So, labor started on Friday night (May 1st) around 6 pm. I was 39 weeks & 3 days. I started having contractions that were about 10 minutes apart, mainly just crampy and kind of tight in my lower back. They kept up for about 2 or 3 hours before getting really intense. Hubby and I went to sleep to try to get some rest and around 4 am I woke up out of a dead sleep to the most intense pain in my lower back I had felt before. From then on, I was in really bad back labor and my contractions were coming closer together at a quick pace. I labored at home for another 3 hours before I told my husband it was time to pack our stuff and head to the hospital. When we got there at 8 am I was 5 cm, fully effaced and they admitted me and took us to our room. I was handling it pretty well and was excited to finally have baby here so I was pushing through each contraction even though the back pain was getting really intense at this point. My husband was amazing and helped me in the labor tub, on the birthing ball, and tried to make me as comfortable as possible. Around 10 am, my contractions were continuously 1 minute apart and the pain in my back was excruciating. I couldn't find a comfortable position during contractions, and in between them the back pain never went away. My mom got to the hospital around 11 am, and I stayed at the same stage in my labor for the next 2 hours. At 1 pm, my doctor came in and told me that they saw a few decelerations of babies heartbeat that weren't too reassuring so they hooked me up to IV fluids to keep him hydrated and healthy. My doctor checked me again and I was shocked to find out I was stil 5 cm. After 5 hours in intense, hard labor I hadn't dilated at all because my back contractions were so miserable that my body couldn't relax enough to progress. He said I could continue what I was doing, but if I didn't progress they'd need to break my water and put me on pitocin to get things started. I was dreading it because I was barely handling the pain as it was. My plan to have a drug-free birth was extremely important to me, but I wanted to do what was best for my body and my baby and decided to get an epidural so that I could relax. I got my epidural at 1:30 pm, and about 2:00 it took effect. The left side of my body wasn't numb so we had to wait until it evened out before they checked me again. At 2:15, they checked me and I was 10 cm & as soon as my doctor put his hand inside me, my water broke and hard labor set in. They came in and set the room up for delivery and said "we'll be back at 2:30 to do some practice pushes." I was nervous that I wouldn't push effectively because of the epidural. I started pushing at 2:40 pm, and I was having contractions about 3-4 minutes apart. I pushed for 40 minutes and at 3:20, Luke was born! His shoulder got stuck on the way out and they had to rotate him and pull him out, causing a 2nd degree internal tear. I had to get a few stitches and after I was cleaned up, I was up walking around about an hour after I delivered. Recovery has been pretty good! The only thing I unfortunately got was a spinal headache from the epidural being placed wrong. It's brutal, but I'm coping pretty well :) I had an amazing experience & would do it over again in a heartbeat!