So sorry this is so long (TLDR at end). I really found reading these birth stories on here interesting and helpful, so this is me giving back. There's WAY more I want to write about. Feel free to ask me questions in the comments and I will do my best to reply. I'm on Reddit during all of my late night breast feeding routines. MOO!

I am a very positive and laid-back person. I believe that one's attitude and mental state of the brain can really control a lot of what's going on in your body. I had a smooth pregnancy and smooth delivery, thanks at least a little bit in part to happy thoughts and a strong support system in my life.

3:00am – I wake to light period cramps below my belly-button. I Google "early contractions" on my phone to confirm my feelings. I lie in bed and use my app “Contraction Timer” to time my lightly painful cramps/contractions. About 7 to 11 minutes apart.

5:30am – I want SO to keep sleeping so that he is rested for the big day. I finally wake him up and say “Armageddon!” (our secret word for when it was time). He is very sleepy and says, “Whaa..?” I say, “The baby is coming today!”

6:00am – Contractions flip to about 2.5 minutes apart. I call the hospital’s Labour and Delivery to let them know what is up. The nurse was kind and says to keep labouring at home and to come in if I need pain meds. Her vague answer is a bit annoying, as it gave me no indication for when I should really come in, but I understand. I remembered “Longer, stronger and closer together”. Well, mine were close together, about 1 minute long and not very strong yet.

8:30am – They're stronger - we leave the house! Having contractions in a car is not very fun. SO is driving super slow, thinking a bump in the road would break fragile-me, but I just want him to speed to the hospital so that I can get out!

9:00am – We make it to L&D ward to check in. We have to sit and wait a few minutes while they find my info. The nurse comes around the corner, “So Ciaoaj, I understand you’re 36 weeks and having some pains?” I say, “NO I am 40 weeks + 4 days and I am in labour!” She apologizes for the mix up and takes us to the assessment room right away.

Assessment: For this I was confined to a bed, which sucked because sitting down was REALLY uncomfortable for contractions. They strapped on 2 very tight belly monitors – one for contractions and one for baby’s heart rate. Monitored for 30 minutes – all is good. Doctor came in and checked me - 4 cm dilated. They say I can go back home to labour more or stay if we wanted. With dilation estimates being about 0.5 – 1cm per hour, they say labour could be another 6-12 hours. I am still 2.5 minutes apart, often with “coupled contractions” where they come in pairs. Although we live 10 minutes away, we choose to stay. They take us to our L&D room.

Contractions: Very painful. Lots of whining from me “It huuuurrts...whimper whimper...oweeee!” Shocking: I am a very, very emotional person and it doesn’t take much to make me cry; I did not shed a single tear during labour. Also, I craved licorice (my parents brought me Nibs which I devoured after delivery).

Medication?: I didn’t plan to have a must-have all-natural labour. SO and I agreed ahead of time that we would prefer to go without pain meds, but that we would have open minds depending on how things went. Well, I say that I can remember asking (yelling?) for pain meds at least a half-dozen times. SO said it was maybe three times. He carefully ignored my requests and distracted me with his mantra : “In through the nose, out through the mouth.” I swear he is the only reason I survived this labour – he is my rock!

11:00am – The nurse and doctor come in to assess where I’m at. I hear the words “9cm” and I say, “OH THANK GOD!” I believe I owe my quick progression from 4cm-9cm to my having the coupled contractions (my uterus working over-time!).

Heart rate monitor: Because my maternal heart rate is being mixed up with the fetal heart rate, an internal fetal monitor (the electrode wire spun into Baby’s scalp) is placed in. This, unfortunately, forces me to stay in bed from then on.

12:50pm – I am at 10 cm and the doctor breaks my water. There’s a tugging sensation but no pain. It’s time to push! Pushing – The nurse provides the mantra: “Push back against the pain”. THIS IS LITERAL. The nurse holds back my left leg and SO holds back my right leg. The plan: push 3 times during a contraction. It is tempting to push against their holds on my legs, but this is the incorrect technique. Instead, let your legs float back towards your head and imagine pushing back on the pain through your anus. Seriously, think “bowel movement” (an incredibly painful one) and your body will push the baby out. The pushing technique took practice - just keep trying to do better every contraction. I told the nurse, "Just keep telling me what to do and I'll do it!"

Arm bar: My SO is a strong man, something that I tested this day. The nurse does a lot of scampering about to arrange things for the doctor, so SO was in charge of holding back both of my legs. He’s on my right side and he reaches across to hold back the left leg. I end up instinctively using his left arm as a pull bar! I reef so hard on his arm for the rest of pushing. Later he admits that it was close to becoming hyper-extended.

2:10pm – Baby is born :) Birth was really cool. As soon as the doctor said she could see the head, it gave me the energy to DO THIS. The doctor says, “Okay stop pushing for a moment. Now give me a couple of light grunt pushes.” From here on, there was NO pain – I knew this meant he was right there. Baby’s head was out, then the body (which felt really cool to pass, by the way) and then there was crying!

Delayed cord clamping: we requested DCC ahead of time. Our doctor was totally on board with this decision as long as the baby came out making noise. When they broke my waters, there was meconium (he pooped inside). If he came out not making noise, it was possible that he had swallowed some of the meconium; thus, needing to have his cord cut right away and then taken to the side to have the black tar-like poop removed from his throat. They called a paediatrician to be on stand-by to do this. Luckily, Marcus came out crying so he was plopped onto my tummy and we had the DCC.

Delivering the after birth – the second Marcus came out, the nurse stuck me in the left thigh with oxytocin – this reduces internal haemorrhaging when the placenta detaches, and to promote shrinking of the uterus. (Rubbing or patting your belly can also signal your brain to release oxytocin into your body). The doctor does some slight tugging on the cord; the placenta isn’t quite ready so she waits. In a couple of minutes, the placenta detaches inside and, with some pushing on my end, the placenta (and a whole bunch more fluid) comes out (this was not painful – felt like passing a large, soft and lumpy stool – plop, plop, plop).

Tearing – 2nd degree tearing occurred (skin + connective tissue) while I was pushing. It went in two directions in the vagina so complicated stitching took over an hour. Note: I did not actually feel any moment during pushing where I was like, “And right there I tore.” Pushing came with a “burning ring of fire” feeling when the head was on its way. During this time is when I believe the tearing occurred.

Humility – Legs spread. Vagina just hanging out. Fluids everywhere. Puked a few times. Half a dozen people in the room. REALLY, it’s ALL GOOD. It didn’t take long for baby to be cleaned, measured and assessed and back in my arms for immediate breastfeeding and the duration of the stitching. SO and I fell in love with our LO immediately and, of course, that is all that mattered,

TLDR – No-meds 11 hour labour; vaginal delivery. Doctor and nurse were wonderful. SO was MY ROCK throughout. We are in love with our baby boy. Marcus Alistair, born June 2. 7lb 8oz, 19”.