I went to the doctor the morning of August 2, 1990 and learned I had gained thirty pounds. I rubbed my huge middle and said, "Listen, Kid. It's time to come out. I am not gaining another pound. Hurry up, already!" She was a good listener.

That night, I lumbered up the steep stairs of our 1920's duplex and of course, I had to pee. That's all I had been doing for the last two weeks. I sat on the toilet to pee and heard a tiny popping sound and a trickle of liquid. I remember having a moment of sheer panic before calling my husband into the bathroom.

"I think my water just broke," I said.

He paled and got the suitcase I had packed months before. I followed him out the car. It was around eleven o'clock at night. I remember thinking, "I'm having a baby! Tonight!".

I remember thinking, as we drove down the twisting, tiny mountain road, how I never realized what a bad driver my husband was before then. He was going extremely fast and then, braking and going really slow. I was silently praying we made it to the hospital without going over the edge of Route 9W.

We got to the hospital and I remember tripping on the curb when we entered the emergency area. A very sweet looking woman got me a wheelchair and I sat with a small sigh. My husband took care of whatever paperwork was needed while I sat there getting ever more nervous.

The nurse was hooking me up to the IV when she said, "You're not breathing."

I shot her a look I hoped would kill her instantly and said, "If I weren't breathing, wouldn't I be dead?"

Her shift ended and I almost cheered. The new nurse, Violet, was a huge Jamaican woman who sounded exactly like my Grandma Emma. That put me at ease immediately. My husband had suited up in the scrubs they'd given him and I started reading the book I'd packed.

I had no contractions and nothing happened all night. We waited. Violet kept popping in and asking how we were doing. We weren't doing anything. I tried to sleep but couldn't.

At around seven o'clock in the morning, my doctor came in and said, "Nothing is happening but we need to get you going because your water broke. I'm going to put something called Pitocin in your IV and that will start the labor."

He tinkered around with my IV and said he'd be back in an hour. The contractions I had been waiting all night for finally started. My belly would tighten and relax. It wasn't nearly as painful as I had expected. I did my Lamaze breathing while my husband

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