But it's too early, and Uncle Bryan is at work!

I had thought and talked a lot about my plans for maternity leave, but I finally put it all down on paper on March 27th. I had 5 weeks to go at work and 7 weeks until my due date. That night I had a meeting that ran until around 6:00PM. I was working with a group of people in California. Our meetings were on Mondays so that was always a late night for me.

I had been training my replacement for a few weeks and as the meeting ended he was still peppering me with questions. When I stood and began to gather my things my pants felt pretty wet, but I thought this was only yet another of the indignities of pregnancy. I interrupted Khan and said, "I'm sorry but I have to leave right now. Let's talk tomorrow, OK?" I sloshed around the corner to my office. I thought that I would run to the restroom then pack up my things so I could go home, get cleaned up, and then finish my work there.

When I went to the ladies room I was shocked at how much fluid I had leaked. It smelled like bleach which I knew could be a sign of amniotic fluid. My mom was at our house in Haverhill packing up the kitchen which was scheduled to be gutted the next day. My mom has been a real life saver and a saint in the last year! I called her cell phone and told her what was going on. I was incredulous. My water could not have broken! My mom told me to call my OB and call her back as soon as I was done. The doctor said that, yes, it sounded like my water had broken and I needed to get the hospital right away. I could start labor soon.

I was mildly freaking out. I was 7 weeks from my due date, I hadn't had my labor and delivery class, and Bryan was in California. By the time I left the ladies room, the office was deserted. It was around 7:00PM. I called my mom who offered to come get me, but I thought I could get to Lawrence General faster if I didn't have to wait for her to drive from Haverhill. I started to walk out to my car. I couldn't decide whether I should drive myself to the hospital because I didn't know when or if I would start feeling actual pain. I had seen my friend John Firda's office light on so I knew that he was somewhere in the building. I called John's cell phone from the parking lot. I said in a wavering voice, "John, can you drive me to the hospital?" He answered, "Are you kidding?!" I said, "No..." And started to cry. :(

John drove very quickly down 495. I asked him, "Is this how you usually drive or do you think that I need to get to the hospital really fast?" He said, "I think you need to get to the hospital!" I said, "I think it will be OK if you slow down a little!" On the way to the hospital I left Bryan a message on his cell phone and paged him with "911" like we agreed I would if I went into labor. Next I called Keith and Jean and asked them to tell our small group and ask for their prayers. John stayed with me at the hospital until my mom arrived. I was so thankful for that.

The doctor checked my chart and examined me. It was definitely amniotic fluid that I was leaking and Jill had turned to a head down position. While my due date had been May 12th, all of my ultrasounds indicated a May 19th due date. At that point the doctors considered me 32 weeks pregnant rather than 33. I was given a shot to stop my labor and a steroid shot to accelerate the development of Jill's lungs. The doctor gave me the option of moving to Tufts New England Medical Center which has a department that specializes in at risk pregnancies. Not wanting to make a big fuss, my reflex was to say, "Oh, no. I'm fine, I'll just stay here." Then I realized that this wasn't about me, it was about my daughter and it was my job to get her the best possible care. So I decided to go to Boston.

Around this time, I finally got in touch with Bryan. He was doing everything he could to get home ASAP, but no matter what combination of planes, trains and automobiles he tried he couldn't beat the red eye in from LA. So that meant that Bryan had no choice but to wait to get on a plane at around 11:00PM. He was freaked out and worried that he might not make it back in time for the birth. Just two weeks earlier we had heard about a friend of Erin's whose water broke at 32 weeks. The baby arrived less than 8 hours later. I assured him that I was feeling nothing in terms of labor pains and even if labor started that minute it would be unlikely that I would have the baby within 12 hours as a first timer. I felt so terrible for Bryan. As nervous as I was, I couldn't imagine how helpless he felt driving back to the airport in LA.

I rode to Boston in an ambulance. My mom and sister followed shortly after and stayed with me the whole night sleeping on the pull out chair and a small bench. I am so lucky to be so loved. When Becky told Jacqui and Anna that she and Nana were going to the hospital because Baby Jill was coming, Jacqui said, "But it's too early!" Then Anna said, "And Uncle Bryan's at work!" Those funny girls. At 5 and 3 years old they honed in on our two major problems right away!

Bryan arrived at the hospital around 8:00AM. I have never been so happy to see anyone in my whole life! He might have made it sooner, but he had been in CA so long and so often that when he landed in Boston he had no idea where he had left his car.