Weeks 35, 36, and 37 came and went. Lots of prodromal labor. I felt like with all those contractions that my body would go into true/active labor around 38-39 weeks... Surely not much beyond 40 weeks. Right?

My due date on June 4, 2015 came and went. Lots of contractions that week and several times they were so strong and consistent that I thought I MUST BE IN LABOR! Nope. Nothing. Every single time they seemed to be the real thing they would start to fizzle out after several hours. Usually in the middle of the night. I felt like the boy who cried wolf... Or in this case the girl who cried labor.

At my 40 week OB appointment I couldn't take it any more! I requested an induction date to be scheduled for just after 41 weeks. I was going crazy from all the false labor and the fact that they were keeping me up all night long for weeks on end. My induction was set for June 12th at 6am. Finally there was a light at the end of the never ending pregnancy tunnel! I hate an "end date" to this pregnancy. Thank goodness. I was hoping this would help me relax and focus on something other than my false labor. 

Easier said than done. 

There were many nights I would wake up crying because I was still pregnant. When would I be free from this mind game that is false labor?! 

On Monday, June 8th I went in for my first non stress test. Baby was looking great, but my fluid levels were on the lower end of normal. 

On Thursday, June11th I woke up to some contractions. Nothing new at all, but I was always getting my hopes up! I told Josh that he might be staying home. By the time he was ready to leave for work they had fizzled out yet again. I sent him on his way.

Those contractions were mostly gone by the time I had to take the kids to school at 9am. Nothing new. 

 That morning I had my regular OB appointment. For the first time this pregnancy I requested a cervical check. I usually decline them because they really don't tell you how close to labor you are. Things can change at any minute! However, with my induction the next day I wanted to see how favorable my cervix was. Turns out it wasn't favorable at all. I was barely 1cm. In order to be induced I would first require a drug like cervidil to soften my cervix and help it to dilate. I left my doctor's office in tears. I was going to be induced. 

Immediately after my OB appointment I headed over to the hospital for my non stress test. My mom met me there just in case they decided to keep me for some reason. Turns out the my fluid levels had gone down significantly. It went from 9 point something on Monday to 4 point something that day. They were really close to keeping me, but decided to let me go since Jaase was looking great and I already had an induction scheduled for the next morning. 

By the time I made it back home at 2pm I was feeling at peace with the whole situation. I was going to meet my baby soon and the prodromal labor would finally be over with! I had been dealing with it for 6 weeks now. Mentally I couldn't stand another day!

That afternoon when everyone was home we talked to the kids about how we weren't going to be there in the morning because we were going to go have baby Jase. They were all excited it was finally happening. 

That evening Josh asked me if I wanted to go out on one last date before Jase arrived. Of course I jumped at the offer! We had my mom come upstairs to watch the kids. It was about 7pm and close to the kids bedtime. I quickly put my last load of laundry into the dryer... and felt my first decent contraction of the evening. Yay. More prodromal labor, I thought. Right on time. 

We said our goodbyes to the kids knowing that they would be asleep before we got back and we would be leaving early in the morning before they would wake up. (The joys of living an hour from the hospital.) We let them know that Nana and Papa would be the ones to take care of them and be taking them to school in the morning. 

I really wanted some Italian food so we were going to stop in Alpine which is a 35 minute drive from home and the closest place. Before we even got to the freeway I felt another contraction. It was really strong and Josh took notice. I told him it was probably nothing, but it was stronger than my normal nightly ones. 

9 minutes later I felt another one. 9 minutes after that I felt another! Whoa! That one was really strong... I told him that it made me feel a bit panicky and that maybe we should eat closer to the hospital. Just in case. I was certain that it would just fizzle out like always, but that panicked feeling was telling me that I could be wrong. I decided to start timing them. I also messaged some friends about it. I just knew that if I said something and they were false labor that they would stop... Like so many times before. 

I don't think I've ever had that consistently timed contractions before! Even with Ashlyn the times were all over the place. These were exactly 9 min apart and feeling pretty intense. I started getting my hopes up. 

We decided to head over to Olive Garden at Grossmont Center since it's right across the street from the hospital. As we were pulling into the parking I had an even more intense contraction and I told Josh, "Maybe we should just grab some Panda Express to go. I'm not sure I can sit through ordering and eating at a restaurant." He asked me if I was sure... No, I wasn't sure. Ok, ok... I really wanted eggplant parmasean. Olive Garden it is!

