After days of eating everything spicy and taking multiple walks it was looking like he was going to stay in my belly forever. Finally I woke up at 5am to mild contractions that didn't hurt, but they were definitely different than the Braxton Hicks contractions I was used to. After not being able to fall back asleep (mostly due from the excitement that this could be it) I decided to start timing my contractions. Sure enough they were consistent, laying about a minute each and occurring every 3-4 minutes. They were finally starting to get harder and more painful so I woke my husband up and told him "today might be the day!" My husband still had to go into work so I told him to keep his phone on just in case I needed to go to the hospital. Sure enough right when he got there I had him turn around and come get me. We got to the hospital around 9am and my contractions were putting my into tears. I was in so much pain. I originally wanted to have a natural birth with no pain medication. However, I definitely underestimated the pain of labor. I was 5 cm dilated when we arrived and when the nurses asked me about the epidural there was no question whether I wanted it or not. So at 7cm I received my epidural and OMG what a mirical that was. I felt amazing and was progressing pretty fast. I was 10 cm for about 40 minutes waiting for my doctor to get there so I could start pushing. 5 pushes and he was here! It was the most amazing experience of my life and I am so happy that I was able to enjoy every part of it. my son was born at 3:56 pm weighing 7lbs and 20 inches long. Perfect and healthy 💙 I