I FINALLY get to share my birth story after reading soooo many of other’s! First off, I just want to say, compared to some of the stories i’ve seen on here, I have been so fortunate to have an easy pregnancy and labor and delivery. I did not suffer from any morning sickness whatsoever and i’ve been 100% healthy throughout the whole 9 months.

On Monday, April 16th, I went to my routine check and I was 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced. Other then that, I had no signs of labor starting at all. So I decided, at 39 weeks + 1, to try to get things going by going on a 4 mile hiking trail with hubby. Later that night around midnight, I started feeling a dull, achy pain in my lower back. The pain was coming in waves and they were pretty consistent, and I realized they were finally real contractions!!! But they were not enough to go to the hospital. Eventually they started coming irregularly so I decided it wasn’t time yet. I also noticed every time I went to the bathroom I was starting to lose pieces of my mucus plug and it had a tinge of blood in it as well. I didn’t get any sleep at all that night. That morning around 7 am, I was still having irregular contractions, so I took a shower, ate some breakfast, and bounced on my birth ball for a little. The contractions started back up again, and they were getting stronger. Around 9 am, I called my doctor’s office and talked to the nurse on call and explained to her what was happening. She gave me the go to go get checked out in L&D;! As soon as she said that things got real, and FAST! My feelings were all over the place, I was feeling scared, anxious, excited and nervous all at the same time! I finished packing my hospital bag, cleaned up my apartment a little, and loaded the car up! Before we got the chance to walk out the door, (TMI) all of a sudden I had to poop so bad!! I swear I was going back and forth to the bathroom every 5 mins. They don’t lie about your body clearing out before labor! After I pooped for what seemed to be the 100th time, I finally managed to get in the car and we were in our way to the hospital! We got to L&D; around 10 am, and then a nurse came in and checked me. She hooked me up to a monitor and said I was having contractions every 2-4 mins. Then she checked my cervix and said I was a “tight” 3. I was a little disappointed and thought that they were gonna send me home. She told me that she’d call my doctor and see what he wants me to do. After a while, she came back in and told me that my doctor wasn’t even in town that day! 🙄 Just my luck! She spoke to the on call doctor and she told her to keep me in to monitor for 2 hours and check and see if anything changes. Ugh, more waiting. Those 2 hours felt like the longest time of my life. I was having strong, but tolerable, contractions every 3 mins and I was patiently waiting for the nurse to come back in. Finally she comes back and checks my cervix again. I was at 4 cm!!! Enough to be admitted, this was really happening! I got moved from observation to a labor room. The nurse put an IV in and asked if I wanted to get the epidural, which I immediately said yes! The anesthesiologist came in right away and let me tell you, it is not as bad as everyone says it is! It just felt like a small shot and it was over in a few minutes. After about 10 mins I didn’t feel anymore contractions. It was so funny to see the contractions on the monitor but not feel a thing! The doctor came in and checked me again and I was at a 5, so he decided to break my water. About an hour or so later the nurse came in and told me my contractions weren’t that strong anymore so she gave me a little pitocin to help pick things up. Another hour later, around 6 pm, the doctor comes back in and says he’s gonna check me again. Before he checked he said he expected me to be at a 7 or 8. He barely got his finger in before he pulled them back out and said “Nope, baby’s head is right here, you’re ready to deliver.” I was SO shocked! Everything happened so quickly! A few minutes later the room was filled with nurses preparing the room. They made me do a few practice pushes and then I was ready to push! Pushing was interesting. After about 3 big pushes I almost passed out from lack of air. The nurses kept saying to push and I forgot to breathe I guess lol. They gave me an oxygen mask and I continued pushing. After another few pushes, I watched my baby come out of me in the mirror. It was so amazing to be able to watch it happen. Baby came out crying and they immediately did skin to skin. I tore in 2 places on my labia. Luckily I didn’t feel any of the stitches! I was so surprised on how my labor and delivery went. It was nothing like I thought it would be, and honestly it was kind of easy. I’m so blessed to have such an amazing experience! Everyone meet my perfect little girl, Emory Rose. 💗😍 Born at 6:53 pm, weighing 7 lbs 11 oz, 20 inches long.