If you have had a photo session with me recently or if you follow my blog you would have known I was pregnant. 9 months flew by and I am now a Mummy.

My birth went exactly to plan, I could not have been more happier with it. (my plan)  I am 100% sure that my positive attitude about pain, my husband, my doula and the awesome staff at Landsthul Regional Medical Hospital and listening to a hypnotherapy birth CD every day for the last few weeks of my pregnancy equated to my awesome labour and delivery!

Most of my birth pictures show me smiling though the pushing stage!

I am a first time Mum, I was fully expecting my labour to last a looooong time, I prepared different activities that would help keep my mind off the pain. I think I had a couple of contractions- really mild Thursday March 1st, and a couple more in the afternoon. I actually thought they were braxton hicks contractions as I had not had any up to this point.

I was super hungry and craving steak so I asked my husband to get steak from the commissary so we could cook out on our grill. I made mashed potatoes and veggies during this time I had four or five contractions, they didn’t hurt and I was pretty sure I was either going into very early labour or it was false labour, I was not to worried about timing them.

We served up dinner and started watching House (love that show) my husband – Will said I should time my contractions as during dinner I was noticing some regular contractions. It was 8pm. My contractions in one hour ranged from 15 minutes apart to 5 minutes apart. I still thought this was not real labour as my contractions were so varied.

Around 10pm I had a bath, Will at this point was saying he should pack the car, I told him not to be silly, If (and that was a BIG if) I was in labour I would have hours and hours until we needed to go to the hospital. I did not want to go to the hospital and be stuck there though most of my labour.  While in the bath tub I had one strong contraction that lasted 30 seconds and I had to concentrate on not thinking about the pain, the contractions were still really random, none of them lasted a long time, there was no reason for me to think I would need to go to hospital.

After my bath at my husbands request, I called labour and delivery, the contractions were more intense, still random, they ranged from 10 minutes to 3 minutes apart and I could still talk through them, I was using my birthing ball at this point to lean on to make my self more comfortable. I called Leah my doula to let her know what was going on and she said she would head to my house and I called labour and delivery.

Will made me sit on a blanket incase my water broke, I told him not to be silly, so I was leaning on my ball with a blanket under me talking to labour and delivery, talking though my contractions and    they told me, that I could have hours still to go. As the nurse was telling me if my contractions get closer together or if my water breaks, I should call back, I was in the process of telling her I did not plan on coming to the hospital until labour was progressing and my water breaks, there was a POP, and my water broke, I burst out laughing and I am pretty sure the nurse thought I was crazy. She told me I could shower and then make our way to the hospital.

We live about 20 minutes away from the hospital and it was a really foggy night. My poor husband wanted to drive 100mph was restricted by me telling him to drive slowly in the fog. while we were in the car my contractions became very regular and were 2 minutes apart, they felt different to the contractions I had been having (I now know the new feeling was my body naturally pushing) I chose NOT to tell my husband how close together the contractions were.

We got to the hospital, and I was still talking though contractions. It was a BIG surprise when the nurse checked and said… You are ready to push!!! We had only been at the hospital for five minutes, and I think the staff were quite surprised that I was ready. Suddenly it was all go, I was having monitors strapped to me, I was poked with needles (lots of times because my veins were not cooperating, I think every nurse had an attempt at sticking me!)

Two hours after arriving at the hospital (six hours after I started timing contractions) and a crazy itunes play list later on March 2nd 2012 I gave birth to a healthy 7lb 7oz baby boy. We named him Robert Alan.