This was good news to me – all I wanted was to get up there and into the birth tub! But between us and the birth tub stood a 25-minute drive over snow-covered roads. Joel left me in the bathroom to go investigate our driveway situation and get the “last-minute” items together for our birth bag. Thankfully we had a list on the fridge of things to grab on our way out the door, so we didn’t have to worry about forgetting something in the moment.
The driveway was full of snow, and the roads weren’t looking too good either. After debating whether to call a friend with 4-wheel drive, we opted to at least attempt the drive in my car. All our bags and the car seat were in my car, and we had brand new tires, so it seemed worth a try. Joel helped me put some clothes on, and put my socks and shoes on my feet between contractions while I leaned on the dresser. I was starting to vocalize a little during the contractions, which were still 3 minutes apart, and I wondered what our neighbors were thinking!
The next minutes involved lots of strategy. Contractions were three minutes apart, so as soon as one passed, we hurried down the stairs. The next one rushed upon me in the kitchen so we waited, and then Joel helped me with my coat and gloves. We paused through another contraction, then tried to make it out to the car before the next one. The ice and snow said otherwise, so I hung onto Joel through a contraction before making it into the car.
The 25 minute drive took us nearly an hour, in second gear until we made it to the relatively clear highway. My contractions mercifully spaced out to 4 minutes during the ride. I focused on the snowy road in front of us and breathed through each one; I thought I was handling the whole car labor thing pretty darn well! At one point I realized I REALLY had to go to the bathroom, so where else would we stop at 3 a.m. but at the Turkey Hill gas station? The guy at the counter went white as he realized what was probably going on right there in his store. We avoided eye contact and hurried through the bathroom process – somehow, I didn’t have any contractions while we were in there! I did have one on the way back out to the car and clung to Joel for support. I got the impression that because we were in public, he wanted to “act natural” as much as possible, but that wasn’t exactly the priority for me!
Soon enough we hit the highway and clearer roads, so we were able to pick up speed. We reached the birth center around 4 a.m., hoping Jen (our midwife) wouldn’t judge us too harshly for being late. Quite the opposite – she welcomed us quickly, helped me through a contraction just outside the door, and took us inside where she had the birth tub set up and was ready to do an initial check.
At 4 a.m. I was 5 centimeters dilated. At this point my water had not broken, nor had I come “uncorked” yet. Jen asked me what I wanted to do, and without hesitating I said, “Get in the tub!” She quickly began to fill it with nice warm water. I labored on the toilet while we waited for the tub to be ready.
If laboring on the toilet was good, getting into a hot birth tub was AMAZING!! Not that it was particularly fun throwing a leg over the side of the tub at that point, but sinking down into the water and feeling the soft, inflatable tub all around me was as close to heavenly as one can feel during labor. I wasn’t sure what position to be in, so I just sat down initially, but as the contractions rolled over me, I realized that the baby had turned posterior and was causing a LOT of pain!
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