Where do I start? This might be long. Well 36 weeks and 5 days I got my first cervix check (Wednesday) and before that day I have been feeling crampy but they weren't bad, when I got my cervix checked it was already at 2cm! Well I went home and then Thursday night I went to bed, when I went to bed I was feeling back pain and cramps.. I tried to sleep but it didn't really work, I just kept tossing and turning. I went pee around 6:30am and I saw some light pee blood! And my back was still hurting and I was still cramping. So I called L&D; and they said I should come in and get checked. So I wake up my fiancé and tell him we need to go. Around 7ish AM we get to the hospital and I get checked, well still at 2cm, waited an hour, still at 2cm, so I got sent home. And I legit you not by the time I got home which was around 9ish AM (I think) I started to get contractions, I KNEW they were contractions because I have never felt anything like that before, and they HURT! So I spent 11am to 4:30pm feeling contractions trying to breathe through them (thats how bad they were) I didnt want to go back to the hospital right away because I just went! Well I made my fiancé and me go in finally around 5 and I could barely even stand through the contractions and they have been coming every like 5 minutes or less, they checked me and I was at 3cm! They told me to walk around to see if itll help dilate so for an hour I walked around and then I got checked, the nurse was like "well I just made you a four" and that meant I was staying and being admitted!! And that was around 6. I have been doing alright with the contractions, I was breathing through them as much as I could and relaxing as much as I could. An hour or so later I dilated to a 5 then an hour later to almost a 6 then an hour later almost to a 7! By then I could still only just breathe through the pain, and I decided to try the iv pain meds (I could get 4 dosages which 3 of them were smaller than the first dose I gotten) so I made sure I waited long enough between the dosages so I wouldn't waste the pain meds before I got to 10 centimeters. Hours later (literally) around almost 5am I got checked and I was at almost an 8. Then I got checked an hour later and I went down to a 7 because my body wasn't doing good with the pain and my cervix was swelling, so after that the nurse suggested I get an epidural only because it'll help my body relax so my cervix can keep dilating toward and stop swelling, also so I wouldnt be in pain. Because by then I was almost crying because of the contractions. Almost couldn't focus on breathing. (I had contractions in my lower abdomen AND my back, which my back labor was the worse thing ever.) so around 7am I got the epidural and I felt so much better, relaxed and able to sleep for at least 10 minutes. Because the past 12 hours I did not sleep. I got checked after an hour or so of having the epidural, cervix wasn't swelling anymore but I was still stuck at a 7 so doctor came in and broke my water and they started me on the iv meds to help me dilate faster. About...an hour or so later I was checked because I was feeling pressure and it was uncomfortable, and I was at a 10! So the nurse got everything ready and the doctor came in and I started to push (I'm not sure what time sadly) so I'm not sure how long I pushed but I pushed 3-4 times during a contraction and I had at least 4-5 contractions pushing him out. He finally comes out at 11:15 am Saturday 8/26/17 weighing 6 pounds 8ozs.💙 I had two interior tears on both sides? (I'm not sure what the doctor meant about both sides) but while me and my fiance and my mom were all falling in love with my baby boy the doctor stitched me up. I would definitely go through the pain that I did to have him again. But I'm glad it's over! I went in hoping that I would not need an epidural but I'm glad I got one,if I didn't and my cervix decided to keep swelling up I would've had to have a c section.

My advice to anyone: if you are in pain and you really can't handle it, it's okay to have an epidural, it really is. Don't feel defeated or upset. Feel strong because you're having a baby and that's the hardest thing you'll have to do in your life. ❤️❤️