I found out that I was pregnant with my fifth baby one month after my youngest, the twins, started kindergarten and it was quite a surprise. I was very nervous that it might be another set of twins.

I began to look for a birth center right away because I knew that I did not want another hospital birth. At 10 weeks my husband and I took a tour of The Austin Area Birth Center and knew that this was where we wanted our baby to be born.

At 12 weeks we had an ultrasound that showed only one baby, yay! After that my biggest problem was terrible morning sickness that lasted seven months. I actually lost 25 pounds before it ended.

Then at 32 weeks we found out that the baby was breech and we couldn't try a version because of my Cesarean section scar from the twins.

I went home and spent the next two weeks with my bottom propped up with pillows. Luckily it worked and we were all ready for our natural birth.

I had an appointment at 37 1/2 weeks and found out that I was 3 centimeters dilated and also that my blood pressure was a little high. That night I took two doses of castor oil and walked around for a couple of hours. At 11 p.m. nothing was happening so I went to bed.

At 4 a.m. I woke up feeling pressure that was different than the Braxton Hicks contractions I had been having for weeks. I started timing the contractions and found that they were about five minutes apart and pretty mild. Since this was my fourth pregnancy I assumed that things would move quickly, so I woke my husband and called the birth center. We gathered our stuff and left to make the 45-minute drive into Austin to the birth center.

Once we got settled into our room and the midwife checked me out the contractions had stopped. My husband and I tried nipple stimulation but ended up laughing because we felt silly, so the midwife suggested the breast pump. After about an hour on the pump the contractions started back up and were seven minutes apart. I took another dose of castor oil and walked around outside for another hour swaying during contractions. I was still only 4 centimeters dilated.

At around noon the midwife said that if I wanted to she could break my water to get things moving along a little faster. I agreed and she broke my water and we were all amazed by the amount of fluid that came out. I felt so relieved by the release of pressure. I walked around for a couple of hours and then spent another hour on the breast pump.

At 4 p.m. I was finally in active labor. Every time a contraction began I jumped up off of the bed and slow danced with my husband. It was wonderful to have him hold me up while we swayed gently back and forth.

At 6 p.m. my mother arrived with my twins, whom I wanted at the birth, and my husband went to get some food for all of us. The thing that really proved the difference between a hospital and the birth center was that I was allowed to eat a cheeseburger in labor. When I had my son at the hospital they wouldn't even let me have anything to drink. I really appreciated that the midwives trusted me to know what I needed rather than insisting that they knew best.

After having the twins there for a couple of hours I realized that they were too much of a distraction so we sent them off with our cousin. She took them to Chuck-E-Cheese so they had more fun with her anyway.

Once the twins left I threw up and said some really bad words, then got into the shower and discovered that vocalizing through the contractions really helped me cope. We must have looked pretty silly, swaying in the shower, me naked and my husband fully dressed with me moaning through each contraction. But it worked for us.

At about 9 p.m. I finally got into the tub and was soothed by the warm water. It didn't really make the contractions hurt any less but it helped me relax between them. I labored in the tub for about an hour and then the midwife told me that I had a lip of cervix and to stop pushing while she tried to push it out of the way. I distinctly remember screaming, "I have to push; I can't help it." My mother crouched down right in front of my face and told me to breathe with her, which really helped a lot.

At about 10:30 p.m. the midwife had me get out of the tub so that she could more easily see what was going on (she later told me that she thought my C-section scar might be rupturing). I tried standing up, then I tried lying down, but nothing was helping to move the baby down. Finally the midwife brought out the birthing stool and had my husband sit behind me to prop me up.

After just a couple more pushes little Lily was born at 10:57 p.m. The midwife handed her right to me and I just cried and said, "Oh, my baby, my baby!" My mother cut the cord and my husband jumped up to play "We Are the Champions" by Queen on our laptop, which made me laugh.

The placenta did not want to come out right away so I got a shot of Pitocin to move it along and it finally came out about 20 minutes after the baby.

I got all settled into the bed and started nursing Lily. My husband got into bed with us and we had a little nap. I woke up about 45 minutes later and realized that I was lying in a puddle of blood. I called the midwife into the room and she massaged my uterus and gave me another shot of Pitocin and then a little while later some misoprostol. Finally the bleeding stopped and I was able to get some sleep.

At 3 a.m. I woke up and the midwife's assistant helped me take a shower, which was wonderful. It felt so good to be clean. One thing that stands out in my mind is that the midwife's assistant had an ammonia capsule taped to her shirt so that if I started to faint (because of the blood loss) she had it right there. Then I had something to eat and went back to bed.

At 6 a.m. I woke up and nursed Lily and the midwife's assistant helped me give her a bath. Right after I noticed that my husband was running a fever. He had the flu. At 7 a.m., just eight hours after giving birth, we loaded everything up in the car and headed home.

My husband went to bed and stayed there for four days, but luckily my mother was there to help me.

Of all of my deliveries this was the easiest one to recover from. I had no episiotomy, no tear and within three days I felt great.

Lily Emmerline Mellor
Born May 28
6 pounds, 9 ounces
19 1/2 inches