The baby finally arrived, five days past due. Considering I still wasn’t getting a seat on the subway (at nine months, people??) I was ready. It was Sunday morning when my water broke as we were heading out toward the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I suspected I was losing fluid before we actually left the apartment but decided that walking and distraction were good things. We clocked it in at 11:15 AM.

I felt contractions spread out over our walk so I called my OB at the BBG. He was more nonchalant than he’s ever been since our first meeting in January. All he told me was to wait a few hours for contractions. Matt was totally unsatisfied with my conversation, especially when I said I was not planning to call him back at any point that day. I knew my doctor and I was certain he would call us back later. There were a few details that he left out and he did call us when we were back at the apartment.

Even though labor would likely take a while to get going, having tested GBS positive for strep, I would need antibiotics, via IV, within four hours of my water breaking and then every four hours until delivery. My OB eventually informed me that delivery would have to take place within 24 hours of my water breaking and that he would induce me with Pitocin after 18 hours had passed (by Monday, 5 AM) if I did not progress. We would be doing this by the book.

My sister-in-law and her husband came over to watch Diego. Contractions were steady but I was able to talk through them and tried to ignore them. They were increasing in intensity and frequency in a very gradual way.

By 3 PM, I was in Labor and Delivery Triage. For the first time in the history of the world, it was not crowded. They monitored the fetal heart rate and I got my medication. We then headed home to supervise the changing of the guard, from my sister-in-law and her husband to my parents. After pizza with my parents and son, we headed back to St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital. The second dose of antibiotics were administered at 10 PM. By now I was having regular contractions, every 5 minutes or so. I was trying to play it cool so that I could get to full dilation and to pushing before I had a chance to second guess it. After the second antibiotic dose, we headed out for a walk and I was stopping in the street but hanging in there.

We decided to see what was going on around Columbus Circle. All the Duane Reades were open and a Dunkin Donuts. We stopped in for a few jelly munchkins. Our next stop was the Time Warner Center, which was open because of the few restaurants located there. We wandered around, I used the second and third floor restrooms, and I suffered through many painful contractions. At midnight, I decided it was time to get admitted to the hospital.

Midnight and we were back at triage. I was 5 cm but hoped I was further along. After two hours, I was officially admitted and moved to a small room where I would deliver the baby. I labored for a while but was quickly losing my cool. If I let Matt try to help me through a contraction I got frustrated and scared. On my own, I wasn’t much better. I think I had a look of shock and terror on my face at the onset of each contraction. I found it difficult to change positions or visualize anything. At Matt’s suggestion, I envisioned myself swimming out to the boat in the Galapagos Islands during our honeymoon. Unfortunately, it only worked for about two contractions.

By about 2:15 AM I was ready for an epidural. Two hours had passed since I reached 5 cm dilation but no one checked me at that point. I was so relieved to see the anesthesiologist appear quickly that I pretended to listen to everything he said. I survived two contractions almost effortlessly, puzzling my husband, while the doc stuck me with needles. The lights were turned off at 3 AM and we slept until 5.

5 AM and I was fully dilated with the baby’s head at the “+2″ position. I felt no pain and pushed like a champ until 5:50 AM (after a tiny episiotomy and a tiny tear). The contractions were more infrequent now; I was only pushing every 4 to 5 minutes.  I felt good and alert in our small, quiet room. In the reflection of an overhead TV, I could see the baby’s head emerging. As I pushed for the last few seconds, I leaned forward enough to see her come out. Our baby girl Fiona was born at 5:50 AM.

Now I’m home and feeling that same fidgety adrenaline feeling that I felt after the birth of my son. Having my husband home has been an incredible blessing. Having two children to share my life with is a blessing I can hardly speak of out loud.

Photos are posted on curinga.com.