I loved reading everyone's birth stories, especially those last few weeks of my pregnancy when I was so impatient and anxious.

Friday afternoon I was doing some housework and felt a trickle in my undies. I thought I had just peed a little because let's be honest, that'd been happening a lot my last trimester. So I shrugged it off until it happened again later that night. I thought it might be my water but it wasn't a lot and I didn't start having contractions like I expected so I just put on a pad and went to bed. The next morning the pad was still dry so I thought nothing of it. I went to get my hair done and halfway through it I coughed and a noticeable amount of water came out. I thought oh god, is this really happening?!

So I drove to the hospital by myself and told them I thought my water broke and they got me into a room to do the q-tip test and checked my cervix. I was 3cm, 90% effaced, and the test said my water had broke🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 I called my husband and told him to leave work because he was going to become a dad today! 10 minutes later he busts through the door with the BIGGEST smile and we both cried alllllll the happy tears!

They were going to start pitocin but the nurses cervix check had started contractions and sent me into full on active labor so I didn't need it! I immediately asked for the epidural because the nurse explained the process and how I would need to sit as still as possible and my contractions already had me squirming. It wasn't painful as much as it was stressful, every muscle in my body was tense because I was SO scared something would go wrong. But it went smoothly and (for me) it was the best decision everrrr.

5 hours of labor and 45 minutes of pushing, my 8 lb little man was born! It didn't hurt the way I was scared it would and it hurt in ways that I never expected but I would do it all over again in a second!

Welcome to the world Marshall Andrew!❤️