I am a big fan of birth stories, so I figured I would share mine. I was due on November 26, and though I always thought I would be early (I measured big for my dates) I wasn't!

By December I was thinking she would never come. I had a doctor's appointment on December 1 (Monday) in the afternoon. I thought I had been having contractions throughout the day(and was hoping I was at 5 days overdue). However it was so hard to tell because I had been having prelabor for three weeks by this point. I thought they were just very hard Braxton Hicks and that they would go away, but they stayed throughout the day at about an hour apart.

I went to my appointment and got the doctor to check me. I hadn't dilated any and my cervix was in a very unfavorable condition. So she scheduled me for an induction for the morning of December 3, though I was hoping I would have a baby by then.

So slightly disappointed, I went home and hoped for a baby to come. My mom thought maybe the baby just needed one more steak dinner and she'd be ready. So we got all the fixings for a feast, and went home and made an amazing dinner.

At about 11 o'clock I was getting ready for bed and decided to wind down on the computer because everyone else was already in bed. Then it hit, one really bad contraction. I figured it was time for bed! It had been a long day. So I snuggled into bed for what I hoped would be a great night's sleep.

But I couldn't sleep. I was still having what I thought was strong Braxton Hicks contractions. However, they seemed to be coming a lot sooner than in the day so I figured I'd lie in bed and time them for a bit. First they were every 30 minutes and then every 15. Before I knew if I had been in bed for two hours and they were still keeping me awake. I figured it was time to wake Daddy and get him to really time them for a while and see where we were at.

Two hours later we were at five minutes apart, and I was getting excited I knew this was it. I made it until about 6 a.m. and they were getting really strong and had been five minutes apart for a few hours. I figured we would go to the hospital and get checked to see how much progress we had made.

I was 2 centimeters but still my cervix was in a very unfavorable position. They gave me a shot of morphine and sent me home to sleep since it had already been 24 hours that I had been awake! So we went home and Morgan made a bed for me on the living room floor and I lay and watched TV and snoozed till early afternoon with contractions about 30 minutes apart again.

By late afternoon I figured I'd go for a walk to get labor moving. So off we went around the block a few times but it didn't seem to speed it up at all. We were still at about 30 minutes apart! After that we figured we'd go to Wal-Mart and get some of the last few things we needed, and stop for some lunch on the way. By the time we got to Wal-Mart I needed the cart just to lean on during the contractions because they were getting really strong. Needless to say I made it through the last-minute shopping trip and we headed home, back to my comfy little bed in the living room. We were back in business with regular contractions.

By about 11:30 p.m. I couldn't take it anymore. I was in too much pain to stay home any longer. Off to the hospital we went, where they checked me and I was 4 centimeters, 100 percent effaced! We all figured it would be no time until that baby was here, because it had been 24 hours already!

I was admitted and tried to take a shower but I couldn't take it anymore; I preferred the bed! So about an hour after, they checked me again and I was 5 centimeters! However, by then I was in active labor, contractions 90 seconds long, every two minutes. They gave me another shot of morphine and set me up with the laughing gas and I was good to go!

After an hour or so they broke my water to help the remainder of labor along, but by 5 a.m. I was still only 5 centimeters, so they set me up on some oxytocin to see if they could get me dilating effectively. The doctor suggested an epidural then because my contractions were going to get much more painful, but the nurse knew I didn't want one so she talked me out of it! We agreed she would give me fentanyl and let me keep the gas.

By 8 a.m. I was 9 centimeters with a lip, all out of fentanyl and my nurse was going home! Of course I got three new nurses, and a student nurse. By this point I was screaming for more drugs. All of a sudden I wanted an epidural, and stupidity had descended on me. They had the student check me and she couldn't tell how far dilated I was, so then she got a flashlight and still couldn't tell. So then one other nurse tried, couldn't tell, then another couldn't tell! So they had the doctor come and check and she was able to figure it out and push the lip back. All along I was having contractions one on top of the other and it was close to 9 a.m.

They said it was time to push. I refused. I was telling them I couldn't do it, I wouldn't do it. They had to give me an epidural, they just had to! But who was I kidding? I was fully dilated. They were taking away the gas and I was going to push.

After who knows how long of refusing to push the doctor said, "If you don't push I will have to get a vacuum." That was it. Something wicked came over me, and I had all the determination in the world to get that baby out!

And by 9:34 a.m. on December 3 (Wednesday) after less than half an hour pushing and 35 hours of labor, my beautiful baby girl was born weighing 9 pounds, 1 ounce! She came out perfectly pink and crying and I got to hold her right away!

Then it came time for stitching, so they took her away to clean her off and everything, but all I could do was stare at her across the room. I had some pretty bad tearing and needed a lot of stitches but I was able to have my friend the gas back so I was happy! Of course all the tearing left some not so lovely effects during the recovery time, but by eight weeks I was pretty much fully recovered!

Eventually when they were done I got my baby girl back and was able to hold and nurse her within the first 30 minutes. I had delivered on the morning of my scheduled induction! The most amazing moment of my life had come and passed, and I couldn't have been happier, hungrier or more tired!