I saw someone else post a birth story with no epidural and saw how inspired it made others feel so I thought I would share my own! The morning of labor (which was 2 weeks before the due date) I woke up with some minor period type cramping. I had a feeling she would be coming early because I had had this feeling for a few weeks now and everytime I went to the doctor for a check up, I was a little more dilated. I decided to get up and out of the house, so my SO and I went to Home Depot to do some shopping. Towards the end of the trip they started to get more intense and felt as though they were becoming more rhythmic, so we decided to head home for something to eat and see how I felt from there. We were only home about 30 minutes when I decided it was probably worth checking out. So we called our doctor to head over to the hospital. Once I got there around 2pm, they checked and I was already 5cm and 90% effaced. They admitted me and got me set up in the labor and delivery room. They asked if I wanted an epidural but I tentatively said no (first time Mom and was feeling very nervous about it!) Around 3, the doctor came in to check and I was at 7cm already! Up until this point the pain still felt like just really bad period cramps. While she was checking me, my water broke. That's when things got really intense. The pain POST water breaking was reallllly difficult to deal with. I kneeled by the side of the bed for a while with my head down and then moved on top of the bed and leaned over the back of the bed, still trying to let gravity work its magic. By 4, it was already time and I began pushing. I only had to push for about 30 minutes before she came out! Once I started and heard the nurse say she could see her head and hair, I felt completely motivated. I credit having such a quick birth to regular chiropractic visits, letting gravity do its thing, and going in with a positive mind set! If you are thinking of doing no epidural, I would definitely encourage you to give it a try!