All This Time

Epilogue

It's two days past my due date and I'm waiting anxiously in the labor and delivery department of the hospital. Except I'm not in labor. My sister is. I'm just very grumpy.

It's not fair. Alyssa gets everything first. She was born first. She found her true love first. Got pregnant then married first. I'm just whining. What else is new these days?

Alyssa is five days overdue, and if twintuition plays a factor, I'll probably be five days overdue too. At least my doctor seems to think so anyway.

I had a check up three days ago, and apparently this baby has become very comfortable, which in turn makes me more uncomfortable. I'm 40 weeks pregnant. I think I've earned the right to complain. My back hurts. I can't sleep. I haven't seen my feet in months and I just feel swollen and stretched all over. I've done everything I could think of to jumpstart labor: spicy food, taking a walk, or in my case a waddle. Even sex. Nada.

"We've got Zane Smith ready to be on standby for you Sunday in case Laynie goes into labor.  He'll do a good job. He and Josh are used to working together in the truck series, so that's a huge advantage for us." I hear my dad tell Ryan.

Great, not only are they talking about work, but they have it in their heads that I'm not going to have this baby this week. They're probably right.

It's still crazy to hear my dad and my husband talk work. I never would have imagined that my dad would come out of retirement, but when Roger Penske himself called and asked if he would be interested in becoming Ryan's crew chief for the next season, he had a hard time saying no. He did say he would think about it, and he did. After the Phoenix race last year, he knew he couldn't pass up the chance to work with a championship winning driver, something he has never had in all his years of being a crew chief, especially one that was about to become his son in law and the father of his grandchild.

Ryan and I didn't want to wait until after the baby was born to get married. We planned a small, simple ceremony during Easter week when NASCAR had their first off week.

Alyssa and Alex had initially decided to wait until after the upcoming season, but then shocked everyone when they announced they had gotten married in Las Vegas during the west coast swing.

I have to admit, I was so glad to have my sister to go through this pregnancy with me. We had each other to lean on and whine with. Double gender reveal parties, double baby showers. I loved the idea that our babies were due so close together. It was going to be amazing.

"Almost there guys. She's about to start pushing." Alex rushed excitedly into the waiting room, a huge, sappy grin on his face. We all gave our quick well wishes for a safe delivery, and he hurried back to the delivery room.

I needed to get up and move around. I had been sitting in this hard chair for at least a couple of hours. I couldn't help but groan loudly as I stood. I'm tired of being pregnant. I internally whined.

"You okay babe?" Ryan asked me.

"Yeah. I just need to stretch. I've been sitting for too long." I replied.

Truth be told, my back was killing me. It had been a dull pain for the last couple of days, but had intensified from sitting in a waiting room chair for the last few hours.

As I walked around the waiting room, my hands kneading the small of my back, I felt a sharp pain, before a gush of fluid was released, staining the floor between my feet.

"Ryannnn." I shrieked, my voice echoing in the waiting room, that thankfully only had contained my family and a very few friends.

Nope. Forget what I said earlier. I'm not ready. I have a bag packed at home. It has everything I need to get through labor. I have a very specific birth plan, and this was not how it was supposed to go.