Oh boy! I feel like pregnancy flew by fast, but labor flew by even faster! My baby was due 10/16, that day came and went. I chose not to be induced because I wanted to let my body to go into labor on its own. My Midwives were so supportive of this and didn't even mention induction until my very last appointment, and the only thing they said about it was that they wouldn't let me go 10 days past my due date. On 10/18, I woke up around 7 am contracting. I ignored them because for the previous week and a half, I would have contractions and they would stop after 2 hours. Around 10:30am, I realized they hadn't stopped, so I decided to start timing and tracking them just in case. They were pretty inconsistent for awhile, so I thought it was maybe false labor but kept tracking them anyways. In the afternoon, they started getting more consistent and closer together. About every 6 minutes on average and lasting about a minute long. We live about 45 minutes from where I was delivering, so around 7:30 that night, I called my midwife and let her know what was going on. She told me I could either wait an hour and see if they are still the same or come in because she knew we were further away. We decided to wait an hour and get our first born ready to go to his aunts. We dropped him off around 8:45, got gas and drinks, and headed to the hospital. We got to the hospital close to 10 pm. They took me to labor and delivery, hooked me up to the monitors to see what was happening with my contractions and baby. She did check me and I was at 1.5 cm and only 50% effaced (no change from my 10/14 appointment) and she decided to do a membrane sweep. After a few hours, I was still at the same dilation and effacement. I had a Non Stress Test scheduled for the next day at 10:30am, but they said I didn't have to go if I didn't feel like it since i came in that night, or I could go if I wanted to. They gave me a morphine shot and a pill to help me relax and get some sleep, and they sent us home for rest. We left around 1:30-2am. The morphine barely helped. I could still feel every contraction and woke up with every one I had. When we woke up the next morning, I was still having contractions and they felt a little stronger. We decided to go to the Non Stress Test because I was still contracting. By the time we got to the hospital, the contractions were definitely stronger and about 4 minutes apart on average and 1 minute long. I cried before going in because I was worried they would tell me there had been no change from the night before. They decided to have me checked before hooking me up to the machine. I was checked around 11am and I was at 3.5cm and 80% effaced. I was so happy that my body was finally getting somewhere. She did a membrane sweep again to encourage my body to keep contracting. I lost a good piece of my mucus plug after that and had some bloody show. After that, they got me hooked up for the NST. That lasted about 20-30 minutes. After they analyzed my results, they decided to admit me to labor and delivery because of how my contractions looked. I couldn't walk very well at this point, so I was wheeled to registration. We went through registration, which was irritating to me because I was in a lot of pain at this point. When we get to L&D, I immediately told the nurses I wanted the epidural because I was in a lot of pain. They told me they had to go through all the vital checks first and then they could order it. I asked if they could turn the AC on because I was so hot. They checked to see how far dilated I was, this was about an hour after the first check that morning, and I was at 5.5cm and 90% effaced. I asked for pain meds through my IV while I was waiting for the epidural because I was hurting. I focused so hard on my breathing and kept telling myself each contraction would only last 60 seconds and be done. I don't remember what it was they gave me through the IV, but it didn't help at all. After what felt like forever, I finally got the epidural. But it didn't kick in immediately like I expected it to. I had to lay on my back for 20 minutes to help it distribute evenly. I kept asking when it would kick in because I could still feel everything. My midwife checked me after about 30 minutes of having the epidural and told me I was complete and at station 1 and that's probably why the epidural wasn't kicking in so fast. The first thing I said was "what?". I didn't expect to be at 10cm that fast. I looked at my husband and he asked what that meant and I told him "I'm 10cm". I asked the midwife if station 2 is when it's time to push and she said yes that I could wait until I felt ready to push. So I decided to wait because I didn't want to be pushing longer than I needed to, plus he wasn't completely moved down yet. The epidural slowly started to kick in. Once I felt pressure and like I needed to push, I called the nurses line and told them I was ready. I could still move my legs and feel all my contractions. After a few pushes and so much pressure, he just started to come out on his own. So they told me to go ahead and push a few more times and he was born! It was instant relief when he was born. I had no tearing, which I was so grateful for! He was born at 2:08pm! I am so grateful that our chapter of infertility is over. After 3 and a half years of trying to having another baby, our family is complete ❤️