No Epidural Birth Story 🎀🤗

On September 20, 2017 I was 39 weeks and 5 days with an EDD of September 22, 2017. At around 5 am I started getting semi intense contractions I shrugged them off as braxton hicks and kept trying to get back to sleep. They were coming every 20 minutes , so I tossed and turned for two hours (my poor SO was being such a sweetheart) at 7am I decided to start my day. I bounced on my ball for about 30 minutes and made my 3 year old breakfast then began helping him get ready for school. Still thinking they were false labor I timed them sparingly. As every contraction came I realized that they were more intense ! Mostly just uncomfortable period like cramping in the lower pelvis. Not getting too excited because we have all been there before ugh. We had and appointment that morning at 9 am. After taking our son to school we began the 30 minute drive to the doctors office.. soon my contractions were 6 minutes apart and very intense. I called my doctors office and they advised me to goto L&D.; YAY ! So we grabbed some breakfast and ate very slowly I didnt want to only be about 3 centimeters when we arrived. It is now 10 am and upon arriving to L&D; my contractions became 3 minutes apart. Once admitted I was checked and the the nurse told me guess what? Youre already 5-6 cm and 90% effaced ! I nearly jumped off the table but a contraction was coming she watched how I breathed through it and closed my eyes she told me I was a super woman and I can do this. (Which made me feel amazing) I planned for no epidural. We were admitted and before being monitored for about an hour and a half I danced around to music, text and called my family trying to let gravity do its thing. Once in the actual delivery room it sunk in that she was on the way ... baby had to be monitored and up until this point I was fine in between contractions they lasted for about 1 to 2 minutes so I knew it wasnt going to hurt for long. It is now about noon I was eating ice chips and reading birth affirmations (which I highly recommend) then I rolled to one side and felt a gush ! My water broke at 12:25pm I had light meconium (means baby had a bowel movement) at that point I could not labor standing or have wireless monitoring unfortunately. I was checked again and 8 cm !! The contractions after youre water breaks are NO JOKE ! so much more intense. I was now climbing up the bed during those contractions(hey it helped lol), I rolled from side to side. squeezed my SO hand, grabbed his shirt, hummed through them pretty much anything to distract me. The quiet, calm labor was out the window at this point and I didnt care. The nurse asked if I wanted something in my IV to take the edge off so I received the narcotic fentanyl. It definitely helped me to relax. I labored in bed for another hour which seemed like forever and felt a ton of pressure. My SO went to get the nurse and I was 10 cm!! So everyone came in to deliver, at about 1:20 I began to push. The pushing felt like the best thing ever to relieve the pressure, they told me they could see her hair and that motivated me to push harder. Boom head was out ! One more big push and within 20 minutes of pushing I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl ! I barely felt the ring of fire and thats what I was most afraid of. I had a left labial laceration that didn’t require stitches. At 1:42pm Kennedy Nicole Bailey was born 7 pounds 1 ounce and 20 inches long. For the ladies who are afraid of no epidural I am here to tell you that YOU CAN DO IT !! Here are some photos of my sweet baby girl 🎀🤗