The contractions were still coming while ordering, eating, and paying the check. Our poor waitress asked me if I was feeling ok while we were eating. Oh, you know... Just feeling like I'm in labor haha. 

Before we left I suddenly felt like I had to use the bathroom... Whoa there, body. What's going on here? I ended up being stuck in there for several minutes. Poor Josh waited outside for me the whole time. 

When I got out of the restaurant I asked Josh what he wanted to do. I wasn't sure we should head home just yet. He suggested we do some walking, so we headed across the parking lot to Target. The regular mall was closed since it was already 9pm by this time. 

While in Target I had a few more contractions 9 minutes (and closer) apart... and then they stopped! What?! Were all of those just more false labor?! Seriously? I REALLY thought that maybe this was it. Why is my body so stubborn? Why did it do this to me every night?

And then after 20ish minutes a contraction like no others made me stop dead in our tracks. I leaned on Josh and squeezed his hand while it passed... Okay... Maybe they didn't stop. Maybe this WAS it. I still had my doubts, but that one really got me thinking that it could be the real thing. 

We kept walking Target... Going downstairs now to look at bedding and kids clothes. (Found Ashlyn the cutest Despicable Me jammies... She's obsessed with that movie right now.)  While we were down there I suddenly felt the need to run to the bathroom. Shoot! Where are the bathrooms?! I practically dragged Josh back up stairs to the ones at the front of the store. 

While I was stuck in the bathroom Josh kept texting me and asking me to hurry up the store was announcing that they were closing in 10 more min. When I came out we paid for Ashlyn's jammies and started walking back to the truck. I told Josh that we should probably head over to the hospital so I could get checked out. It couldn't hurt. The worst they could say was that I wasn't in labor and they'd send me home. We'd just come back in the morning to have the induction started. I was still timing the contractions...

Josh parked the truck in the parking garage and we walked over to the Women's Center... Why was it so far away?! I just wanted to be in there where I felt safe. The contractions were still coming and getting more intense. I started panicking and walking faster. 

We walked in and gave the l&d desk my name... "Hey! You're our 6am induction, right? Decided to come in early? Haha" They sent Josh over to check me in and they took me straight back into a delivery room! Completely skipped triage. They decided that since we were there they'd just keep me even if I wasn't in active labor. It was 10:15pm by this time and they didn't see a need to send us all the way back to Campo only to have to come back in the morning. 

Whoa! This was happening. I got changed into a hospital gown and laid on the bed. I was hooked up to the monitors and then they checked me. 4cm! What?! I was really in labor?! Seriously?! 

I was in shock that this was actually happening. Did I really go into labor just hours before my induction was scheduled?! 

An hour after being there I was 6cm. The contractions were getting intense. 20 minutes later I was feeling a bit of pressure. They checked me again. 7cm. Whoa! This was happening so fast. ...and then the contractions were getting even more intense and closer together. For about an hour I was debating whether or not I wanted the epidural. It was after midnight and I was getting exhausted I was getting no rest in between them and I just wanted to rest! I was worried that I'd wear myself out at this rate and I wouldn't be able to push when the time came. I broke down and asked my nurse for an epidural. Sweet relief! I was out of pain and I slept! For two hours! I woke up because I was starting to feel the contractions again. Suddenly I felt a ton of pressure. Uh oh. Nurse! She came in and checked me... didn't say a word and ran out of the room. She came back letting me know that my doctor would be there in a minute. 

Oh oh! The pressure! I kept telling them that the pressure was getting intense! The room was set up for delivery, Josh and a nurse held my legs for me because I couldn't feel them and I pushed! Oh that felt good! I pushed through the pressure. 3 times during that contraction. Took a rest. Pushed again on the very next contraction... One push, two push... Head was out! One last push... Shoulders out and he was on my chest! 

I did it! I pushed him out! I had actually been in labor and had him just 2.5 hours before my induction would have been started! He was born at 3:52am on June 12, 2015. 

They left us alone to nurse and bond for 2 hours. They came back in weigh him and do the newborn testing. I really like that change in policy. I loved holding him and not letting go. I loved that everyone cleared out of the room as soon as the placenta was delivered. 

He was 7lbs, 12oz and 20.25" long. Exactly the same as Josiah and perfect in every way. 

We started the night out on a date and ended it with having a baby. It couldn't have been more perfect! 

Welcome to the world, baby Jase!