Birth story! Almost all natural buuuttt lol

Sunday night: I'm 37 weeks and having contractions and cramps and bowls and puking

Monday night: contractions get worse- Got sent home from L&D; and was 1cm and 50%

Tuesday: blood in the am, had a checkup, 1cm and 80% started having contractions at the checkup. Up until 2am with contractions that were painful and worse than Monday's contractions.

WEDNESDAY:

I have some bleeding but not in any pain for the first time in two and a half days. I clean and get ready for baby, and then go golfing all afternoon w my hubby. We do nine and then start another nine and By hole 5 I'm like okay I'm done- at this point I was having mild contractions. We get home at 5 and my contractions are consistent, by 830 none of my coping mechanisms are working and I start crying from the pain. My husband is like should we go in? We live 40 mins from our hospital in Grand Forks (we live in rural ND). I decide I'm gonna go up to the bathroom before the next contraction comes and try to check if I'm dilated or effaced...like I have ANY IDEA what that would feel like.... with my fingers... IF I can even reach over my belly and into myself that far haha. I put two fingers in and let our a huge cry and scream we are GOING NOW! I could tell my cervix was paper thin instead of long and hard. It felt like a condom or balloon stretched way out! I could pry it open with my fingers I was MORTIFIED.

We grab some stuff and I call labor and delivery and can barely talk I'm in pain and so scared. I say hi I'm coming in my contractions are 4 mins apart and painful and uhhmm I'm having bleeding too?They are just kinda like okaaaay come in the ER door.

The long ride sucks and I'm trying to keep it together.

Hubby drops me off At the door I get wheeled up (by this point I'm shaking) and put in triage and checked and one nurse goes girl in 3 looks uncomfortable...no!!? You don't say??! Hubby and i recognize the resident from Monday night and he goes I hope she doesn't laugh at us and send us home and I say there's no way! She laughs and checks and goes "hi again!...6cm 100% effaced...we are having a baby guys!" The nurses start running around getting us admitted.

I labor with no medication for 6 hours and get to and stay at an 8.5

Before I go onLet me say...I GOT AN EPIDURAL AND IT WAS HEAVEN. I WAS SO CLOSE TO BEING A 10 AND IM NOT EVEN MAD I CHOSE TO GET ONE. Buuuuuut....I asked at 8.5 if I could have something in my iv..they said no it was too late for that it could effect baby HOWEVER it wasn't too late to do an epidural but I was like I'm gonna keep trying. (I'm dumb)

I couldn't stay on the bed! They were so excruciating I would get off the bed or ball and stand and hold the bed. Before I caved and got the epi I was...standing with hands on bed, bent at the waste holding onto the sheets, or my husband. Im SCREAMING and BAWLING my face off INTO a pillow. I was BELLOWING. My nurse was amazing and kept helping me to remember to breathe. I said a swear word just once and everyone laughed (FUUUCK).

So; I'm too tired to lift my face from the pillow, my eyes and face: swollen and red from crying and screaming. my bare ass in everyone's face because I gave up on bouncing on my ball, and was just bent at the waste shaking and bouncing my ass through the pain, with blood flying everywhere- my legs and feet are covered in blood and it's pooled in a puddle between my legs on the floor, it's in that moment I lay my turn my head so I'm not face down in the pillow and I ask for the epidural. and I get it right away. I have two more contractions and then I'm on a blissful baby cloud. I get to fall asleep as it's 230 am with my mom and husband sleeping in the room with me. Mom in a chair hidden under. Blankie and hubby in the window well with a blanket, tv is on low, room is dark. Am I in heaven? Nope.

Resident wakes me up at 4 and says you ready to have your baby?! You're all ready down here! I start shaking violently cause I'm so nervous I can't believe it's time! I push once and she says WOW GABBI YOIRE SO STRONG I push one

More time and his head is out, I push a third time and he's out!

My little baby boy was born at 4:14am on 8/31/17 at 37+5 and weighed in at 6.8pounds!

Here's a pic of him this morning at 48 hours old!😍💙👶🏻