Notes
Legs felt nice and fresh.
Still on an emotional rollercoaster. Went into the weekend expecting to run Boston. Saturday morning, got up and Liz noticed a little bit of a mucus type substance. Some online self diagnosis research led me to think this was a mucus plug and not her water breaking, which meant that birth could still be weeks away. So, we went ahead with our daily plans to go to Ball Square Cafe for breakfast and then to go to the marathon expo with Keefe. We agreed to call the doctor to double check in the mean time.
Expo was a good time. Liz's doctor called back while we were at the expo letting us know that she felt it was probably the same diagnosis, but would be at the hospital later that afternoon if we wanted some strep bloodwork done (usually done a couple of weeks prior to due date) and to check in person. We had a late morning appointment for an open house in Needham that we went to then called back the doctor to let her know we would swing by at 1:00.
My plans for the weekend and in general soon changed significantly. After getting to the doctors for what was supposed to be a simple observation, Liz felt a nice gush as she was changing into her hospital gown. A few minutes later the doctor confirmed that this was amniotic fluid (her water just broke) and that the baby would be coming within the next day, likely just after midnight. It took a few moments for those words to sink in.
I knew my plan to run Boston was going to be scrapped as a result of hearing those words, but to be honest my concern was due to the baby coming almost 5 weeks early. Everything we've read noted that babies coming this early are usually able to do ok, but still we wanted a healthy baby and usually this means going to term.
While Liz was being admitted, I quickly went home to pack some bags (we had nothing prepared at this point, we dont procrastinate but having all of this ready 4.5 weeks early seemed like overkill). While traveling, I called my brother to see if he could make a trip to the store to buy a car seat (we had nothing ready yet). A call to the mother in law was made to see if she could help pick up a bassinet and changing table for when we get home.
Got back to the hospital a little later and spent a lot of time sitting next to Liz's bed talking and enjoying the amazing views of the Charles River. It wasnt until much later in the evening that the true labor process began, and then moved along quickly, culminating with the healthy birth of James Patrick Klucznik at 12:31 AM. He was 4 pounds and 14.8 ounces, and was allowed to immediately go to Liz and then spend the night in the room with Liz and me. Emotional day, but couldnt have asked for a better conclusion. On Monday, watched Meb win the marathon on tv sitting along side James. Not my original plan, but couldnt help but smile nonetheless.