My due date came and went, which really surprised me because I thought for sure I was going to have her early. Nope.

My OB scheduled to have 2 stress tests done during my 40th week to monitor baby and make sure shes doing well in there as well as an ultrasound to make sure she had enough fluid. I went to the both of those appointments. At the second one they checked me and I was still at the 3cm I was the week before so we figured I'd be going to the hospital on monday for the induction they had scheduled for us since labor seemed like it was never going to come.

That night I woke up around 2 am with stomach pains. I brushed it off but kept waking back up. By the 3rd time I woke up I realized I was having contractions. They were coming every 10 minutes consistantly so I texted my fiancé to let him know since he was at work. He came home at at 4:30 and tried to get some sleep. By 6 am they started coming every 5 minutes. We packed up our stuff, said goodbye to our daughter since she was going to grandmas house and made our way to the hospital. We got to triage at 10am and they checked me. I was 6 cm. They kept me there for 20 minutes to see how fast my contractions were coming, hooked me up to my IV since I tested positive for group B strep and then sent me upstairs. Once in the birthing room we waited for a while. My contractions were still coming but not anything that painful for the first 2 hours. Then they started getting stronger. I got into the tub and labored in there for about an hour before getting out. They were coming more frequently. Every 2 minutes. They checked me again and I was at 8cm. I had to moan to get through them but to my surprise I was doing it. Shortly after 2pm the doctor came and broke my water. Things really started moving then. I kept feeling pushy but I had a little bit of a lip on my cervix so I couldn't push yet and its SO HARD to fight that urge. It still wasnt completely gone but the doctor was able to stretch around it as I pushed. Pushing was hard. I couldn't breath because they were coming so fast and she was coming down at a bit of an angle. Feeling the dreaded "Ring of Fire" wasnt really as bad as I thought but the shoulders coming out oh my God. 😭 I was literally screaming oh my God. After that they just pulled her out and plopped her on my chest. She had a couple of little cries but not many. They had my fiance cut the cord and they took her to suck her out better. Meanwhile I delivered my placenta and the doctors assessed the "damage" so to speak. I had a 2nd degree tear so I needed stitches. Elena's color wasn't quite as good as it should have been but nothing they were overly alarmed about. Once they sucked her out a bit better then she started crying and gave her back. 8 lbs. 8 oz. & 21 inches long. 4:20pm on the dot. It was probably the hardest thing I've ever done and definitely the most painful thing I've ever done but I gotta tell you I am BLOWN away and how good I feel having had a natural birth compared to how I felt after giving birth to Lilliana, my first, with all the pain meds I recieved.