Ok, finally had a free moment to write this out before I forget everything.

Quick version:
I woke up around 4 AM Sunday morning (October 14, 2012) with the urge to go # 2. I went back and forth to the bathroom and bed for awhile then I started noticing I was getting contractions. They were coming on pretty regularly for awhile. My DH and I got up and packed the hospital bag and started getting things ready just in case. I texted my doula to let her know I thought I was in labor. By 9 am they were coming every 5-7 minutes and lasting 60 seconds. By noon my doula and mom showed up and they were coming every 4-5 minutes and lasting 60 seconds. I labored at home for as long as possible trying out different positions. By 3:30 PM my contractions were coming 3-4 minutes and lasting 1 min 20 sec and we decided to head to the hospital. Got there around 4 PM and I was 7 cm dilated. I labored on the toilet awhile then moved to the bed around 5-5:30 where I was 9.5 cm dilated. I sat on the edge of the bed and labored until I couldn’t hold back the urge to push any longer. Around 6:30 PM, I started pushing on my side. They brought in the bar shortly after and I pushed in a squatting position until 7 PM when the doc showed up. Alexander was born at 7:15 PM weighing 7 lbs 7 oz.

Long version:
My labor began very early Sunday morning on October 14, 2012. I woke up around 3:45 AM and had to go to the bathroom as usual. Except this time I also felt the urge to go #2 which is pretty unusual for me. I went back to bed and tried to go back to sleep but I still felt the urge to go. So I got and went and tried to go back to bed again. Then I started noticing some slight cramping and more urges to go. This went on for like half an hour of going back and forth to bed. Then the cramping started changing. It started wrapping around my back and I started noticing it had a rhythm to it. By 5 am I started thinking that this might be the beginning of labor. My husband got up and started packing the hospital bag. He was running around washing dishes, doing laundry, cleaning up. I was trying to finish packing last minute things.

At around 5:45 AM I texted my doula to let her know that I thought I could be in labor. I was having contractions lasting from 30-60 seconds and they felt like menstrual cramps. I layed in bed and tried to go back to sleep but the contractions were just too annoying to try and sleep. Plus, I was getting pretty excited that this could be the real deal. Around 7 she texted me back and told me to take a shower to see if they went away. I showered and they were still coming on in the shower, so I definitely started to believe that I was in labor. I was feeling all the contractions in my back at this point.

Around 8:30 AM, my doula texted and told me to start timing them for the next hour. I started timing them and they were lasting about 60 seconds and coming every 5-6 minutes. I was feeling it all in my back at this point and while they weren’t very painful at this point, my DH and I were using this time to practice relaxed breathing. I would hold onto him and rock back and forth through them. I let the doula know that I would text her when we were ready for her. We tried different positions and by 11 am I was ready for the doula because they were really starting to hurt my back. I also let me mom know that she could come over as well.

By noon my doula and mom had arrived and we worked on trying to get the baby off my back. I was at first feeling it all in my lower back. We tried a position with my chest on the ground with my butt up and then I finally started feeling them low in the front. I labored at home for as long as possible. The doula suggested different positions and reminded me to keep drinking water.

Around 2 PM we moved to my bed and I layed on my side for awhile. It felt good to lay down in between contractions, but they were more painful for me laying down. Around 3-3:30 we started getting ready to go to the hospital. My contractions were coming on every 3-4 minutes and lasting about 1 min 20 sec. My doula gave me some honey for quick energy and I threw up right after that. I took a quick shower to freshen up before we left and one last bump photo. At this point contractions were very strong and painful. I had one contraction in the car on the way and then one more once we parked. I had one contraction standing in the street in front of the hospital. Luckily there was a transport there with a wheelchair dropping off someone else. She scooped me up and took me to L&D before I even had another contraction.

I think at this point it was around 4 PM. I had to go into the hospital room by myself at first for some initial questions. I remember the nurse asking if I could pee in a cup, but there was no way that was going to happen. I had a couple of contractions on the toilet then moved to the bed when finally my DH, doula and mom were allowed in the room. My DH said I was just laying on the bed gripping the side bar and was rocking back and forth. They did an internal check and I was 7 cm already! Yay! But that meant transition was starting the hardest part was ahead of me. I went #2 some more and labored on the toilet for a while. My DH just held me while I rocked back and forth. Around 5 PM I moved back to the bed and they checked me and I was 9.5 cm. I remember them checking the baby’s heart rate a couple of times. It was really annoying being hooked up to the monitors. I labored while sitting on the side of the bed. My DH held me while I rocked back and forth. My mom sat next to me and I held her hand with my left hand and I held my doula’s hand with my right. I was moaning pretty loud through each contractions. My doula reminded me to keep them low. I remember yelling over and over that I couldn’t do it. I kept saying No, no, no, no over and over. My doula started telling me yes, yes, yes, so I started saying yes, yes, yes through every contraction. It felt pretty natural to just grunt and moan through every contraction. I started feeling the urge to push but my doula told me to hold back at first. So I continued to labor sitting up and resisting the urge to push.

It finally got to a point where I couldn’t hold back the pushing anymore. My DH thinks it was around 6:30 PM at this point. They suggested I lay on my side and start pushing through the contractions. This part was terrible for me because all the pain was in my lower back when I pushed laying on my side. I pushed this way for maybe 10 minutes and then my doula suggested they get the bar. The nurse didn’t think I would have the energy to get up on it, but they brought it in. On the next contraction I found the strength and just hoisted myself up on it. This felt amazing to push in a squatting position. I made great progress pushing like this. I pushed like this for maybe 15-20 minutes and then the doctor came in. Unfortunately, I had to move on my back to deliver him, but it still wasn’t as bad as the side position. The doctor was trying to direct my pushing, but I was pretty much doing my own thing. My body had taken over and it knew when I needed to push. A few more good pushes and Alexander Jun was born at 7:15 PM weighing 7 lbs 7 oz and 21.25 inches long. I had one 2nd degree tear and a few minor internal ones that didn’t need any stitches. I refused the pitocin after delivery and delivered the placenta soon after. My doula worked with me to get baby A to latch on. It took a good hour but we finally got him on and he nursed one side for 20 minutes and the other for 15 minutes. Man it sure did hurt when the nurses pushed on my tummy afterwards. But they had to be forceful since I didn’t get any pitocin after delivery.

Things couldn’t have gone more perfect. I feel so empowered and proud of myself for being able to give birth naturally and completely medication free. I also feel incredibly blessed with how smooth my labor and delivery went. I could not have done it without my support team. If I would not have had the doula, I’m pretty sure I would have got the epi as soon as I showed up at the hospital.