They say you'll know ...

... but I didn't. At least not the first time. Or the second. Or actually the third, for that matter. So why when you read books or take pre-natal classes do they say, "You'll know when labor is real."

Not to make it sound like my labors have been a day at the park. I have been blessed with good deliveries and not-so-bad labors (thanks to epidurals), but I haven't yet known once that I was in labor in the first hours.

With Tyler I went in to be induced. Not to be hooked up to pitocin like many are, but to get a cream put on my cervix to soften and thin it. I went in Tuesday morning expecting to stay at the hospital and come home with a baby. But it didn't work, so they sent me home and told me to come back the next day. (The only thing that kept me from getting totally depressed was a VERY surprise visit from my parents who had spent the whole day in the car to drive up and meet Tyler.) However, that night I started having pains. They started every two minutes, so it couldn't possibly be real labor, right? We called, and they said to take a hot bath and to relax to see if they would go away. (Then again, I was a week late, so why would I want them to go away? :) When the contractions didn't stop, they said to come in and they'd check me out. Turns out I was in labor. But with contractions starting every two minutes? Crazy ...

So with Zachary I'd know, right? I mean, I'd been through this before. He was overdue (depending on if you went by the original due date or the ultrasound due date, and I went by the original due date), but I hadn't felt a thing. In fact, Easter day came and went and I realized I hadn't really felt him move all day. That freaked me out, so we arranged to go to the hospital to be checked. We got a babysitter for Tyler and headed in. While we waited for the babysitter to arrive, though, I started having contractions every five minutes. By the time we got to the hospital (1 hour later) they were every four minutes. They monitored Zachary to make sure all was well, and by they time they were done contractions were every three minutes. Even the nurses weren't convinced it was real labor, though, since I was dilated to like a 1, if even that. They said I could wait for an hour and see what happened. Contractions were now every two minutes, but they still weren't convinced. It was at this point and told Paul to make overnight arrangements for Tyler and to call Hilary, our videographer. The good news is that while Paul was on the phone with Hilary my water broke. I knew that meant they wouldn't send me home. YES! My water hadn't broken ever with Tyler, so I was surprised that it felt like a total explosion. I actually thought something was very wrong until I realized it was just my water breaking.

So now I was a pro at this, right? Apparently my contractions just start quick and close together. With Tyler it didn't mean a short labor (19 hours, I think), but with Zachary it did. And shorter was definitely more intense -- I was frantic when my contractions were overlapping (one wouldn't finish by the time the next one came) and I was dilated to only a four. But my epidural saved the day. So now I've been through a couple I've got it, right? Apparently not ...

Like I mentioned, Tyler was one week late and Zachary was almost two weeks late. So I was always late. Then two weeks and one day before Shayla's due date I got up to use the bathroom at something like 4 a.m. I walked into the bathroom and didn't make it. I was so surprised. How in the world did I just wet my pants? Wait ... did my water just break? That felt NOTHING like it did when it broke when I had Zachary. Is that possible? This seriously just felt like I wet my pants. So I cleaned it up and went back to bed.

A couple of hours later I felt a few small contractions and figured maybe I better go check to make sure my water hadn't broken. But I figured it really wasn't -- after all, I don't go into labor early, and it felt so totally different than when my water broke before. Guess what? My water had broken. (Phew! I didn't just wet my pants. :) And I got my epidural nice and early so I barely felt much pain at all. That was the most enjoyable labor I can ever imagine.

So, now I wonder once again -- will I know when I go into labor?

I tend to think I'm somewhat smart in certain areas, but my three kids thus far have proven going into labor isn't one of those areas! Maybe we'll see if that changes with this little guy ...