Brown sugar and Lavender

Chapter forty six: Ouch! (Is it labor?)

Addison's POV:

Thirty eight weeks and two days pregnant. That was when it happened.

I'd been having Braxton hicks contractions for weeks, I knew I'd be able to tell the difference when the time came. Real contractions are much worse and can be timed because they come regularly, whereas Braxton hicks were random and only came every so often.

While I was thirty eight weeks and two days pregnant, well into my pregnancy and ready to have the baby and be done with being pregnant, I had a particularly strong Braxton hick.

"Ouch" I mumble, rubbing my stomach. As of two days ago, I was banned from any OR because I could essentially go into labor at any time. It would be extremely inconvenient if the baby decided to make its grand appearance while I was elbow deep in a patients uterus.

"Is it labor?" Meredith murmured, flipping the page of the book she was reading. Meredith was anxious for the baby, but we were both getting tired of all the false alarms.

"What do you think?" I mumble, trying to get comfortable in bed. It wasn't late, but I spent a good deal of time in bed since being banned from surgery. I was uncomfortable and way too pregnant to possibly bother with putting on pants or shoes.

"She'll come when she wants to" Meredith says, smiling encouragingly. She reaches a hand over and lays it on my big baby bump, gently rubbing circles with her thumb. She jumps when the baby lands a huge kick to her hand. "I wasn't expecting that" she laughs, eyes alight with amazement.

"Owwwww" I whine "I know you think it's cute and amazing and the miracle of life is such a blessing and all, but that fucking hurt" the baby kicks again, as if to prove a point "I want it out and I want it out now" I grouch.

"You're gonna miss this" Meredith warns "once she's out; she's out. You won't know exactly where she is, what she's doing, if she's okay. Right now, she's with you all the time, once she's out that's it"

"Way to scare the pregnant lady" I roll my eyes at Meredith "when you're big and swollen and pregnant, you'll understand. My body doesn't feel like my body, it feels like it's being rented out to someone who has loud parties all night where the grand finale switches periodically from kicking me in the ribs to stomping on my bladder"

"You sure you want four?" Meredith teases me "you're perhaps the most miserable pregnant lady on the planet"

I sigh, and look down at my bump. It would be weird to not look down and see it anymore. As ready as I was to have the baby and not be pregnant anymore, I did enjoy being pregnant. At least, I enjoyed the cute and memorable parts without the bladder stomping and rib kicking.

"I could do this a few more times, I'm tough" I declare "but can you? I mean, you're not as badass as me" I joke.

"I'm not nearly as badass as you" Meredith agrees, leaning over to kiss me lightly. Right as she does, I feel another Braxton hick roll through my body. Two in a row.

"Another one?" Mer asks, watching my stomach tighten with the contraction. I nod, and let out a breath.

"They don't hurt too bad; mostly just uncomfortable, inconvenient and annoying" I wasn't lying; the pain wasn't bad at all. It was uncomfortable at most.

"Try to get some sleep; that'll make you feel a little better"

~

Turns out, the Braxton hicks kept coming all night pretty much at random. I was annoyed and tired by the time the morning came, and Meredith headed off to work. I opted to stay home.

"Call me if you need anything at all, I'll be home in a second" she promises, before kissing me and kissing the baby bump, before heading out the door.

"Just you and me today, kid" I say to my stomach, as the sound of Meredith's car pulling out of the driveway fills the air. "Please be nice to me, okay? Mommy left for work, so I don't really have anything to do" deciding to get some breakfast, I head to the kitchen where I'm hit with yet another hard Braxton hick.

"Ouch" I say, having to stop and hold onto the wall for a second. That one was stronger than most, but I still didn't feel like it was a real contraction. So, I continued making breakfast.

After breakfast, I decided to do some laundry. Everything for the baby was set up and ready to go, but Meredith and I still had some laundry of ours that we needed to get done. So, I put some laundry in the washer and took the towels out of the dryer to fold.

While folding towels, I was bored stiff. I was a doctor, I couldn't remember the last time I had downtime like this. I sighed, and figured it couldn't hurt to kill an hour showering. So, I made my way upstairs to the bathroom and put away the towels, then quickly shed my yoga pants and oversized T shirt.

I hadn't been in the shower very long at all, when I felt a spike of pain go down my stomach. I actually doubled over, and groaned in discontent, until the feeling passed.

Now that, I believed was a contraction.

Excited, I finished showering (having multiple other honest to God contractions) and dried off, quickly throwing on some clean clothes before deciding to call Meredith.

I knew that contractions didn't necessarily mean baby time quite yet; once my water broke, then I'd have to go to the hospital and get ready to deliver. Since my water hadn't broken, I wasn't going to be having the baby for another while.

"I'm having contractions!" I squealed, the second Meredith picked up the phone. I was so, so ready to have the baby.

"That's amazing! Are you going to come to the hospital now, because I can reschedule my surgeries and come meet you" Meredith sounded ecstatic.

"I think I'll wait a few hours, if someone came in having contractions I'd just tell them to go home and wait it out until their water broke" lots of expecting parents came in early, and there wasn't much the hospital could really do until the water breaks, so I often told women to go home and do different things to break their water before coming back. Bouncing on birthing balls, walking excessively, and lots of stretching seemed to always do the trick.

"Alright, well, If you need me I'll come home. Just call" Meredith promised "and if you decide to go to the hospital, call Callie to take you. She's got the day off, she worked the ER last night"

"I will" I promise Meredith "I love you"

"I love you too bunny"

After she hung up, there wasn't really much I could do. Walk around, stretch a little bit, something to break my water. I had multiple excruciating contractions, they were getting worse and worse by the moments. I almost couldn't breathe, and it worried me. The pain seemed to be very very advanced for someone who hadn't even broken their water. So, I decided to call Callie, and ask her to come over, just in case I did need a ride to the hospital. Callie was more than willing, excited beyond belief to meet the baby, her goddaughter.

I hadn't been off the phone with Callie for long, when pain went all down my stomach and legs. Possibly the worst pain I'd ever felt, like I had to pee or take a really big dump x100. I screamed out, and clutched my stomach, unsure of what to do or what to think. Maybe my water was broken? That was the only logical thought in my mind.

Worried, I winced and sat down on the floor, before sticking my hands down my pants (gross, I know, but I wanted to see if my water broke) and feeling around for fluid.

Imagine my surprise, when I feel a head.

Screaming out, I grab my phone and I call Meredith.

"Get here, now" I yell into the phone "I'm crowning; the baby's coming now"