On Thursday night we had a few friends over for pizza's and (1 too many) drinks. Cheryl was complaining of back pain the whole evening, but because this has become a common phenomenon, I didn't really pay too much attention to it (sorry babe).

Cheryl still joked with Rita and Helen that she thinks the baby might come early and that she is getting really uncomfortable while myself and Thys discussed the bad timing because he will be in the UK when the baby will arrive.

After the 3rd "loop dop" the friends went home and we decided to go to bed. Cheryl was up for most of the evening (apparently) and by 4 o'clock the "cramps" didn't seem to be just that anymore. We decided to wait a while longer just to see if this is not maybe an upset tummy, but by 5 o'clock we realised that this is no joke.

Cheryl decided to first have a shower, shave, pack her bags (they were half packed at least), have a fashion parade to decide which clothes Christopher should wear and didnt seem like she was in any rush to get to the hospital. By that time I was ready to blow my lid. The car was outside ready, the doors open, but no mother to be in sight. I finished the packing for her, or was it just throwing anything that looked baby related into a bag, grabbed the suitcases and helped her (quickly) to the car.

By this time it was peak hour traffic in Joburg but I am proud to say that I only had to use the emergency lane once (at Monte Casino). If we lived in the Free State I could have used the "Baas" lane.

We arrived at Sunninghill Hospital, and Cheryl was taken to the labour ward for monitoring. This was no false alarm and our doctor was notified that she is already 3cm dilated. We decided to still go ahead with the C-section, so the nursing staff gave her something for the pain, and to delay the process for a hour or so in order to prepare for the operation.

I won't go into any of the graphic detail, but for those who had money on this, I didn't faint! At 11:15am Christopher was born and gave a loud shout, cried a little and went back to sleep when they put him in the incubator. He had to remain there for an hour or so to be monitored, and so that the nursing staff could make sure that his lungs are functioning properly as he was obviously a prem baby. All the tests were positive, and he could have a bath, and then go to Cheryl where he stayed for the rest of the day.