for the baby. After a while I started thinking that it would be really nice for Carey to be there, to enjoy the nice weather together and snuggle through my increasingly heavy contractions.

I debated with myself for a while over this but finally decided that even if this was just a practice session, I wanted to have Carey there. When I saw a tiny bit of blood (and I mean tiny) on the toilet paper after a contraction, I decided that was enough of a sign. I called and asked if he would be able to come home. He said sure, finished up a few things, and headed home. A few minutes later, I thought to call him again and suggest he pick up some snacks, in case this was the real thing and we would be home for a while.

Meanwhile, I called Melissa and Meredith to let them know to be on call. Between contractions I started doing the things on the "labor onset checklist"--I lit candles and incense, burned some lavender oil, and sterilized the scissors. During contractions, I got on hands and knees on the bed, and Monty would climb on my back to ride, which actually felt really good. Then Monty and I got into a warm bath together, which is where we were when Carey arrived home.

Monty immediately wanted to get out, and after making sure I was okay, Carey went with Monty to play games while I labored a little longer in the tub. We still didn't think this was it, but it was fun to hang out in the middle of the day and just be together. Still, the contractions were heavy enough that I was already thinking how nice an epidural sounded, and wondering why I had signed on to do this again.

I recognized these as transition thoughts, but didn't believe I could possibly already be in transition, so I discounted the thought and set my mind to face hours and hours more work.

After a while, I got out of the tub and put on a nightgown. I took a towel in the living room and told Carey that although I couldn't be certain, I had a feeling we'd have the baby that evening, or possibly even afternoon. I labored for a while on the floor. Carey would kneel in front of me and rub my back during contractions, which felt really good. Then between contractions he would run in the bedroom and try to get the bed made up. By this time, I was moaning through the contractions. Monty was a little concerned, but Carey encouraged him to help rub my back, and he did. I tried to make it through a contraction without Carey so he could finish the bed. I called Monty over and asked him to rub my back, which he did briefly, and then ran into the bedroom calling, "Doo! Rub Back Mommy!" Soon, though, I felt I really needed Carey to get the bed made, so I made my way through two contractions without moaning, so that Carey would feel free to keep working on the bed.

By the time I was able to move to the bed, I was pushing lightly with each contraction--not because I felt any need to push particularly, but because it made them feel less heavy. At some point around this time, Carey tried to call Melissa to come get Monty because although he was doing fine, he was requiring a lot of attention, and Carey thought we would do better if Monty had someone else to occupy him for a couple hours. Melissa was unavailable, so Carey tried Meredith and had to leave her a message.

Shortly after I moved to the bed, the contractions got really unmanageably heavy, and suddenly I found myself shouting and pushing. Monty ran out of the room, covering his ears and crying, "too loud!" I felt a desire to check my cervix and in so doing discovered the bag of waters already halfway down the birth canal. In disbelief, I cried out, "I can feel the head!" A moment later the waters burst, and seconds later the baby was crowning. This part really, really hurt, and I shouted a lot and found myself standing up on my knees and supporting my perineum with one hand.

Carey had turned around to get a cloth. By the time he turned back toward me, the baby's head was out. When I said, "the head is out" Carey thought I meant it was crowning, so he was astounded when he looked and saw the head actually hanging down. I heard Carey talking to the baby, and the baby gurgling, and thought I would ask if the head had turned toward my thigh yet, when the next contraction hit and with a shout I delivered the baby into our hands.

I got turned around and Carey handed me the baby, exclaiming with surprise that it was a boy. "It's a boy?" I said, equally surprised, and moved the cord to discover that it was indeed. He started shouting right away, and continued to cry for some time. He was purple and took a while to pink up, and then coughed up a little meconium and calmed down.

Monty was reluctant to return to the room after all the shouting, and then the mess, but eventually he did and is delighted with his little brother. The placenta did not deliver immediately and caused some concern, but did eventually make its way out.

Meredith returned our call within minutes, but our request for help with the birth had become a request for help cleaning up so we could rest and enjoy our new family member.