The Waiting is the Hardest Part

My good friend Danielle is a midwife. She has the unique opportunity of bringing new life into the world. I really admire her confidence in and enthusiasm for her job. I have the unique opportunity of helping by babysitting her four kids when she is helping her "mommies" give birth. But, as the miracle of birth is unpredictable, Danielle sometimes needs me during the wee hours of the night or morning.

Last night was just such an occasion. I got a call about 10:45 from Danielle saying one of her mommies was headed toward labor and she would need me later. I said OK, packed an overnight bag, and got ready. Lucky for me I have a wonderfully sweet hubby who would rather go babysitting with me than stay home in his own comfy bed.

So, about midnight we got the call, got in the car and headed to Danielle's. (She has a guest room that she keeps ready for me and Daniel for just these occasions.) The kids were all asleep and Danielle was confident that she would be back before they woke up at 7 in the morning. But it was only an hour before we got a text message from Danielle saying she was heading home. WHAT?!?!?!

Turns out the woman wasn't having contractions nearly like she should be, and they needed to wait. Danielle told us we could go home if we wanted to, or spend the night at her house. I reasoned that there was a really good chance Danielle would be heading back to the birthing center before the kids woke up, so we decided to stay. 7 a.m. came and went and Danielle was still home, so we came back to our house.

I decided to get a few more zzz's and Daniel went to work. Now Daniel's home from work. I just got a message from Danielle and we are still waiting! I might be a little annoyed if it I didn't feel so bad for this poor mom!

So how about it my gal-pals? How long did some of YOU have to wait?