It wasn't easy, but we did it! The details:

Bloody show on Friday night

Water broke at 1:15 Sunday morning

Contractions started at 2am and were 3-5 minutes apart by 7:30am (so we went to the hospital)

I didn't get an epidural

I labored in the tub until 9am, at which point I was 8cm and was able to stay relaxed through contractions.

We got to fully dilated by 1pm, so I started pushing.

Baby girl was BIG and face up (sunny side up) and didn't want to go anywhere.

I pushed for 5 hours before we tried the vacuum.

They told me 50/50 chance it would work, so I met the anesthesiologist to talk about a c-section.

I was given an episiotomy to keep me from tearing toward my rectum.

On the third push of our third and final try with the vacuum, my baby Claire was born!

8lbs and 15oz. They tell me that's like 10lbs when sunny side up. Hardest thing I've ever done (and all without pain meds) but manageable and obviously totally worth it!

Made my husband a dad on Father’s Day. 🥰

Here she is: