A and T started care with me in the first trimester of their second pregnancy.  A’s first birth was a hospital induction and she was wanting a better experience. In the last few days before A’s due date, contractions began to pick up and come on more regularly.  Prodromal labor was in high gear! On her due date, the contractions she began feeling changed.  They were coming about every 4-5 minutes, lasting 45-50 seconds for most of the day.  A came over that evening for an assessment.  She was 3cm dilated, 80% effaced and baby at a -1 station.  I felt scar tissue on the cervix and worked on it to help loosen it.  A and T left, and I really thought I would hear from her in the night. Over the next two days, the pattern kept varying from every 4-10 minutes, sometimes mild.  By the end of Sunday evening, A was getting tired of the latent phase. We talked over some different options to help get labor going and to help relax things.  A had an appointment with me the next morning, so we would see what was going on in then. Early the next morning of May 11, A woke up with contractions that felt different.  A asked me to come at 4am when contractions were coming every 6 minutes, lasting over a minute long and strong. I arrived around 545am and found A rocking on her birth ball.  Contractions seemed to be coming every 5 minutes, lasting 70 seconds long.  Definitely much stronger than the ones I observed her having on Friday evening. I encouraged A to move around the house a little, and do the captain morgan position and rock those hips to see if we could get things moving a little more. A hadn’t eaten in awhile, so she decided she wanted to eat some eggs.  However, she said no one could make them for her the way she likes, so she worked on her eggs, stopped to breathe and focus every couple of minutes.  She ate her eggs and drank a glass of raw milk, since the raw milk helps the labor pains we have all heard. A moved back to her ball after eating, rocking her hips.  As 7am neared, I asked A if I could do an exam.  Before I did the exam, A and I discussed a membrane sweep if she was still early in labor.  A agreed if needed.  It was definitely not needed!  A was 6cm dilated, 100% effaced and baby at a 0 station. I stepped out to grab some breakfast while A labored with her doula.  T got the birth pool set up. I arrived back soon and found A’s contractions to be much closer, and the birth pool filling.  I joked that I wasn’t sure it was needed yet, and A told me oh yes it was time. As 9am neared, A’s contractions were coming every 3 minutes, lasting 90 seconds.  The birth pool was still filling, so A stood in the shower to labor for a few minutes. 9:12 the pool was ready and so was A.  She immediately got in to the birth pool in a kneeling position.  I worked around finishing to set up the last few things for delivery.  I figured we would be having a baby in an hour or two. At 9:24, A exclaimed her water broke.  Immediately she began feeling pressure.  I found A to be 10cm, and baby at a +2.  A couple minutes later, A began to spontaneously push with contractions. Things moved quite quickly from there.  Soon the head was crowning at 931, followed by the birth of the head a minute later.  Then we kind of hung out there.  The baby wouldn’t budge.  I was about to tell A I would need her to stand up, when she shifted her bottom and the anterior shoulder released and I felt that the baby was wrapped quite tightly in her cord.  The rest of the baby soon followed.  A little bit of oxygen and baby girl was perfect in no time. Welcome to the world sweet Jane, born earthside on May 11, 2015 at 933am, weighing in at 7lbs 14ozs, 19″ long.  It was a pleasure being part of this journey with this amazing family.