Hello! My daughter was born 6/2/12, at 39w4d. Her story is pretty rad, so I would like to share it with you.

I was Team Green for this pregnancy! I worked full-time as a bookkeeper, and my last scheduled work day was Friday, June 1. I stayed late that night, talking to my boss and getting my affairs in order. Saturday morning, I woke up at about 8:30 A.M. and noticed some unusual back pressure. My husband had gone about an hour north to get his truck fixed that morning, and I texted him to let him know that I was experiencing some new and interesting sensations, and to maybe keep his phone near.

Over the next four hours I cleaned up a bit, did some laundry, made sure my bag was packed, and slowly started to feel this 'pressure' become contractions. They were irregular to start with, but as the hours went on, they became more regular, and then closer together. I let my husband know we were probably going to be going to the hospital that very day!

He arrived home around 1 P.M., and by 2 P.M. I timed my contractions (per the birth class at the hospital), and they were approximately 5 minutes apart. The birth class at the hospital said to arrive after contractions had been 5 minutes apart for about two hours, so we started the clock then. We left the house with our stuff and went to Jersey Mikes, because I really wanted a sandwich, and I knew they wouldn't feed me at the hospital once I checked in! After the sandwich, we went to a local park to walk around for a while until 4 P.M. Meanwhile, my contractions are very regular, and a bit painful, but I'm distracting myself.

When we get to the hospital (after texting our families to let them know), I am checked before they admit me, and I'm at 4cm and... pretty effaced. I think about 90%? So I get set up in the gown (losing my plug in the bathroom during that change), get hooked up and in the bed, with my husband and family visiting. We watched the contraction monitor, I talked about things, the Los Angeles Kings were playing on the TV.

At about 5:30, I opt for half the dose of Fentanyl they typically give. That's helpful, especially because they break my water shortly afterwards. I get the second half of the dose around 6:15, and around 6:30 or so is when I start feeling like it's maybe time to push. I wanted to try things without an epidural, because during the birthing videos, that seemed like the most appealing method of delivery for me.

For the next hour and so, I push! And push! And I don't want to bear down like I'm supposed to, because you're supposed to push like you're having a bowel movement, not like you're pushing a baby out of you, but I don't want to have crazy hemorrhoids! But I finally just push hard, and at 8 P.M., there is a baby head! And I feel the release, and I fall backward in happiness, until I hear "You still have the shoulders!" Apparently, I said "Are you kidding me?" before bearing down that last time, for our baby girl to greet the world!

Her APGARs were 9 and 9, and I had a small tear and an episiotomy, but nothing too bad. I arrived at 4, she was born at 8, and all my family and friends were there to meet her around 9:30 (after the golden hour, it was a baby friendly hospital). So many people guessed we were having a boy, it was such a good surprise to have a girl.

The hospital was very respectful of my wishes to try and not have an epidural, even though I hear about 80% of the women who say that end up changing their minds. I went in with very few expectations, letting the baby decide what needed to be done, and I really think that made a huge difference in how things turned out. It was an amazing experience, and if anybody is considering a hospital birth, but afraid of 'horror stories', please research "baby friendly" hospitals, and see if that's something that appeals to you.