My first contractions didn't really hurt. I felt tightening of my stomach, but I wasn't really for sure I was actually in labor. I had experienced a false labor several weeks prior, so I was skeptical that this could be the real thing. I ask my grandma to go on a walk with me, testing the waters to see if the contractions stopped once I began to exercise. But as we walked, the contractions continued.
Later that day, I took a shower, still aware of a strange tightening of my stomach muscles. After I'd dried off, I tried to relax, thinking that it may be possible for me to sleep away this exhaustion I was feeling. But I couldn't sleep. I paced the floor of my bedroom, back and forth; the television flickering the images of a program I was too far too distracted to pay attention to. .
Around 2am, I'd had enough, so I got dressed and walked to my grandma's house. When I got there, I found my cousin, Danny, lying on the couch, half asleep, half awake. When I asked him to drive me to the hospital, he quickly jumped off the couch, grabbed his keys and we were on the road in less than a minute. When we arrived at the emergency room entrance, I told Danny not to call my mom, and that I would call her myself. .
After checking into the hospital, I was taken to the second floor. The nurse brought me a gown and I changed and settled into the bed in the labor and delivery room. My nurse checked to see if I was progressing with the contractions. I started getting pressure and a lot more pain. The pain was also present in my back. She also hooked me up to the fetal monitor that kept track of my contractions and the baby's heartbeat.
My mom showed up unexpectedly. My cousin called her even when I asked him not to. She was given an update on how I was doing. A reclining chair was brought into the room along with some blankets and a pillow. My mom laid down and fell asleep. I watched some television and dozed off from time to time.