Emily and her husband looked forward to meeting their fourth baby. Life was busy and was about to get busier, and Emily did what she could to prepare for a healthy, smooth delivery.

All of her previous babies had been sunny-side-up or on their side up until labor. Emily’s midwife had gotten them all to turn during the process, but as a result Emily had had a good bit of back labor.

She didn’t want that to happen this time around, and so she worked ahead of time to get the baby into the right position. She would lean on the counter and tuck in her tailbone. She would lay on the floor and put her legs on the couch, and she took a herbal tincture to aid dilation and milk production.

It was 10 PM on a Sunday. Emily was 5 days overdue, and she had her first contraction. They came every 10 minutes and were very mild, so much so that Emily wasn’t sure they were even the real thing. She was able to sleep for an hour before they were too strong to ignore.

They continued to come every 10 minutes till about 2 or 3 AM, and Emily wasn’t able to sleep again. She eventually got up, and suddenly, her contractions went from 10 minutes apart to 2-3 minutes apart.

She began packing her hospital bag and called her mother-in-law who was going to come watch the kids.

At 4 AM, she and her husband headed to the hospital. Contractions stayed about 2-3 minutes apart. Emily thinks she may have experienced “transition” in the car.

When they arrived at the hospital, Emily was about 7 cm dilated. Contractions were now about 1 minute apart. The midwife met them there. Emily got some bloodwork done just in case she needed an epidural, and she received some laughing gas.

She was able to go in the shower for an hour which felt really good, so much so that she didn’t need the laughing gas anymore. Contractions continued to come about every minute, and she had a little break in between each one. It was never overwhelming, and she was able to continue to tell herself things and breathe throughout.

After observing everything that was going on, the midwife suggested breaking Emily’s water. She did. Emily got back onto the bed, and after the next contraction, in a spray of amniotic fluid that showered both her husband and midwife, the baby was out! Emily didn’t even have to push.

At 6:30 AM, the baby was born.

The baby was whisked away to get get some water suctioned out.

This was Emily’s shortest labor, and it went really smoothly. She believes her preparation made a big difference.

When asked what advice she’d give to an unexpecting Mama who might feel nervous about birth, Emily said to not hold expectations too tightly. Someone can have a healthy baby 1000 different ways. There should be a balance between being prepared or educated and holding expectations of how birth will go loosely. Emily said not to be too specific in how you want it to go, because it probably won’t turn out exactly like you think.