I had a very text book pregnancy and started my initial care with a local OB. Unfortunately, at 20 weeks we started talking about the birth and it was assumed I would arrive at the hospital, get the epidural, and have the baby. That was not what I wanted. I had hoped to have no pain medication, and I very much did not want to end up with pitocin or other interventions. My OB laughed and said first time moms always think like this but end up caving.

So I switched my care to a midwife practice that had back-up from OB-GYNs as a very good hospital. The midwives were very supportive of my desire to have a medication free birth, and were very low intervention for the remainder of my pregnancy. At my 37 week appointment, there was some concern that my son was going to be large if I went to 40 weeks, 10 pounds or more, and due to policy I would have to get a C-Section if a growth ultrasound confirmed that. Little did I know that just a day later, I'd go into labor.

At 37w6d, I was at work on a Friday. I had a quiet day, and was the only person in the office. At noon I was thinking of lunch and then my water broke. Plans for lunch got tossed, as I packed up, called my other coworkers to let them know what was going on, and got ready. I called my husband and we headed off to the hospital. When I arrived, the nurses had a bit of a hard time testing to see if it was amniotic fluid, but the finally were able to and sure enough it was positive. One nurse commented that she'd never seen a test strip come back positive so quickly. I was 4 cm dilated, and while I was having contractions, I wasn't feeling them.

We were placed in a birthing room, and the midwife on call stopped by to introduce me. She went over her plan with me- first, get me lunch because I'd need my energy. Second, intermittent fetal monitoring with the doppler every hour. No IV but I had to promise to drink water like crazy. No meds. I reiterated that I didn't want pain medication and it was never once brought up to me again. The first nurse was a little annoyed by the midwife- she wasn't sure about the intermittent fetal monitoring but a few hours later the next nurse, Erin, came on and she was awesome.

As I wasn't feeling contractions and the monitors weren't showing them to be very strong, it was recommended I walk the halls, get in the shower, and also try to relax. I have to admit- relaxing was hard- I was truly excited because I was finally meeting my son. My husband and I walked the halls for hours. A breast pump was brought in and I used that for nipple stimulation. As the contractions picked up, I was definitely in pain and wishing for the epidural. Erin, the nurse, and my husband were awesome at keeping me focused.

About 12 hours after my water had broken, I felt the urge to push. Erin checked me and I was still at 9 cm. I felt a bit defeated and I really was starting to feel like I couldn't do it much longer. I was crying that I just wanted a rest. Shortly after Erin left, I told my husband that I really had to push. I couldn't help it, and that he needed to tell the nurse to come back because I was going to push.

Magically, I was 10 cm. This gave me a bit of energy knowing that there was an end in sight. The midwife came in and gave the okay to start pushing. I tried a number of positions- one all fours, squatting, on my side. In the end I really felt most effective on my back with my legs raised (which is contrary to what science/nature says). At 1:22 am, after a hour of pushing, my beautiful son was born. He was 7 pounds 15.9 ounces and of course perfect. I had a second degree tear and some issues delivering the placenta, so I did receive a shot of pitocin and some lidocaine for these issues, as well as some calcium because I had some shaking.

It's been 3.5 years since his birth and it is a beautiful memory for me today. It certainly was hard. Painful, exhausting, etc. The midwife who delivered my son saw me the following day and remarked "you did it!" At the time, I felt like a crazy person. I didn't have to endure all that pain, there were drugs I could have taken. But as time goes on, I'm so happy I did. It sounds crazy, but I've taken great pride in knowing that I did that all on my own. 9 months he grew inside of me, my body supported him, and then when he was ready my body alone helped him out.

I'm pregnant with my second and I honestly can't wait to give birth to her.