Fashionably late: The birth of Felicity Lenore

This was my third baby—and our first girl! My due date was January 29, but at the beginning of my pregnancy I hoped she would wait until the beginning of February because my family has a lot of January birthdays already. I know it’s crazy to hope to go over your due date, but I really wanted to—at least at the beginning. Then the farther along I got I realized I wished she’d come early because I was hurting all the time.
People weren’t kidding when they said the third was the hardest on their bodies! At 35 weeks I was dilated to 1 cm. Having done everything to induce labor with my second child, which did not help because he came a week late, I decided to just let it happen naturally. Because this pregnancy was terrible on my body and I was sore all over, the less movement for me the better! So the weeks roll by, and still no signs of labor.

Finally on Monday, January 25, I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and felt a contraction. I was so excited that I even woke my husband to let him know. I stayed awake for about an hour, timing them and seeing how painful they were, which they were just at an uncomfortable point then. I figured today was the day, so I went back to sleep knowing how exhausting it is to be in labor. I wanted to be as well rested as I could be for when that time came.
I woke back up at 7 a.m. because I needed to take my oldest to school, and I was still contracting. They were still just uncomfortable—but coming every five minutes. I was texting with my mom and sister who live in different states hoping that today was it. I had even gotten ahold of my cousin who was going to be the one to watch my boys while we were at the hospital.
As the day went on, my contractions started to come every three to five minutes and had gotten more painful just like I remembered with my second. My appointment time rolled around, and I was still contracting and in some pain. I told my doctor, she checked me, and I was still only at 1 cm. But my cervix had thinned, so she told me whatever is going on is working and said to go home and rest. She told me if I could actually get to sleep then it probably wasn’t real labor yet—but I knew what real labor felt like, and I was positive this was it. We went home, and it was around 8 a.m. I decided she was probably going to come early the next morning, so I wanted to rest.
My cousin even came over to stay the night just in case. Eventually I was able to get to sleep, and when I woke up, no more contractions. I was very upset and disappointed, but I knew babies come when they want. She just wasn’t ready yet. I felt a little unsure if the next time that it happened I would be able to tell the difference between real and false labor. I was seriously doubting myself and was nervous I wouldn’t get to the hospital in time when it did happen because I was second guessing myself.
So the days rolled by, and I was still hoping she’d come earlier than my due date. I just wanted to be done. My due date came and went, and I was still waiting. The 31st comes, and I realized I started feeling contractions again around 2 in the afternoon. I was still hesitant about believing it could be the real thing, but I was praying it was for sure!
I started timing them, and they weren’t too painful but consistent every three to seven minutes and lasting a little longer. At bedtime I remembered that if I could get to sleep it wasn’t time. I went to bed at 9:45 p.m. and was woken up at 10:40 p.m. with a terrible contraction. I sat up and realized after the second one that this was it. It was time to go to the hospital. I woke up my husband and contacted my cousin to head our way.
It took her about 20 minutes to get to my house, and by then I was in so much pain I was already on my way to wait in the car as she pulled up. We live about 15 minutes from the hospital, and the whole time my contractions were coming every two minutes. I was thinking I was at at least 6 cm.

Finally pulling up to the hospital at 11:48 p.m. my husband dropped me off at the front, so he could park the car. Dreading that walk in with my contractions I tried to hurry before another one hit, but I wasn’t that lucky. Finally in a wheelchair, I was praying the anesthesiologist was there because I wanted to rest a little bit before she arrived, and I didn’t want to have her without an epidural.
I got undressed as quickly as I could, wanting to just get in the bed before another contraction hit. The nurse came in and checked me, and I was so surprised to hear that I was already between an 8 and 9 cm. She was coming quick, and I had no time to get an epidural. I was terrified because I had never delivered without it before.
My doctor got there, and the room was all prepped for her arrival. Finally it was time to push, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought (without the epidural). Everything happened more naturally without it in my opinion. 
After only being at the hospital for 25 minutes, our beautiful Felicity Lenore arrived at 12:15 a.m. on February 1! I joke that she must’ve heard me at the beginning of my pregnancy asking her to wait until February to arrive—and she did! We couldn’t be happier with the new addition to our family, the final piece to our puzzle.

Send us your birth story! Whether you had a home birth, hospital birth, 37-hour labor or emergency C-section, we’d love to read the tale of your little one’s grand entrance. Write up your birth story (click here for tips on getting started) and email it, along with a few photos, to birthstory@pnmag.com. We’ll share it on our Birth Day blog and may even print it in an upcoming issue!