Two of my coworkers, myself and eight toddlers were on our daily walk.

We usually take in the scenery, watch fire trucks and ambulances race by and if we’re lucky we catch a glimpse of a jack rabbit. It happened near the end of our walk… a huge surge in my uterus. It stopped me dead in my tracks. I couldn’t move.

After close to a minute we proceeded. A few minutes later there was another one.

Panic gripped me. I’m just 34 weeks along! I can’t be in labour.

After we returned to the child care centre my colleagues prompted me to go to the staff room. As I neared the room I noticed three other coworkers were sitting there. I didn’t want anyone to know what was going on until I myself knew whether this was Braxton Hicks or the real thing.

My boss was on the telephone in her office so I jotted a quick note to let her know I was either having intense Braxton Hicks contractions or I was going into labour… and that she could find me in the documentation room. I left the note on her desk and then locked myself into the 6′ x 10′ room.

The lights seemed extra bright.

The clock was missing.

I leaned over one of the tables as a contraction gripped me and swayed my hips back and forth while breathing in and out.

I closed my eyes as I could not tolerate looking at the tiles on the floor.

This can’t be happening not now. I’m not ready. The baby’s not ready. This bun is not fully cooked!

Suddenly my boss and three coworkers were at the door. I was delicately teased for locking myself in a room.

One of my colleagues started timing the contractions. Four minutes apart, about one minute in length. Yup, I’m in labour.

I tried calling my husband at home. No answer.

I tried calling his cell phone. No answer.

I called my dad and asked him to come get me (he works just a couple blocks away from my work).

I stood outside the building with my boss and another colleague while waiting for my dad to come.

Several minutes passed. Contractions came and went. One colleague thought to go look and see if my dad might be waiting at another entrance. My boss decided to go get a vehicle, that way if my labour picked up, she could drive me herself to the hospital.

So here I was, standing outside, by myself, breathing my way through contractions and wondering why now. Every time I tried to make a phone call I would draw a blank and forget the number or forget who I was trying to call.

My brain was not operating well… perhaps this is another sign that I was in labour. I looked in my purse for my labour phone cards that I had made the previous weekend. I desperately wanted to call my doula and let her know what was going on.

My spirits crumbled in disbelief as I recalled that the labour phone cards that I had created were on top of the printer at home… waiting to be laminated.

Damn it! Why do I have to be such a perfectionist! Unlaminated phone cards would have been perfectly fine.

I wanted to cry.

My dad suddenly appeared. He had been waiting at another entrance.

He drove me to the hospital and sat with me.

The resident doctor appeared and mentioned that they would be administering a test which would reveal if this baby was likely to be born in the next 48 hours. If positive, I would be given steroid injections to help the baby’s lungs develop faster. If negative, that would mean I have a 99.9% chance of NOT going into labour for at least 2 weeks.

Don’t ask me how these things work… the science of it is astounding. Before the test was administered I asked if it does indeed look like I’m having contractions. The nurse and doctor said yes, so I agreed to the test.

Shortly after the test was administered the nurse appeared again and said my urine sample came back saying I was dehydrated so they needed me to drink lots of water.

My dad and I sat and waited for the results. We waited to hear back from my husband.

After waiting for an hour and a half, my husband showed up with my little girl. Today just so happened to be the day that he was going to “wear her out” with a lot of activity and walking. Today also happened to be the day that he forgot to charge his cell phone.

I wouldn’t chastise him now… I was just so relieved to see him.

Shortly afterwards, my test results came back negative. I am most likely NOT going into labour for at least two weeks.

However, my OB-GYN appeared and reiterated that I was dehydrated and that the contractions were most likely from the dehydration. She told me to take two days off, relax and drink lots of water.

All of this intense drama happened on Monday. Tomorrow I return to work. As relieved as I am that I have not given birth prematurely, I am feeling slightly anxious (and a little embarrassed). Dehydrated. Gee whiz. At least I have the reassurance that I should not be going into labour for at least two weeks.

Oh, by the way, my husband got a lecture (from me) about charging his cell phone on a daily basis AND the labour phone cards have been laminated and placed in our wallets. We’re ready now… knowing our luck, this baby will come late. When it comes down to it, we have no control over anything… he (or she) is calling all the shots.

Jennifer Bly

Author of My Kitchen, My Classroom: An Introduction to Homeschool and creator of The Deliberate Mom. Jennifer writes about parenting, homeschooling, her faith, and life with her husband and two girls. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Applied Human Service Administration Degree with a specialization in Early Learning in Child Care.