I hardly even know what to write, the whole experience was so shockingly fast.
Tuesday morning around 4 am, I had about 4 hours of hard contractions which did a lot of effacing but not a lot of dilating. They stopped, I napped and we grocery shopped and made sure the birth tub was clean. I puttered around with maybe one mild crampy contraction an hour until 11 PM, when I gave up and went to bed, miserably secure in the knowledge that I would be pregnant in the morning.
At 12:20 I woke up with a screamingly intense contraction and went into the bathroom, where I discovered a fair amount of bloody show. I had one more contraction three minutes after that. I called the midwife and while I was on the phone with her had three more contractions. By the time we hung up, they were lasting 90 seconds with 90 seconds from end to start of the next one. We agreed that I would call her back in an hour with a status update.
A few minutes later, I felt nauseated, shaky, and sweaty. Transition, I thought? Nah. Too quick. I waited for the next break in contractions and did the nearest thing to running that I could manage into the birthing tub. I got in and told my husband to call the midwife and tell her that I had the urge to push. The next contraction, my water broke and I could do nothing but bear down. The contraction after that, her head started descending. The one after that, she was born.
At 12:50, we had a daughter, just me and my husband.
I did not expect to have an unassisted birth, but in the end it felt just right.
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/unalmas/tags/simone
And also: thank you all for your wonderful stories and commiserations and gorgeous baby photos and really wonderful birth stories. I love visiting this site and reading everything that you wonderful women have to say.
Tuesday morning around 4 am, I had about 4 hours of hard contractions which did a lot of effacing but not a lot of dilating. They stopped, I napped and we grocery shopped and made sure the birth tub was clean. I puttered around with maybe one mild crampy contraction an hour until 11 PM, when I gave up and went to bed, miserably secure in the knowledge that I would be pregnant in the morning.
At 12:20 I woke up with a screamingly intense contraction and went into the bathroom, where I discovered a fair amount of bloody show. I had one more contraction three minutes after that. I called the midwife and while I was on the phone with her had three more contractions. By the time we hung up, they were lasting 90 seconds with 90 seconds from end to start of the next one. We agreed that I would call her back in an hour with a status update.
A few minutes later, I felt nauseated, shaky, and sweaty. Transition, I thought? Nah. Too quick. I waited for the next break in contractions and did the nearest thing to running that I could manage into the birthing tub. I got in and told my husband to call the midwife and tell her that I had the urge to push. The next contraction, my water broke and I could do nothing but bear down. The contraction after that, her head started descending. The one after that, she was born.
At 12:50, we had a daughter, just me and my husband.
I did not expect to have an unassisted birth, but in the end it felt just right.Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/unalmas/tags/simone
And also: thank you all for your wonderful stories and commiserations and gorgeous baby photos and really wonderful birth stories. I love visiting this site and reading everything that you wonderful women have to say.
from the experience. Congrats! 
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congrats~~
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Great pics, you guys are just gorgeous! 
