AponHodgepodge: Mom’s Pregnancy Journal ~ Abigail Labor and Delivery

June 28, 1988

“Labor begins. The moment has arrived.

Slowly at first, and then faster and stronger,

the uterus begins to contract.

Gradually, but forcefully,

she is pushed from your body

into a new world.

For the first time,

her lungs fill with air.

She cries. It’s her declaration of independence.

No longer is she physically a part of you.

Now, she is on her own . . .

bound to you only by the love

between mother and child.

The miracle of creation is complete.”

A Diary of Creation ~ The Miracle Months

The day I went into labor was a busy one. I got up at 6 a.m. to wash and iron clothes. Bobby was leaving on a trip at 10 a.m. and needed everything to be ready. I took my usual morning walk of two miles. That afternoon, I worked on your cross-stitched Christmas stocking. I went to a baby shower that evening.

Daddy called at 7 p.m. and I told him not to bother calling back because I wasn’t having a baby yet . . . little did I know! At 11:30 p.m. Monday night, I woke up with my first contraction. I felt nauseated.

I got up then lay back down. The same pain kept coming every five minutes. I pulled out my grandmother's pocket watch, the only watch in the house that had a second hand. At 12:45 I decided to call our Lamaze teacher to ask for advice. She agreed with me that this was probably false labor. She told me to take a hot bath and walk around. I did that, but the contractions only increased.

I was home alone.

I decided to go ahead and put on some make-up and fix my hair. I got things ready for the hospital. By 3 .m. the contractions were coming every three minutes lasting 50-60 seconds. I called my friend back, she told me to try to sleep! At 4 a.m. I decided to notify our parents ~ maybe this was the real thing! Jan called back at 4:30 a.m. and we decided it would be best to head for the hospital. I got there at 5:30 a.m. and was dilated to 5 cm.

Daddy arrived at the hospital at 6:45 a.m. and I just cried when he walked through the door! By 7 a.m. I was at 7 cm. God had answered our prayers and Daddy was there for your birth.