Nicole's Due Date Delivery

Zack went to work, and Nicole got ready to start her day. She was due in to work at three in the afternoon and planned to spend the morning doing errands. Her boss and co-workers all tried to persuade her to begin maternity leave the week before, but Nicole knew she'd be restless at home. She enjoyed her job as a realtor. In order to appease everyone from Zack, to her boss, to her parents, she agreed to stay in the office working the phones rather than show houses to clients for the remainder of her pregnancy.

At 11:30 on that Wednesday (circled in red on the calendar for nine long months), Nicole was pushing her grocery cart through the market. She started feeling an ache in her back, but with the weight gain figured a back ache was to be expected occasionally. She continued to the produce aisle, where she chose her fruits and vegetables a little slower than usual. As she progressed through the store, she began to feel abdominal pain, but it was mild. If it was labor and not Braxton-Hicks contractions, she'd definitely have a while. Labor doesn't happen in the time it takes to buy your groceries. She was determined to get through her list. She was almost out of toilet paper and she wanted to buy sanitary napkins for when she got home from the hospital.

Not to mention food for everyone who would be coming in and out of her home once baby arrived. She thought she was hiding her condition well, until she ran into a neighbor, who asked right away if Nicole needed someone to call Zack. So much for Nicole's acting skills. She thanked her neighbor, but said everything was fine and finished up her shopping. She began to panic on the checkout line. Luckily, that particular store had packers who would load shoppers' cars. Nicole normally passed on this service, but took advantage of it that day.

She got into her car, then realized she shouldn't drive. She moved to the passenger seat and called her best friend Lynn who worked a few blocks away. She called Zack at his office which was an hour away and told him to head home. Her friend arrived, got behind the wheel of Nicole's car and drove Nicole and her groceries home at 12:30.

Nicole called her obstetrician, who said that she could remain at home to wait for Zack until her contractions were five to ten minutes apart. If things picked up too quickly, she was to have her friend drive her over to the hospital rather than waiting for Zack.

Nicole's contractions grew more intense and more frequent. Just as Nicole was considering leaving without Zack, he arrived. Their fifteen minute car ride to the hospital went smoothly. They entered the hospital through the maternity triage area just outside of the emergency department. Nicole was given checked for dilation by the triage nurse. She was four centimeters dilated.

The excited couple waited in a curtained triage bay for an hour before Nicole's obstetrician arrived. He said she was progressing beautifully and asked if she thought her labor started earlier than 11:30 as she originally reported. She said there were no noticeable signs of labor prior to that time, that she was pretty surprised that she went from asymptomatic to the mad dash to the hospital within two hours. Now, three hours into it, she was dependent on her Lamaze breathing to get her through the contractions.

Nicole was moved up to a labor and delivery room, where she changed into a hospital gown. She asked for an epidural, but was told it would take awhile as the anesthesiologist on call was involved in a Cesarean delivery. Moments after Nicole's I.V. was inserted, she started walking laps in the hallway, where her membranes ruptured. She returned to her room and changed into a new hospital gown.

Mother and baby were monitored constantly to check the baby's heart rate and other vital signs. Once the membranes had ruptured, she was not allowed to walk.

Nicole's obstetrician came up to check on her at 5:00 and said that based on Nicole's breathing and facial expressions, he'd like to check dilation again. In just five and a half hours, Nicole was eight centimeters dilated. At that news, Nicole decided to forgo the epidural and the anesthesiologist order was canceled.

Just two hours later, Nicole was in her hospital bed, pushing her baby out in three pushes. The baby was caught by the doctor.

She lay down and while she bonded with baby, the cord was clamped and cut. She delivered the placenta quickly, assisted by the contractions stimulated by her suckling baby. Mother and baby were declared in perfect health. They were moved to their official room, where they spent the next day and a half. They went home on Friday, where Michelle's friend and chauffeur, Lynn, had put away the groceries and loaded the freezer with a week's worth of lovingly prepared meals.

Nicole is a planner, someone who likes organization and control. Nicole's labor was not the way she expected it to be. She didn't expect her baby to arrive on time in terms of due date, and she certainly didn't expect him to make his way into the world in such a short period of time. She planned to use pain medication, but that didn't occur due to the anesthesiologist's schedule. Start to finish, Nicole's labor lasted under eight hours. Baby Keegan was born quickly... on his due date...how's that for timing? Nicole the planner admits she couldn't have planned the experience any better than it occurred.