Ever since Silas came at 37+5, I was positive I’d go early again, even if I tried to tell myself otherwise. So from the moment I got a positive pregnancy test and estimated due date of March 11, I thought right away that I would probably have a leap day baby. After all, the timing was practically perfect. When else would I be 38 and a few days on a leap day?
Well, my little baby will celebrate a birthday yearly. Archer came just two days before his due date, on March 9th. I had been working my whole pregnancy, and the Sunday before I gave birth was the first time I had to call in due to a long day of practice contractions and not being able to sleep during the day (I work night shift). Luckily, I felt better the next day, and went in to work as normal, not knowing it would be my last shift.
Silas was on spring break that week, so when I got home from work, exhausted, I had to stay up to take care of him. No worries, I had planned for this. We played in the morning, watched some TV so I could rest, and I napped during his nap. Still, getting to bed that night was a wonderful feeling, even if I had been having trouble sleeping for ages now.
Sometime around six, I woke up and realized I was having contractions. I don’t know how I knew these were different from practice contractions, but they reminded me of period cramps and seemed somewhat regular, though I was half asleep and not about to time them. An hour later, as Smiley got up to go to work, I told him I was contracting a little.
“I’m not going to have the baby any time soon,” I said. “But we’re going to have a baby today.”
