OB Estimated Due Date (EDD) based on LMP: April 12, 2011
Birthday: April 18, 2011
I started to have regular contractions on Sunday night April 17th while we were at church (five days past my due date). They were not that strong or close together but I knew things were probably getting started. When church was finished we all headed for home and I proceeded to put my little guy to bed and helped my mother in law get something to eat for everyone. Around ten o clock the contractions were still about 10 to 12 minutes apart so my husband and I took a walk up and down our street. While walking the contractions came about 5 minutes apart. I started to really have to focus and relax through each one. Around midnight my husband insisted we needed to go to the hospital. After I showered and kissed my sleeping guy good bye we headed out the door. During the drive to the hospital my contractions spaced way far apart again, so we decided to take a couple of laps around the parking lot. At two o clock we got all checked in and settled into our room (which I had to share with another laboring woman). The nurse checked my cervix and found it to be about six to seven centimeters which really surprised me because I still felt really calm through each contraction (not so with my first labor). My midwife came in about half an hour later and I was about eight centimeters. She said I could squat on my birthing ball or do whatever I needed to do. I did not get off that ball except to use the bathroom which was across the hall in another woman’s labor room! While I was in the bathroom I felt an undeniable urge to push. We notified the midwife on our way back across the hall. The nurse came in with a wheel chair to take me to the delivery room but I told them I could not because I just needed to push. The midwife was so wonderful, she just had the nurse bring everything to the room so I could stay put. Shortly after I started pushing our beautiful Jenna Faith was born at exactly four in the morning. It was all such an amazing experience. I would definitely have described delivery as strong pressure, not pain. I really liked Jade’s blood pressure cuff illustration during labor. It really helped me relax through each one.