My due date was Wednesday, April 21. It came and went, but I had been having cramps for a week or so and I knew it wouldn't be long.

On Sunday, April 25, I woke up and noticed I had been spotting. I took a shower and then told my husband that I thought today was the day. I asked him to help me clean the house so it would be nice and clean when we brought the baby home. I started timing my contractions around 11 a.m. They were about five minutes apart but not very strong. Around 3 p.m. I decided it was time to go to the hospital because the contractions had been two minutes apart for over an hour.

We got to the hospital, and they hooked up the monitor and checked to see how far dilated I was. I was 3 centimeters, which I had been at my doctor's appointment the Thursday before.

They called the doctor on call, and he said it was probably false labor since I hadn't dilated any further. They told me to go home and call my doctor on Monday and maybe she would induce me.

On the way home the contractions continued to get stronger. I tried to take a nap, but they were too strong to sleep through. My husband called the hospital and told them the pain was getting worse. They told him to have me take a warm bath. The bath was relaxing.

I got out of the tub and watched Extreme Makeover Home Edition. (I sat on the floor and leaned on a toy box; that was the only comfortable position.) I told my husband that after the show was over we were going back to the hospital because I knew it wasn't false labor. We finished watching the show, and my husband called the hospital and told them we were on our way back.

We got there about 8:30 p.m., and I was dilated to 5. They checked the heartbeat and then let me sit in the hot tub. The hot tub was very relaxing and helped with the pain. I knew I didn't want an epidural and hoped I could make it without any pain medication, so the hot tub was a relief. The nurse came in every half hour to listen to the heartbeat.

Around 10:45 p.m. I decided to go back to my room because I was starting to feel sick. When I got back to my room the nurse checked and I was dilated to 8! Then I started throwing up. The pain just kept getting worse, and finally around 11:30 p.m. I asked for a shot of Nubain. The Nubain helped me relax for a few contractions, but suddenly my water broke. Then the pain was so unbearable! I threw up again.

The nurse checked, and I was almost completely dilated. I had the urge to push, but the nurse told me I had to wait for the doctor. They called the doctor at home, and although he lived close, it felt like the longest 10 minutes of my life! The surgical tech and my husband were watching out the window, and finally they saw the doctor's car pull up.

As soon as he was in the room they let me push. I don't remember much of the pushing stage. I remember everyone encouraging me to push and my husband telling me I was doing a good job and that he could see the baby's hair. I just kept my eyes closed and pushed like hell!

At 12:32 a.m., after only 12 minutes of pushing, our beautiful baby girl was born! The doctor put her on my stomach, and my husband cut the cord. They suctioned out her mouth, bundled her all up and gave her to my husband.

I will never forget that day. I can't imagine sharing such a wonderful experience with anyone but my husband. He was so patient and loving the entire time. I will never forget the look on his face as he held our daughter, and I will never forget the overwhelming feeling of love I had for them both at that moment