First, we went for a walk around the neighborhood then came back and I laid in bed, hoping to get some much needed sleep, and timed the contractions. They were about 8-10 minutes apart. I finally decided to get in the bath tub for about an hour and the contractions kept getting closer. I had told Caleb that I really wanted to stay home as long as possible. We called Becky a little after mid-night to tell her the progression and she told us to go ahead and come into the clinic. Caleb loaded up my bag, cameras, snacks, and the car seat and we were on our way.
We got to the birthing center around 1:00am. I was 3cm and 100% effaced. Becky told us to go walk around and she would check me again at 3:00 to see if I was progressing. It was a nice summer night, so we walked up and down the street outside coming back occasionally for the bathroom and a drink. At 3:00, I was 4 cm, so we went on upstairs to our birthing suite. About that same time, another lady came in with her husband because she was also in labor.
Our room was like staying at a bed and breakfast. With the door closed, I couldn't hear a thing outside my room. We had music playing and fans on. I was comfortable, but Caleb was literally freezing. He knew he couldn't complain though. I laid on my side on the bed for a while and was so tired that I seriously was falling asleep between contractions. I planned to do a water-birth, but I wasn't allowed to get into the tub until I was 7cm because they didn't want the water to slow or halt my contractions.
At 4:30, we decided to call our parents to let them know I was in active labor, but it would still be several hours before they needed to come. Since we weren't in a traditional hospital, we asked that they not come until the baby was here.
I kept asking the mid-wives how the other lady was doing. They told me we were both progressing at the same pace. Every time Caleb would leave the room to go get some food or drinks, he'd come back and tell me that the lady across the hall was loud. During my contractions, I didn't make much noise...I mostly tried to count, concentrate and breath through it. In between contractions, I could carry on a conversation or joke around like nothing was going on. The mid-wives kept commenting on how calm and relaxed I seemed to be so far along.
At about 7:00, I was 7cm dilated and the tub was ready for me to get in! It felt sooo good!! Warm water with jets that felt great on my low back. I wasn't in the water more than 3 minutes when I heard the loudest scream ever from the lady across the hall. My eyes got so big and I immediately plugged my ears with my fingers as I looked over at Caleb in complete fear! He jumped up to turn the music up louder. I just said, "Oh my gosh...tell me when it's over!!!" A minute or two later, the screaming was over, but my heart was still pounding! I thought to myself, I've watched a hundred videos of natural water births and have never heard anything like that! Caleb kept reassuring me that she seemed to be having a harder time with the pain and that I was doing really good. He said, "Remember, you and her were dilated the same all this time, yet you have been much calmer than her. You will do good."
It was 10-15 minutes later before a mid-wife came back to my room and immediately I said, "PLEASE tell me that is NOT normal!" She told me that the lady across the hall went from 7cm to having a baby in about 5 minutes. She went on to tell me that her body just didn't give her time to prepare, but that my body was. I think that hearing those screams pretty much stopped my contractions because of fear. About an hour later, as Kristen was timing my contractions, they had indeed slowed down. I was told that I needed to get out of the water for a while and I could get back in when I felt ready to push.
I mostly stood on the side of the bed because aside from being in the water, that was the least painful during contractions. As my contractions started getting closer together, about 2-3 minutes apart, I was able to get back in the tub. Again, within 30 minutes, my contractions were slowing down too much and I had to get out. This time, they told me I wasn't going to be able to have a water birth because it was relaxing my body too much. I told you it felt good!
I got on the bed and ended up having the baby the good 'ol fashioned way...although I didn't have any pain medication. Yep, that's right, I still did it 100% natural, drug-free! The baby's head wasn't turned completely the right way, so it took a lot of pushing. I was so, so tired (remember, I hadn't slept much in the past 2 days) and I was getting frustrated that not only was I not able to do a water birth, but that I seemed to be at a stand-still until the head would turn. She was a stubborn little girl!
Finally, our beautiful little girl was born at 2:11pm. They laid her warm body on my belly and I was so happy that she was here safely. She cried and cried which sent Caleb and I both into tears. She was HERE!! It was about 5-10 minutes after she was born that Caleb cut the umbilical cord. They waited to let it pulse and continue to get all the blood and oxygen into the baby which resulted in giving her a great, healthy color to her. Caleb called all the family. Turns out, most of my family had been waiting downstairs since about 10am. The mid-wives cleaned her, I changed and nursed her before we called all the family in. 
After everyone visited and passed the baby around, our mid-wives went over all things to expect for me and the baby. We buckled our little girl into her seat, packed up our bags and were back home by 6:30pm. After a short visit from my brother Kevin, who had been at work all day, we showered and were in bed by 8:30. We were completely exhausted and ready to sleep. My experience with the all natural, drug-free delivery was amazing and something I will never forget and intend to do again. I had so many people tell me I was crazy to attempt having a baby without pain medication. I'll admit, I would not have been able to do it if I had to spend all those hours laying on my back like you do in a hospital. The few times that I did lay on my back was the worst pain during contractions. Being able to stand, walk around and even spend some time in the water made things much better! Caleb was such a great support for me and wonderful at helping me breath through the contractions! Especially considering we didn't take a birthing class. He is such a proud daddy.
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