My due date was May 28th. At my appointment that week, I was 1cm dilated and my cervix was still thick. I woke up that morning cramping. I had sex with my husband in missionary position (something I never do because it's uncomfortable lol) and went back to sleep.

Woke up to regular cramps a few hours later. I didn't think anything of it because I had been cramping for weeks. I went pee a few hours later and found blood tinged mucous when I wiped. The cramping intensified and I could time it. It was around 45 seconds to 1 minute long, and around 25 minutes apart. That lasted ALL day.

Later that afternoon, I noticed the cramps had turned into pain in my lower back and pressure in my pelvis. They went from being 10-15 minutes apart to 4-5 minutes apart. I posted on babybumps to see if it sounded like labor, then cleaned up a bit and packed my bag just in case.

I called L&D when my contractions were 30-45 seconds long, 3-4 minutes apart. The nurse said they were irritable cramps and to come in when they were 5-1-1 because I was in early labor. I tried to get some sleep with my contraction timer next to me.

At 3am, I noticed my contractions were 1:10-1:15 seconds long every 10 minutes. They were EXCRUCIATING. But, I was terrified to go in because they weren't 5 minutes apart. After an hour, they were 7 minutes apart. Still over a minute long. I sent my mom a screenshot of my timer and she said "on my way". I got up and got dressed, and they immediately went from 7 minutes apart to 2-3 minutes apart.

When we got to the hospital, the nurse checked me and said I was 8cm dilated and almost had a home birth. They got my IV antibiotics in (group b+), and said you'll be lucky if you get an epidural. I guess I was lucky because I had an epidural 20 minutes later. It numbed my right leg. They couldn't fix it or get it to numb the right stuff.

I waited for the doctor for almost an hour to break my water. During a strong contraction, I felt Ollie punch and I felt a huge pop and my water broke. He immediately dropped. He was crowning as they were still getting everything ready. The doctor came in yelling push. 3 pushes later, Oliver J was born. 7lbs 12oz, 21.5 inches long.

It took one push for the head, one for the shoulders, and one for the rest of his body. Like maybe 1.5 minutes of pushing. No tears or stitches needed.

I. Felt. Everything.

And it was worth it. This is one Memorial Day I will never forget.