Leaking Lucy

At 35 weeks pregnant, I’m fully prepared aware that my baby can arrive any day. And if the old wives’ tales are true it may happen after a recent bout of energy when I go into crazy preparation mode.

Also at 35 weeks of pregnancy, some of the less desirable attributes are in full swing: heart burn, fatigue and crazy clogged sinuses.

This past Monday after I had the baby’s room painted a lovely light blue with two silvery white horizontal stripes and the bassinet reassembled my girlfriend took me to buy a sinus flush that she swore helped her. It’s basically a plastic bottle where you shoot enough salt water through one nostril until it comes out the other with a few drips down the back of the throat and if you are unlucky some clogged ears.

As I was hunched over the sink draining my sinuses I felt a gush of fluid leak from below. Then another gush. My two and a half year old asked multiple times why I said, Oh shit. The fluid soaked through a rather heavy panty liner, my underwear and jeans. I continued to feel wet and was afraid to sit down. So I changed my clothes, called the doctor then my husband then the babysitter. This could be it. Or I could have wet myself.

While waiting the hour plus to be seen in triage I called my sister, and only my sister, telling her that her nephew may be arriving soon. She was already making plans to visit and teasing me how I would ruin everyone’s Thanksgiving plans. I was still reluctant to tell anyone lest it be a false alarm, although I remained certain more fluid was dripping from my body. As the waiting area filled with larger pregnant women more further along than me, i began to worry that 35 weeks was early, perhaps too early for delivery, as if I had a say in the matter.

Finally, finally, finally there was a bed for me in triage and the doctor examined me while my husband waited in the other room. I texted him maybe we could see Phish at the end of next month. Baby was fine, amniotic sac was full, fluid around the baby was normal, heart rate healthy, outer cervix dilated as is common with third pregnancies, inner cervix wasn’t. No labor.

I was embarrassed. Please, I begged the doctor, give me a good story. I cannot tell my husband that I called him out of his office because I peed in my pants. She explained sometimes there is a fore amniotic sac that can leak. While she did not think that was the case with me, she let me run with the story.

False alarm I told my husband before sharing the mini amniotic sac theory. I left comforted by the fact that it was probably better to have peed in my pants then have a pre-term baby. Phish will wait.