It was about 9pm. At this point, I was starting to feel some pain in my lower abdomen, like menstrual cramps. Since I had not felt any contractions up to this point, I started to think that they were Braxton-Hicks contractions. Before we left for a late dinner to Olive Garden, I researched the so-called “false-labor” pains on the Internet. I wasn’t sure, but at this point, I was experiencing the pain about once every 20 minutes or so. It noted that dehydration could bring on these type of contractions. So, I drank lots and lots of water. The episodes were short and brief, so I just figured that my body was prepping for the big day that was around the corner, about 2 weeks from now.

When we turned the lights off around midnight and tried to relax, the pain was getting greater. The frequency was around every 15 minutes or so, and I was having a tough time sleeping. As the pain would sneak up, I would try and relax and breathe my way through it. Josh was so tired and I was trying my best to not make noise and let him sleep.

In between, I would find myself fading off into sleep but would wake up abruptly with the pain. Since I drank so much water, I would get up and go to the bathroom each time. The rest of the night was a blur…all I know is that I spent most of the night in the bathroom at the Extended Stay America, trying to not wake up Josh and trying to make sense of all of the pain.

For the next 4 hours, the pain intensified. Although I was not real alert, I did begin to note that the pain was getting longer in duration and more frequent. Finally at 4am, I woke up Josh and went outside the bathroom to watch the clock and time how far apart I was experiencing the pain. Keep in mind that I was still unsure about what I was feeling – – were these false labor pains?

What I know for sure: I have a high tolerance for pain – – and I was feeling a lot of pain. By watching the clock, these waves of pain were timing out to once every 3 minutes. Josh watched me experience the pain for one round and although I was not complaining too much, he knew. He shot up out of bed, “Tina, those are not Braxton-Hicks contractions. Those are not supposed to be that painful. We need to go to the hospital – – right now!” Fortunately, it was just 5 minutes down the street…