Popcorn, Popcorn and more Popcorn

OK - it is time!! The boys can stop reading now because I am going to share my labor story. This is for my sisters who missed it. LOVE YOU!

You are probably wondering "what does popcorn have to do with Jamie's labor story?"... ha ha ha! Unfortunately, it has everything to do with it!

It all started on Thursday, October 30th. I was feeling great! In fact, that last week of October was probably my best week of the pregnancy! I was up early all week with Evelyn. We had play dates to keep us busy. I walked a lot and for some reason I was sleeping very soundly all week long without potty breaks 2-3 times a night! At dinner on Thursday night, Norm and Linda (my in-laws) decided to have a date and go to the movies. Gordon and I decided to watch a movie in our bedroom quarters as well while they were gone. We started watching Lord of the Rings (an all-time favorite) and then around 10:00pm, there was a suttle knock on our bedroom door. It was the folks back from their movie and Linda was standing there with a HUGE tub of movie popcorn.

My eyes got wide and big as I smelled the fresh salty and buttery tub of delicious popcorn! "MMMMMM, I wonder if she'll share some" I thought. Then she handed me the tub and said that since they got the large tub and it was free re-fills, they re-filled it before they left the theater so they could bring some movie popcorn home to me and Gordon! WHAT A FUN TREAT!! Of course I dove right in and started eating the yummy warm popcorn. We went back to our movie watching and I went back to my popcorn eating, and eating, and eating. Hand full after hand full I soon realized that more than half of the tub was gone! MORE THAN HALF! I came out of my popcorn tranz and looked at Gordon and I asked if he had had any...he said no! So I had eaten through that large tub of popcorn by myself?! oh my word, am I a pig!?! So he took the tub away from me and I thought to myself - I am going to pay for that later!! Then we went to bed.

Friday, October 31st - 8am the next morning, I hear Evelyn on the monitor as she wakes up and starts talking and asking to get up. I sit up and I feel some cramping in my tummy. I remembered what day it was - Halloween - and then I remembered I was pregnant and I got mad because I did NOT want to have the baby on Halloween ---- and then I remembered the popcorn and I thought - that cramping wasn't baby related!! UH-OH!!! I ran as fast as I could to the potty.... .... ......... .............. .......... I won't give details, but it was bad! A couple matches later..... ..... .......... a few more matches later!!! Hey - I said it was bad!!

Finally, I am able to get Evelyn. I take her downstairs and we start our routine of getting ready for the day. I was sitting at the table giving Evelyn her breakfast and I am visiting with Linda and I start telling her how awful I feel and that I ate too much popcorn. "well, how much did you eat?" she asks...shamefully, I tell her. She laughs at me and I sort of laugh too because, well it is rediculous how much popcorn I ate!!!

Evelyn finished breakfast and I tell her to go back upstairs with mommy so that we can get dressed. I start walking upstairs waiting for her to follow me - but then I had to book it because - you guessed it - I needed the bathroom again. Except this time, I was throwing up. Linda comes in the bathroom to comfort me and she is rubbing my back and then I hear Evelyn at the bottom of the stairs saying "Bless You. Bless You. Bless You." after every hurl. She thought I was sneezing - a little humor in the midst of my pain and agony! Stupid popcorn!!!!

I finish wretching and I had to hurry and get ready because Gordon and I had an appointment with our builder at our new house. So I had to hurry because it was time to go. Thankfully, I had invited my sister-n-law Rachel to come with us because she wanted to see the house. So I packed the diaper bag and we left for the house. Rachel should have been driving...as soon as I exit, she looks at me and I am gripping the steering wheel turning white in the face! She asks if we need to pull over...I thought about it for a second and then quickly said "YES!" and the first available spot to pull off the road came and I took it. I stepped out of the car and began throwing up again!! YUCK! It splattered every where and yes, it got on my shoes and pant legs.

I get back in the car - as a passenger this time and we finish driving to the house. Gordon looks at me and asks if I am ok - I say one word to him - POPCORN. He chuckles realizing the popcorn is coming back to haunt me and he teases me. After the house visit, we decided to go to lunch before Gordon had to go back to work. So we go to Chick-Fil-A - my favorite place - except this time, I didn't order anything but a sprite. I was sipping away and then decided that taking a little bite of a waffle fry wouldn't hurt. Besides, I had to eat something since I didn't keep breakfast down. I nibble a little corner of a waffle fry and take another sip of sprite to wash it down - bad idea. I start getting that queezy feeling and breaking out in a cold sweat. I tell Gordon that I need to go outside and get some fresh air. He said ok, but stay where I can see you. So I go outside and I was standing at the corner of the building where all of the drive thru cars are coming out. Then I started getting that feeling so I book it across the street, trying to make it to this tree I was eyeing, but I didn't get that far. I made it to the parking lot and I had to stop between two cars and bend over and out it all came again! More popcorn!!! More YUCK on my shoes and pants!

Gordon decides it would be best if he just cam home for the day - good idea honey! So Rachel drives me back home and Gordon was following. I climbed into bed and I slept for about 4 hours! Hoping that I slept it off - but then a different cramping feeling started! I thought, well all that business in the bathroom and all that throwing up that I did all day I wouldn't be suprised if I go into labore, but it better happen after midnight! No Halloween babies for me!!

Well sure enough, that popcorn put me into labor. I started having contractions around 6:00pm Halloween night. They kept on coming all night long. Then around 4am I started timing them because they felt like they were right after another. For a whole hour, they were 4-5 minutes apart. So at 5:00am I woke up Gordon and said it was time to go. We got to the hospital around 6:00am...I had to wait my turn for the epidural, but I finally got it around 7:00am...I started pushing around 7:40am and Claire was born at 8:07am! PHEW!

Did my epidural have time to kick in? NOT REALLY! Thank goodness for a very fast labor and delivery. Thank goodness I didn't go into labor on Halloween. Thank goodness I didn't give birth to a popcorn kernal - considering how much popcorn I ate the night before! I will NEVER look at popcorn the same way again!