As we often do at the end of a night, we climbed into bed, watched a movie on my computer, and when we were done, we turned out the lights. The lights stayed off for approximately 5 minutes (just long enough for me to fall asleep), when I was nudged awake by Robbi, letting me know that she “thought” she might have had a contraction. She then confided that she “thought” she might have had one earlier, too, but that she hadn’t told me because she hadn’t wanted to “worry” me. I don’t know if she realizes that I am, in fact, quite pleased about Tarzan’s arrival, and that quite contrary to worry, the word “excitement” enters my mind when I think about the onset of contractions.
I expressed as much to Robbi, who agreed with my suggestion that we take note of the time so that we could start timing them. Excited, but tired, I fell asleep. Approximately five minutes later, I was again awakened, with news of another contraction.
We called the hospital. As Robbi’s chosen representative, I explained the situation to the maternity nurse who answered the phone. Inexplicably, she wanted to talk to Robbi instead.
They had a longish conversation which included various uncomfortable lady questions. The upshot is that the nurse suggested that we monitor the situation and call again if the contractions continue for at least an hour. Robbi agreed to do so, but informed me after she got off the phone that this is, indeed, the real thing.
As if to prove her certainty, the moment she got off the phone, Robbi marched across the room to her desk and promptly started working on a project that she had hoped to complete before the baby came. It is 1:42 and Robbi Behr, mother of Alden and Tarzan-to-be, is preparing some files to send to a printer in Hong Kong.
And there you have it. More information will be forthcoming. This is going to be a long day, but one I look forward to with excitement (not worry).
