I really enjoyed reading other's stories so I wanted to add my mine!

My due date was October 11, but for some reason I had the hunch she would come earlier. Saturday night at 38 weeks 4 days I started having inconsistent contractions that kept waking me up. I knew it was labor, but very early labor. The next morning I sent my husband off to work because I had no idea how long it would take. At that point they were about 5 minutes apart.

Fast forward to that night, my husband left work early and we ended up going to the hospital at 5:30 afraid we'd be turned away, but willing to try because it was too painful. I was 2 1/2 cm dilated with contractions 2-5 minutes apart. The doctor wanted me to walk for an hour which honestly was way better than painfully lying in a bed.

So we walked! Every time I got a contraction I would squat and try to relax. One of the nurses thought it would be helpful to remind me to relax my hips and pelvis when she saw me squatting and I wanted to tell her to cut the crap and be quiet! When they checked again I was 3 1/2-4 so I was admitted. My goal was to go as long as I could without medication. I got to 5 cm before I felt like I couldn't take it anymore and got an epidural. The next 2 hours were bliss! I slept and relaxed and when they checked me again they were surprised I was at 9 cm. My water broke shortly after, but I had no idea due to the effectiveness of the epidural. By the time I was at 10 they said I couldn't push yet because the baby was at -2 and I would tire out.

At this point I'm starting to feel contractions again and a lot of pain. The nurse said I could get my epidural refilled or I could use the contractions to get me through labor faster. I chose the 2nd option. I pushed for about 45 min and it was amazing to be able to trust my body to know when to push. They had a mirror set up for me too which was actually great motivation, especially when I saw her crowning. After her head was out they had to remind me to keep pushing. I thought I was done 😆 They put her on my chest and even though she was gooey and squishy I was so overwhelmed with how much I loved her. I had a first degree tear, so a few stitches, but the recovery has been so good and easy.

Eevee Roo was born 10/3 at 6:04am 8lbs 2oz and 20in long. She was 1 week and 1 day early and perfect!