I was due on the 9th of August and patiently waiting for my turn to give birth, but come Friday 17th there was still no signs so I went to my midwife appointment and asked for a stretch and sweep, I was hoping so bad this was going to work otherwise I was going to be induced on the 20th. So she did the S&S, said I was 2cm dilated and I lost my mucus plug right then. On Saturday and Sunday I started to have a bloody show so I was starting to get excited. I had false labour pains very early on Sunday morning but it all stopped before sunrise. We had a relaxing romantic day at the winter gardens and a picnic by the beach and that night (Sunday 19th) I started having contractions at 8:30pm so thought I'd go to bed as who knows how long this would go on for! At 10pm I asked my husband to call the midwife just to let her know i was in labor and she talked me through the contractions and said to call her once the contractions were 2~3 minutes apart and lasting for 1 minute for a steady hour. So 45 mins later the contractions were strong and being in the bath wasn't cutting it any more at this point. I knew things where happening fast, they were timing all as she had said so we called her back, she really didn't expect to hear from me so soon especially since this is my first pregnancy, I could almost hear her rolling her eyes to the back of her head, thinking that I was being dramatic! The midwife agreed to check me at the maternity unit but said dont rush I'll see you there in 30~45minutes. So we arrive there at 11:30pm and walk down to the delivery suite so she can check me, to her surprise I was already 8cm dilated and I'm asking for the gas! They quickly got it for me and by this time I'm feeling like I need to push! There was no time for her to explain how to push but my body knew what to do. She had to check again and I was then 9cm dilated and my waters broke and I was pushing! 4 contractions later my husband got to catch our son and place him on my chest for skin to skin at 1am. 4 hours of hard and fast labor, our son Clayton was born 8lbs. It was such a positive experience and I'm so glad I got to see how my body would handle birth naturally without being induced! 11 days over due. We couldn't be more proud x