37+5, Getting ready to call the dr soon. Gonna have some breakfast and get out of bed for a bit to see what happens.. nothing subsided when I got up to pee so I'm thinking this could be the real deal! I'll be calling out of work today 🙃

Was crampy and back ached all yesterday but not in a timeable pattern. Woke up with strong period pains around 3 and tried to time with my watch but I kept dozing off and couldn't remember what time I had said last 😜

Obviously that didn't work and I've been up since 4:30 timing these pains. They've been 3.5-6 minutes apart and lasting about a minute each time. Holding off on calling bc pain level is only a 4-6 out of 10..

Update: finally called and am going to be seen in 30 minutes. So nervous. I really thought they'd subside by now. Haven't gotten stronger but not going away either.. my fear is that I still won't be dilated at all and this will go on for weeks 😂😭😣

Update: I really thought they'd tell me I was full of it and send me home... but my waters are confirmed ruptured so I've just been admitted to the hospital and "won't be leaving till baby comes" 😊 wish me luck ladies! I'm hoping after 8 hours of contractions on my own that pitocin won't be necessary but it's a likely possibility bc we aren't sure when the waters broke (I suspect almost a week ago 😕)

Update: it's now been 10 hours since I started timing contractions. Just had internal monitors put in place so I can move around more freely. TMI: gushing all over the place now.. but my midwife did compliment my pain tolerance (I told her so weeks ago!) I'm up to 2cm and when she said I just finished a contraction I was like "what? Really?" Soooo hopefully I'll be able to avoid the epidural like I want to. We are gonna start the pitocin soon.. and then my updates will probably dwindle 😜 Gonna try to get a little sleep while I still can!

Update: well my attempt at sleep failed miserably.. they came in to start the pitocin not long after I posted that. And that really ramped up the contractions. They hurt like hell and the man was pissing me off bc he was just standing there holding my hand and staring at me. I know he felt helpless seeing me in pain and not being able to do anything for me.. and finally I couldn't take it anymore. Made it through 12hr of labor on my own and then I finally begged for the epidural after being in the hospital for 4 hours. My fears weren't exactly put to rest. I have a bad back and was worried about the needle and the possibility of permanent damage. She struggled to get the needle in position. She numbed me 3 times while she tried 😐 but dammmmmn those contractions were awful and knowing I have a long way to go i just couldn't take it anymore. When they put the catheter in they checked my cervix again and I'm at 2.5cm! Getting there! I just can't wait to hold my beautiful daughter in my arms! And I know it sounds a little odd but I can't wait to hear her cry.. I'm ready! And let me just say, the epidural brought SO much relief (and so far the contractions are still at the intensity they were at.) One word of advice though, EAT BEFORE YOU GO! I was too excited so all I've had to eat in the last 12 hours is a bowl of cheerios at like 6am and some french fries bc the man wasn't going to the hospital without food first and that's all I wanted at the time. I'm soooo hungry! 😣

Update!!!

Went from 2.5cm to 10cm in an hour and a half! I thought something was wrong or the epidural was wearing off bc I was feeling the contractions strong again, every 3 minutes or so. I was about to call the nurse when they walked in (perfect timing) and I said "can you turn the epidural up or something?" mid contraction.. they were just as surprised as I was that it was time to push! She was born at 7:27pm weighing 7lb 6oz. She had the cord wrapped around her neck twice! I didn't know that until after but when she first came out my first question was "is she breathing?!" bc she didn't cry immediately like I expected.. hurt like hell, I know I pooped (smelled it 🙄) but I only needed "one" stitch. The man said he saw him do three.. I felt two so who knows! Took a bit to latch but once we got it, she nursed for almost 20 minutes! Just waiting on her to have her first bath and we'll be back at it soon. All in all, I feel great and I'm just so excited to have our adventure begin!

Anyway, on to the pictures!! 😍😍😍