Labor and Delivery ~ the short version (really)

I woke up on Wednesday, January 21 and I knew I was in early labor. I didn't know how long it would last, but I knew it had started. I had a hint on Monday that I was going to have this baby soon because my mood dramatically changed and I just felt "off" like something was changing. I have been so in tune with my body that I knew this feeling meant something. K left for work super super early since he and some folks he works with had to drive 4 hours to a vendor in South Dakota. I told him to leave his phone on but didn't say much else. I did call him around 8 and told him that something was up and that I was maybe in labor but to keep his phone on so I could call him if things changed. He was going to be home that nite anyway so I wasn't too concerned. I also called our midwife to let her know what was up. Now, since this is my first pregnancy I had nothing to base all these feelings on but my instinct. (turns out my instincts are good!) I worked all morning and left around noon telling my boss I wasn't sure how I was feeling...I tried calling K again, because I *knew* that I was in labor now. I was not able to get thru to K, it took an hour and some help from his friend and co-worker Rob in tracking down other colleagues he was with and the facility they were touring. It was close to 1 and I told him to fast track it home, this was labor and it was REAL and progressing. I also called our dear friend Val in Iowa because we had planned on her coming up for the birth to assist. I had thought I would go to my chiropractor to get adjusted to be sure my body was in the right alignment to have the most optimal labor possible. I just couldn't drive there by this point, too much labor discomfort to focus on driving. I called my chiropractor, Dr. Pam and told her what was up and about K. She ended up calling me back saying she had found a colleague to cover her clinic for the afternoon and she CAME TO MY HOUSE!!!!!! During this time our midwife's hubby delivered and was setting up the birthing pool at our house. I was making the bed with drop cloths and put a roast in the crockpot so our labor team and Kyle could eat. It's 2pm and things were picking up. I was fighting labor because I knew it would go fast and I wanted K HERE! Dr. Pam was timing my contractions, I was in the labor pool by 3pm and our midwife had been in contact with us. I was still missing my hubby and fighting this labor. By 5:30 pm K was home and I was still in the birthing pool. He changed into swim trunks and hopped in the pool to rub my back. Now I could relax and get into labor. Ahhhh...now I lost track of time, who was in my house and who was not and all the details. I ended up moving around the house a little, was in the "zone" but never felt like I was going to die or wanting drugs, sure parts hurt, but it wasn't unbearable. I just focused on relaxing and visualizing opening up to have this little one. My water wouldn't break so I asked our midwife to do it. She did, I got back in the pool and with 45-50 minutes of pushing (which went really fast! I thought it was more like 10 minutes) little G-Man was born in the water. I held him to my chest and just beamed! Finally someone asked if it was a boy or a girl! I looked and announced to the room that it was a boy! It was the most beautiful labor, in a peaceful loving setting and as our midwife left in the dark of the early morning, I told her that I loved my labor and that I would "so do this again!" Ya, that's the short version!