As I sit here, nursing Drue in the early hours of the morning while the rest of the world sleeps, thoughts of the last few days cross my mind.

Not once have I had a delivery prior to my due date. Every single time I've either been way overdue or right on time. But never early. Drue's birth and my labor took  me completely by surprise because of my past history of births and my tendency to deliver babies late. Needless to say, we weren't prepared in the slightest 😂

Over the course of the days leading up to his arrival, my body was showing signs that labor was near. Had I had spontaneous labor in the past, I may have been more inclined to listen to the signals that were sent my way...weepy & emotional for no apparent reason, intermittent (but mainly painless) contractions, cramps that were constant, and a back pain that wouldn't go away no matter what position I was in. It was all signs of little man's coming. 

On the 30th we went to Church just like any other Sunday, except I was feeling contractions all morning. During worship as I felt a surge, I would sway as my belly hardened, hoping & praying that this would, in fact be the last time I would be carrying him in my womb instead of my arms. 

After church we went to lunch with some close friends and although my contractions were coming and going, I started to get discouraged that I wouldn't go into labor anytime soon. We headed home & put the kids down for naps, and I decided to use the time to do some stretches & exercises to move baby into a better position and possibly get the labor process going. 

The comments on the YouTube video that I followed to do the stretches all said that labor started a few hours after they finished the circuit. I laughed to myself. I had my doubts but I still finished the circuit. 

After putting the kids to bed that night, we went downstairs to watch some mindless YouTube videos and around 11pm, I felt my first strong contraction. I dismissed it. I was afraid to tell Bryce (my husband) because I had been having prodromal labor for weeks and the contractions never amounted to anything. 

They kept coming, however. We hopped in bed and as another strong contraction came, just as Bryce closed his eyes to go to bed, my water broke! We slowly got out of bed and packed the rest of the hospital bag, packed the kids clothes, and used ChatGPT to answer the question of how long do we wait before going in to the hospital? 

This is when things really started to ramp up and we knew we had less time than we thought. My contractions were about 4 to 5 minutes apart at this point so Bryce gathered our things and loaded up the car. He packed my birthing ball, my headphones for the hypnobirthing tracks I had planned on using, his journal with notes on how to support me during labor, and our essential oils diffuser, none of which we ended up using. 

One by one he loaded the kids into the car while I continued to firmly grip my labor comb as the contractions kept coming. Flynn (my 4

year old) prayed so intentionally & it took me by surprise. He prayed for Drue's safety, and for my pain, and for strength. It was just what I needed to continue in my labor. 

We debated leaving me at home while he dropped the kids off and would pick me up before heading to the hospital but we decided against it and I'm so glad we did! We dropped the kids off around 2:00 a.m. at our in-law's and after a few more painful contractions we were on our way to the hospital. 

The hospital I had planned on delivering at in Moreno Valley had no beds available so they told us to reroute to Riverside. The entire route was a bumpy back road. It was 2:30 in the morning and we were speeding down the dimly lit roads to the hospital. I asked Bryce to sing Jon Foreman's "The House of God Forever" as we drove. They played that song at church that morning. 

He sang it on repeat, I death-gripped his hand, we drove along the back roads. 

When we arrived at the hospital my contractions were every 2 minutes apart and the time between the contractions didn't offer relief. I kept gripping my comb and mumbling under my breath prayers to God for strength. 

A nurse wheeled me to L&D and I was immediately offered a room. The midwife checked to see how dilated I was and to my shock she said I was at a 9.5 and a few minutes away from pushing! Had I stayed at home and labored alone while Bryce dropped the kids off, Drue would have been born in the car 🚗. 

Bryce was parking and when he finally made it upstairs to L&D, I was ready to push. The midwife did a great job at calming me down. I rolled onto my side, clenched the bed & my comb (my hand was bruised the next day haha) and took some deep breaths. 

With a few pushes he was out. We arrived at the hospital at 3:05 and he was born at 3:33. Quick. I didn't tear. Healing was speedy. I was up and walking around a couple minutes later after the placentia was delivered.

Unmedicated deliveries are wild but the recovery was worth every ounce of pain I endured. 

Drue laid on my chest awhile while we took in the events that led up to this point.  They weighed him, I snuggled him, and let out a big sigh of relief. 

Praise be to God for watching over us and for giving me the unmedicated VBAC I so fervently prayed for. Had I not gone into Labor, a backup C-Section was scheduled for July 15th. Praise Jesus I didn't have one. 

& Now on his Due Date, I sit on the couch nursing him, thankful to have met him a few days early. 

Every birth is beautiful. Flynn's (my first) was 48hours, pitocin contractions with a failed epidural, Ella's (2nd born) was a footling breech that led to a C-section, and Drue's was a redemptive VBAC that was only possible with the Lord's strength. 

Happy due date, Drue dude 🤍