It all started out on February 20 when I started having false labor. We were 300 miles from home, and my husband and I weren't planning on going home until the 22nd. I dealt with the pain better than I thought I would. I knew that it wasn't time because they weren't regular, every hour or so.

That lasted till the 24th. At about 9 that night they were about seven minutes apart and very painful. So I thought that it was time to go to the hospital. When we got there and got all settled in they came in to check to see where I was dilated to, and it was 4 centimeters. They said that they were going to give it an hour to see if I dilated more or the contractions got closer together. They didn't, so I was sent home with a sleeping pill.

The nurse said that I should take the sleeping pill to help me get some rest before the real pain started. Plus, that might also relax me enough to help progress labor more. When I got home I took the pill and fell asleep at about 10:30 p.m. Then at about 1:30 in the morning I woke up with the real pain. The contractions were about three minutes apart. So we went back to the hospital.

They hooked me up and told me that I could stay. I chose to have an epidural. When I got that the baby's heart rate dropped with every contraction and so did my blood pressure. Thank God it was just an effect of the epidural.

I was in labor like that until about 7 a.m. That is when the pushing started. And I pushed until 9:30 a.m. That is when he was almost out and the doctor realized that he was sideways. So they got the vacuum out and I had to be cut. But thank God everything worked out OK. He was a healthy 8-pound baby boy, John William. I couldn't have been happier. Don't know if I could do it again. But if I do it will be a few years from now