We called the hospital and they said we should come in after 8 hours at the latest but to expect contractions to start gradually from there. We settled down to sleep/doze for a bit but after an hour and a half or so I was already having fairly frequent contractions that were just too short to justify heading in. 

So we got up and had tea, soft boiled eggs, and toast, then I did some expense reports for work while the fiancé built the changing table we had just bought. At about 9:30 he decided that even though the contractions weren't close enough together, they were getting strong enough that we should go in.

At the hospital, the intake midwife said I had such a beautiful pelvis that the contractions I had had already had been very effective and I was at a 4, so I was ready to go. Turns out they had a free room in the birthing center that I could have if baby passed non stress test and my tests were clear. 

At 10:30 with contractions coming strong and after I had puked up a bunch of breakfast, we were wheeled to the birthing center where our doula met us and the midwife gave me a laxative and said to wait five min, use the toilet, and try showering for a half hour. She left me with my fiancé and doula and said to let things progress and she'd check on us later. 

I made it to the toilet but by then the contractions were so strong they made me light headed so I collapsed on the bathroom floor. So the doula came and started bathing me with the shower head along my hips and belly while the fiancé held my hand and counted down each contraction (five seconds, now ten, 20.. you're halfway...). This went on for about 45 min until I started to want to push so they rang for the midwife who was alarmed to find us on the floor in a pile of soggy towels. 

She filled the tub and I managed to crawl to it and get in, where she found I was dilated to 8 already and the head was clearly felt through my cervix. At that point the contractions became less intense and I just focused on pushing as coached while two midwives monitored baby and guided his head out. I couldn't really feel the progress as he moved down but simply focused on each surge as it came and held tight to my fiancé's hand. In between, I just relaxed into the water and cleared my ears (I kept sinking under during the intense moments)

And then suddenly the head popped through like a cork (after not feeling the expected ring of fire), and the rest of him soon slithered out, exactly nine hours after my water had broken. After a few minutes of skin time, when the cord had stopped pulsing, my fiancé clipped him free and took charge of holding him while I stood up and the placenta simply slithered out. 

Babe was born flying superhero style with one arm up, so I had to get some stitching, but all in all I'm dazzled by how fast, peaceful, and supported the birth was. It was definitely not what I had mentally prepared for but turned out to be all the things I could have hoped for: it started clearly, labor at home was calm and progressed well, the people attending were kind and efficient, and although intense, I was mentally present for the whole experience. Baby came fast and peacefully and is healthy, and my body seems to be recovering well.

Since there seems to be so many horror stories here, I thought it might be nice to read one that went well. I gotta say that having a doula is totally worth it if you can afford it and are going unmedicated, although my fiancé and I didn't use any of the coping techniques she had taught us. We didn't need them at the beginning, and the hospital part was so fast and intense, we didn't have time for all the music and stuff we had planned.