I am so happy to have been in such a great support group as this one. I always loved reading the birth stories and seeing the pictures so I feel it is only right for me to post mine. Miss Valyn Larae was due July 24th but had been measuring a week ahead consistently. Because of this, I went in on Monday to have an ultrasound to make sure that everything was okay. This pregnancy has been fairly good to me concerning symptoms but Monday I began having a bunch of cramps that felt nonstop and needless to say I was laboring and had no clue. I was admitted but chose to go home because my water had not broke and we thought I was just experiencing intense Braxton hicks. The nurses gave me some meds and a prescription of drugs to help me sleep. I had no pain all night just the annoying pressure and constant need to pee. At 6:30 am on the Fourth of July my water broke and those contractions went from 0 to 100 REAL QUICK so my mom ran me a bath with clary sage and that helped but the contractions continued to get intense. I labored at home for about 3 hours on the ball and on all fours BUT I could not find a comfortable position and I had so much pressure that I could not walk but found sitting on the edge of the bed helped. Once I felt I couldn't bare the pain anymore I went to the hospital and that car ride was rough because I live about 15-20 mins away but luckily I found some comfort between contractions, I hated the stops though they really hurt. After getting to the hospital and being admitted they checked my cervix and I was dilated to 6cm and they said I could stretch to an 8. I was in so much pain and irritated because they kept poking me and could not keep a good monitoring of my baby's heartbeat. Warm water appeared to be my friend so I got in the tub but then felt a strong urge to push so I had to get on the bed. They checked me again and I was at 9 1/2 centimeters within 20 minutes and then it was time to push. Strangely the intense pain stopped and I didn't know when to push because I couldn't feel the contractions. After a few pushes I was able to get her out. I had no epidural or pain meds which was my personal goal and everyone said I couldn't do it. I tore pretty badly because I was just pushing on urge and that really sucks. I had to stay in the hospital for a few days because baby V had jaundice but we were finally able to go home today!