We went to our 40 week appointment on 11/20. For the last 4 weeks I had some elevated blood pressure readings and had been going for monitoring weekly-all test always came out fine. She said since I had elevated blood pressure and my baby was measuring large, she wanted to induce me! I had been 2cm dilated for the past 2 weeks, and was now 80% effaced, so she said it wouldn't be too difficult to induce. I was so glad to hear this news. We met her at the hospital, and at 2pm they inserted a foley balloon catheter. I was really trying for no chemical interventions for my labor and this was the only non-chemical intervention for induction so it was the best choice for us. The ballon was uncomfortable and made me feel like I had to pee and poo the whole time although nothing would come out. They had told me that the catheter can stay in up to 12 hours, so they would be taking it out at 2am, then they would let me sleep and we would start other induction options in the morning. I was mentally preparing for it to be a long process. By 7pm I was having medium strong contractions, and by 8pm they were hurting pretty bad. We went for a walk, bounced on the ball, and each contraction my husband would push on my lower back and this helped a lot. Around 9pm I started shaking and vomiting- so much so that I reached my hand down and the balloon had come out! The nurses came in very surprised. The nurses called the dr and a doula. When dr arrived about 30 mins later I was 6cm. We got in the shower- the hot water helped so much, but it was still extremely painful. My husband was right there pushing on my back with every contraction, and the doula was there encouraging me. While in the shower I could feel some liquid coming out of me, and decided I wanted to get out. The dr checked me and I was 8cm- this was around 11pm. She finished breaking my water, and contractions got much worse. The doula told me to not think of them as 'bad' but to think of them as progress. I tried really hard to center myself, to use my sounding voice, and to visualize my baby moving down. I could actually feel him moving lower and lower! I labored on the ball, against the wall, tried to sit down because I was getting so tired, but felt like I was sitting on my baby's head! There came I point around 12:30am where I felt like I needed to push- dr came to check and I was at 9.5cm! They got everything ready, had me sit in the bed, which was extremely difficult at this point because I was in so much pain with each contraction I was almost screaming. When it was time to push I pushed with all my might! I pushed for 6 contractions, about 12 minutes, and at 1:20am our baby Andres was born! I was so proud of myself that I had done it, and so happy it was over! I had 2 small tears that were stitched which hurt but not too bad. The pushing on my stomach and clearing out the uterus part afterward was pretty painful.

Overall I was so proud of myself, and thankful that my labor was quick. I definitely wouldn't say it was easy, as my contractions were VERY strong from the beginning of the process, but just over 5 hours of active labor means that they were very productive. We are thankful and in love with our little baby boy. ❤️💜💙