My water broke at 11:30 p.m. My plan was to labor at home as long as possible so we waited to call Aimée until contractions had started in full force. That only took about an hour. Contractions were never less than 6 minutes apart and a minute long. After a call to Aimée, we decided to wait a little longer.

About another hour later, not only were contractions coming about every three minutes and lasting about two minutes, I was involuntarily pushing. Another call to Aimée meant she was on her way to our house to check me. And I was glad she did! About 2.5 hours after my water broke, I was 10 centimeters dilated and baby’s head was on its way. Time to get to the hospital!

After what seemed like the longest drive of my life (really only about 15 minutes) Aimée wheeled me in at full speed and into a delivery room. 40 minutes of pushing later, our son was born.

My husband, Aimée, and the labor and delivery nurses at Alta Bates made this a birth experience to remember. I felt supported, strong, and listened to. I realized the importance of listening to my body and trusting it to do something it was made to do.