Amazing!

Around the middle of my pregnancy I stopped telling people that I wanted a natural birth. I was tired of hearing that I was naive or that I was not going to be able to do it. It was what I wanted so badly that hearing other people's opinions hurt me. So, my husband and I listened to our Hypnobirthing CDs every night, and held each other as we waited for our baby. About two weeks before my due date I started have Braxton-Hicks contractions. I knew that it was not real labor, so I tired to ignore them so that I would not over excite my already very excited husband. On July 1st I had Braxton-Hicks contractions all day, and they were coming every 15 minutes. I knew that my time was getting very close. I went to sleep that night ready to rest up. Around 3:00am I awoke to a contraction that was unlike any that I had before. I told Trey that I was in labor, and then went back to sleep. He was not able to go back to sleep, so he showered and cleaned the house while I slept until the next contraction woke me up almost an hour later. I woke up and went to rest in the tub for a while. As the contractions kept coming I felt really comfortable in the tub. I stayed there until my mom showed up around 6:00am. My mom and husband worked hard to make sure that I stayed hydrated while I worked on my labor. I just peacefully walked around my house for a while. Then I took a very long shower. All the while I was having contractions that came about every five minutes. After the shower I felt very tired, and I knew that I was going to need to go to the hospital soon. So, I lay down and the contractions spaced out. This gave me the chance to get a little rest. All of a sudden I had three contractions that came really close together, and I knew that I needed to get to the hospital, so I could get settled there. When the nurse at the hospital checked my cervix she seemed surprised to report that I was 9 cms dilated! I knew that I could do it now, and felt a huge surge of energy! By the time I got settled into my room I really felt the urge to push, and surprisingly my nurse was letting me walk around. I felt my water break while I was on the toilet. I took a couple of steps towards the bed and squatted onto the floor. This was when I saw that my suspicions were true, and there was very thick meconium in the amniotic fluid. I had already sensed that this had happened earlier, and calmly reported it to the nurse. At this point I was really ready to push. I climbed into the bed that was offered to me. The urge was not too intense with the first couple of pushes. Then all of a sudden my body felt very powerful, and I gave it everything I had, and my baby was born. As the midwife took her to the neonatologist to be examined because of the meconium, I exclaimed breathlessly, "That was amazing!" It really was amazing. I felt in control and powerful throughout the experience. I also felt in touch with my baby throughout the whole experience. Heather