After a 45 Minute Labor, My Daughter Is Here!

I know this is almost a month late, but I'm still in total awe and amazement at how awesome birth can be, and so in love with my husband and how supportive he was during the whole labor, despite being stressed beyond belief. Hope y'all don't mind me sharing the birth story of my daughter! Sorry it's kind of long.

I gave birth to my son (my firstborn) 2 years ago via a scheduled induction when I was 39w 4d along. It was a wonderful birth with a supportive OB, but this time I wanted to see how a birth center would be (always fun to try new things!). My son's labor was pretty fast - just under 3 hours from my first contraction to his arrival. Because of this, my midwives were prepared for a possible quick labor with my daughter, even without an induction.

I made it to 40w 5d without any signs of labor besides my cervix softening and some mild cramping in my lower abdomen. The following morning, I woke up at 5:15am at 40w 6d with what I thought was some very intense cramping. I got up and moved around, and the "cramp" continued non-stop for a full 5 minutes or so. After that, I started getting another intense cramp. I suspected they might be contractions, and started timing them. They were about a minute each, and less than 2 minutes apart. I woke up my husband and told him to start getting everything ready while I called the midwife.

She said since I was still able to move around just fine and my water hadn't broken, to try taking a shower for the discomfort and call her if they started getting worse. Around 5:35, just as I'd gotten in the shower, my water broke. Instant relief was followed by *strong*, fast contractions that were only about 10 seconds apart. I told my husband to call the midwife, who told us to come in ASAP.

My husband started helping me get ready, but the contractions were so hard and close together, it was difficult to breathe much less get dressed. At 5:50, just as we were about to head out to the car, I felt the all too familiar "ring of fire." I told my husband to call the midwife, because the baby wasn't going to wait.

I immediately felt the need to squat, so I did. When that happened, my body started one, long contraction that didn't let up until my daughter was born. I told my husband that despite his fear about dropping the baby when she was still so wet and slippery, he was going to have to catch her. Absolutely terrified and on the phone with the midwife (who was now on her way to our home), he grabbed a whole ton of towels, stacked them underneath me, and waited with open arms for the arrival of our daughter. I had the urge to push, and so I helped my body along like it was asking me to. After three short pushes, miss Adelaide was born into her daddy's arms at 6am exactly, only 45 minutes after I'd been woken up by my first contraction. The midwife arrived about 10 minutes later.

We are beyond in love. I can't believe how much my body knew what to do on it's own and am just so grateful for the experience. 💕 My husband is beaming with pride over his little girl and is thrilled that he was able to actively help his daughter come Earthside.