10 Men Reveal Exactly How They Reacted When Their Wife Went Into Labor
1. "I remember my wife freaking out and I was throwing some of my things in a bag. We already had a bag packed with things for her and the baby so we can go at a moment's notice. And I was throwing some clothes in, just in case we were at the hospital for a few days. I asked her, 'Are t-shirts OK or should I pack some button-downs?' She hasn't let me forget it since. I just wasn't sure if I should grab something nice for pictures or whatever. I still think it's a reasonable question." -Matt, 34
2. "So something I wasn't aware of was that contractions and labor pains don't automatically mean your baby is on his way out. My wife started getting them sporadically a few weeks out, sometimes for hours at a time. We went to the hospital three separate times thinking, 'this is it!' but it wasn't. It's apparently very common. So by the fourth time we were getting ready to go, I had gotten pretty jaded. The first three times I was frantic and excited. The fourth was kind of… I was just like, 'let's go check this out.' I wasn't moving slow or anything, but until we got to the hospital and got confirmation this is it, I was very matter-of-fact about it." -Chris, 32
3. "I honestly don't remember much. My wife wanted to wait it out as long as possible. I felt like Jim in that episode of The Office where he wants to leave for the hospital but Pam doesn't. I was just pacing the house for a few hours, not really doing anything. When my wife finally felt like she was in enough excruciating pain, we booked it to the hospital. It was only 20 minutes away, but the drive felt like forever. I'm pretty sure I yelled at any car that even looked like it might cut me off. That's about all I remember." -Andrew, 33
4. "Our son was born a few weeks early. I was still at work when my wife went into labor and called me. So I had to book it home, pick her up, and then go to the hospital. I basically hung up on my wife as soon as I heard her yell 'labor' and ran out the door letting everyone know my baby was on the way. It wasn't until I was in the car that I realized my wife had no idea that I was actually on my way. I called her back and got an earful." -Josh, 29
5. "It really wasn't the 'OHMYGOD' moment it is in movies and on TV, where the water breaks and everyone loses their shit. We actually hung around the house for hours and then finally my wife said it was time to go. Our hospital was close enough that the drive over was a breeze. I was excited, but I wasn't really freaked out at that point." -Rob, 33
6. "I mostly kept my head on straight, but my only 'freak out' moment was when I shoved a bunch of things into a bag without really checking. I think when I got to the hospital I had like, seven socks, two pairs of underwear, three shirts, and no pants. Luckily my father-in-law swung by our place and picked up a few more things for me. My wife, of course, had her bag ready to go by the door for weeks." -Nick, 34
7. "Honestly, I think I do well in high-stress scenarios. So when my wife went into labor, I was all about making sure everything was loaded up in the car and making sure my wife was OK and just focused on her. I don't know if my wife feels the same way, but I think I was level-headed and everything went smoothly, considering." -Mark, 31
8. "My wife was very annoyed at me because I took a shower before we left for the hospital." -Justin, 31
9. "I think my initial reaction was honestly, 'oh, OK, let's go' and it was very matter-of-fact. In my head, I was just thinking, 'yeah, you need to get your wife to the doctor' and that was all I was thinking about. It wasn't until we were in the car and driving that I got excited and nervous and all those feelings." -Jake, 32
10. "I started calling everyone I knew (hands-free, of course) to tell them the news on the way to the hospital. After a handful of calls, my wife just turned it off because she didn't want to be screaming in the background while I told everyone our daughter was on the way." -Tim, 30
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