I was going to post this sooner but we have been lovin our little man 💙 my due date was April 7th. I had been told since early December I needed to take it easy that he was pushing down pretty good. I had preterm with my previous pregnancy so the dr kept a close watch on everything. He wanted us to make it to at least 36 weeks. At 30 weeks I went into preterm with contractions every 2 min but they finally stopped on their own. I was 1 cm dilated after that. At my 36 week check up I was dilated 3 cm and 60% thinned. This was on a Thursday. So he decided to bring me back in the following Tuesday. When I got there he checked me and I was 4 cm and 70% so he decided to be on the safe side I needed to come back the next morning. We get there Wednesday morning, which is March 23, and he checks me and I am 4 cm and 80% thinned. We live 40 mins from the hospital so he sent us over to labor and delivery because he said it would only be a matter of hours before my water broke. We got to l&d a little after 10 and got my iv started with fluids. At exactly 12:17 he came over and broke my water. I had planned this whole time to do everything natural be aside epidurals cause me to lose vision the whole time I have it. I found this out with my precious 2 pregnancies. Just incase I changed my mind though, they sent in the anesthesiologist to talk to me. At which point he told me he had never heard of this happening in his 25 years. So that told me I just needed to go with my gut and not worry about it. I was having irregular contractions when my water was broke but as soon as it was broke they started coming regular. I couldn't get out of the bed tho because he will still too high and they were afraid his cord might wrap around him. They had also started pitocin and told me if it hot unbearable I could have it turned off. Might I add before he broke my water he checked me again and I was 5 cm and 90% thinned. So after an hour of pitocin, which is how long it takes for it to kick in I decided it was too much and had them turn it off. But it wasn't the pitocin it was just me. The nurse checked me and I was 6 cm by now and he had dropped enough for me to get up. And since I was hurting pretty bad I was extremely thankful. They brought in a birthing chair, 3 exercise balls, a fan, and some warm clothes for my back. The staff was absolutely amazing. At first my husband and I stood and rocked together through my contractions. He kept me very very calm. This was his first baby also. So he had no idea what to expect and this was my first time going all natural as well. I tried the chair and balls that they brought in but they didn't help the pain. Which was now intense because I was at almost 7 cm and it was 2:30. The position I found that helped most was one knee on the bed while my other foot was on the floor with both hands down on the bed while I rocked and breathed with the nurse. At 3 she checked me again bc I was having pressure now and I was at 8 cm so she went to call the dr who's office was across the parking lot. She also came back and told me to go ahead and get back in bed by this time I was almost in tears from the pain. I didn't lay there long when I started feeling extreme pressure and at that point I knew he was about to come and I then let her know he was. She checked me again and I was 10 cm and the dr was still not here. I begged her to let me push. It was such a relief. She kept tellin me small pushes but there was no small anything at this point. I couldn't stop myself. She had her hand holding him in almost. After maybe 4 or 5 pushes the dr still wasn't in and little Slade was out! He was born at 3:39 pm. A little over 3 hrs after my water was broke. The dr came in just as they put him up on my chest and finished out the rest of what needed to be done. So at 37 weeks 6 days, Slade Charles was born. 3:39 pm weighing 6 lbs 3 oz and 20 in long! Delivered by the nurse. Lol. He is doing amazing. He can roll from tummy to back, sleeps through the night, and will be 7 weeks tomorrow! His big brother and sister love him and he has mommy and daddy wrapped completely 💙