I had a false alarm days before I went into labor with Elle.  I was already experiencing contractions which I thought were minutes apart but they went away hours later.  The following Saturday, the first of September, my mom and brother had slept over the night before.  It was probably around 6am when I realized my water broke in the bathroom. This was the same sensation I felt when I had Zienne. 

So, excitedly, yet calmly, I woke Perze from his slumber.  He had the same reaction when I woke him up for Zienne’s arrival- panic, confusion, and the need to get to the hospital. This time, I made the call to my OBGYN and he gave us the go ahead sign to head for the hospital.  Days before, we made a detour to visit the newly opened hospital where Elle was to be born, so we were familiar with where to go.  

We kissed the new “Ates” goodbye as they slept, leaving them with my mom and brother, knowing the next time we’d see them, there would be three of them. THAT was exciting.

I prayed while Perze drove to the hospital, an early morning indeed, still void of cars on the road.  When we got to the front desk of the hospital, the receptionist took our information, gave me an admittance bracelet, and comically noticed how happy and cheerful I was.  She even doubted I was in real labor since my cheerful disposition seemed too good to be true. But I told her I was ready for this weeks ago and couldn’t wait already to have Elleonai out, for a MYRIAD reasons.

I entered my enormous room and saw how so much has changed from when we had Emma.  The bathroom was this huge sliding frosted door.  There was a huge flat screen TV with so many recent movies to choose from.  We even had this beautiful view of the forest surrounding the area, adjacent to the sky.  This was a blessing since hours later, I focused on that view, reminding me of God’s promises in Psalm 121- lifting my eyes to the mountains where my help would come from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth. 

(tbc)