It’s a long one so take a seat!

I was scheduled to go in for induction on 8/20 at 41 weeks. I really didn’t want to be induced but at my last appointment at 40+1 the doctor I saw said I was completely closed and high so it was unlikely anything will happen without a little help. On Saturday 8/18 I decided to get up and go for a swim at my parents house. I swam for like two hours and then headed home and my fiancé and I decided to go to Costco and walk around for a while and then we went to target and walked around some more. We got home and cooked dinner and hung out enjoying some time together. We ended up having sex that night. Around 2 on 8/19 in the morning I woke up with some cramps and a super upset stomach. I went to the bathroom and felt a little better and ate a snack before going back to bed. So I woke up around 9 on 8/19 and I just felt kind of off. I was having really light cramps just painful enough to make me uncomfortable on top of that I had insane pressure in my butt like I had to poop all day. We spent the day on the couch just watching TV and relaxing. We went over to my parents house around 4 for dinner. We hung out and watched a movie and my mom made my favorite casserole. I started getting more painful cramps to the point where I needed to get up and walk around. They had moved more into my butt and the pressure had built. We headed home around 8:30 I could feel myself getting more uncomfortable. By the time we got home at 8:45 I had to run inside because I felt like I was going to take the most violent poop of my life. I ran inside and went to the bathroom and it helped relieve my pressure and cramps a little. My fiancé and I decided to do some face mask and watch new girl. This was around 9 and this is when to contractions started. I kept having to lay on my side to ease the pain of the contractions. They were less so of period cramps and more like knives and pressure in my butt. At 9:20 I decided to start timing them. They were lasting around 2 minutes and the were 6-7 minutes apart. My fiancé and I finished our mask and made some ice cream by this point I could feel the contractions getting worse they were now like 5-6 minutes apart. They were so uncomfortable I couldn’t eat or do anything but curl up in a ball when I had one. My fiancé had to work the next morning so I told him to get some sleep around 10:30 and I’d wake him up if they get worse I decided to take a shower and the contractions were so intense in the shower I could barely stand. I went into our living room and kept timing the contractions. At this point they were now more consistently 5 minutes apart and lasting 1 and half minutes. I went to the bathroom like 4 times and it would help relieve some pressure but by no means would it make the contractions any easier. So the contractions kept getting more and more painful. To the point I could barely breathe through them. At this point the contractions were 4 minutes apart and lasting a minute. I decided to get somethings done around the house. Fold some laundry and clean the kitchen. This took me 45 minutes because I kept having to pause through the contractions. Now they were 3 1/2 minutes apart and lasting for 1 minute. I was dreading each contraction. I decided to wake my fiancé up and tell him we need to go. He got up and packed a bag and I got dressed an we loaded up the car. We left our house around 12:00 with a 25 minute drive to the hospital. I called my parents and let them know and my fiancé called his mom who had a four hour drive. We got to the hospital and got checked into triage. Around 1 the nurse checked me and I was at 1 1/2 centimeter and 70% effaced. This was pretty exciting because it meant something was happening. My contractions were still about 3 minutes apart and lasting a minute. So the nurse asked the doctor what he wanted to do since I was only 1 1/2 centimeters. She came back and had gave me a big cup of water and told me I had 20 minutes to drink it and she’d be back in an hour to check me and see if I progressed. I remember tearing up a little and telling my fiancé I don’t know what I’d do if they sent us home. I was in so much pain at this point I could barely think through the contractions. My fiancé left so my mom could come in to see me. She ended up staying for a while but only one person was allowed in triage at a time so she and my fiancé switched on and off. The contractions were so bad I ended up throwing up several times in the hour waiting to be checked again. Around 2:30 the nurse came and checked me and I was at a 3 and now 80% effaced. I have no idea how far apart my contractions were but I know they were close enough that I couldn’t do anything but lay there and prepare for the next one. So they admitted us and we went into our delivery room and they checked me again around 4:00 and I was at a 4 and 90% effaced. At this point my fiancé had called his mom and told her she should get in her car and head down and she said she’d be there around 7. They asked if I wanted the epidural and I was so excited and told them yes ASAP. Well I had to get two bags of fluid in me before they could do it. So I dealt with the contractions for about an hour and a half. Around 5:30 they came in and gave me my epidural checked me again and I was still at a 4 and 90% effaced -2 station. They told me they’d come back at 7:00 and check me and if I wasn’t progressing they would start pitocin which upset me but at this point I was so tired and the epidural was kicking in so I decided to get some sleep. My contractions were now just pressure and slightly uncomfortable. So around 7:30 the actual doctor came in to check me. To our absolute surprise I was 9 cm and 100% effaced and -1 station and my water was bulging. My fiancé’s mom had just arrived at this point.He said they’d check me around 8 to see how I was doing and to break my water. At this point i started to get super nauseous and ended up throwing up. They came back a little after 8 and I was 10 centimeters and 100% and -1 station. They broke my water and the doctor left and the nurses told me they’d check me in 30 minutes and see how I was doing. Around 8:30 they checked me I was now at 0 station and they told me they were going to let my body work the baby down a little more so I wouldn’t have to push so much. But to let them know if I needed to push or anything. I said I was good but about 5 minutes later I felt like I was about to shit my pants and told them I needed to push. So my two nurses started my practice pushes around 9, they tried to wait a minute so the doctor would have time to make it to my room. We pushed and practiced until about 9:20 they got to the point of seeing her head (I remember them getting so excited about how much hair she had) the doctor had a resident assisting him and they both made it into my room around 9:20. My mom held one knee and my fiancé was holding my hand. They sat down and I pushed with each contraction which got harder because they got closer and the lower down she moved the more pressure I felt and the only way I was feeling my contractions at this point was just the pressure. I pushed and pushed and at 9:42 my daughter was born. It was absolutely beautiful and so easy and I couldn’t have wished for a better birth. I had no pain and I had barely a 2 degree tear. My doctor and nurses were all amazing. They were shocked at how well I did for a first time mom. I’m so happy we didn’t have to be induced. Postpartum has been a breeze so far. Other than being a little sore and getting the hang of breastfeeding and being a new mommy. My baby has been an absolute angel. My little Lucy. Born 8/20/18 at 9:42 AM weighing 7 lbs 8 oz and 19.5 inches long. ❤️