January 14, 2021 was the due date of our second child. Our oldest daughter Mara was now two years old. My husband Eelco and I chose not to want to know the gender and to be surprised. By now I was 38 weeks and 6 days and was at the midwife’s checkup. My blood pressure was on the high side and I had to come back on short notice to have it checked again. Would high blood pressure mean something? Mara was also born in the 38th week, so our baby will also come earlier, I thought. That night I fell asleep late and felt restless. Around 2 a.m. I felt slight cramps in my abdomen, these are contractions, I recognized it immediately. I wake up Eelco and enthusiastically say, “I’m in labor, it’s going to happen today” I say. I eventually fall asleep again, and by morning the contractions seem to have subsided somewhat. It rumbles and contractions come irregularly. That morning I am at home with Mara. We puzzle and clay, Mara is good at distracting me I notice, it seems like a normal morning. In the early afternoon, I call the midwife to let her know that I am busy, but it is not really progressing yet. Some hours pass and I find myself sucking the contractions away more and more. I lie on the couch and am able to handle the contractions well, but realize that the real work has yet to begin. Eelco meanwhile has taken Mara away to friends, now I can indulge more.