From the first time I heard my due date, I could have sworn that this baby would be born on August 1st. Elliette was born on May 1st and I loved the idea that they would both be born on the 1st of the month. Turns out I was wrong.

On the morning of the July 31st, I woke up and just knew that I had been wrong for the last 9 months, this baby was going to have her birthday today. My parents were watching Ellie that day and even though I had some work to finish up and some minor projects still on my to-do list, I scratched all of it and decided to just relax and take the day off. I slept in, lazily drank coffee while completely zoning out, went to a morning pre-natal yoga class and followed that up with a long nap. 

Life was good. 

I was ready to meet my baby girl. 

Around 3pm the contractions started.

They came and went. But nothing major was happening so I just lightly labored by myself for an hour. I didn’t tell my hubby. I wanted to be in my happy place all by myself for just a little longer. 

Plus, I didn’t want him freaking out and rushing to the hospital. One of my biggest fears with this delivery was that I wasn’t going to make it to the hospital in time to deliver [clift notes of my first delivery – 6 hours from first contrition to birth. Got to hospital and was already dilated to 10cm and I was only there for 45 minutes before I delivered baby Ellie. It was fast and furious. I didn’t even check in with hospital or sign any paperwork, I just got to room and pushed out a baby. No drugs. No IV. No paperwork!]. We assumed this delivery would be along the same lines. Again, we were wrong. 

I finally told my husband that I was in labor and that my contractions were roughly 6 minutes apart and lasted for 1 minute. He called the hospital while I continued to labor in a very zen way at home. It was peaceful and calm. 

We got to the hospital, checked in and of course my contractions stalled. They measured me and I was only 4cm dilated. They almost sent me home! But after looking at the notes from my first birth, they checked me in and found me a room. It was now around 7pm. 

After getting to my room, I took the hottest shower I could stand and got into my zen like mind frame. I was determined to deliver this baby natural as well, so I knew I had to get my mind in the right place. I looked inward and breathed. And breathed some more. I forgot about the outside world. Around 9:30pm they came and checked me again – only 6.5cm dilated. I was crushed. I felt like this was taking way too long. My contractions at that point were getting closer and closer together but nothing that I couldn’t handle. It was almost boring how slow this delivery was compared to my first one.

Then something changed. 

It was like a light switch was flipped. 

In the matter of minutes I went from calm and being able to breath through my contractions, to not being present and not in charge of my own body. I was no longer calm. I no longer wanted to do this naturally. This shit was beginning to hurt. What was I thinking. I began to question my sanity for putting myself through this yet again. 

At 9:47 I made the doctor come back and measure me again. I know they thought I was being crazy, but I felt like bearing down and pushing the baby out. My contractions were about every 20 seconds and lasted for well over a minute. During the 20 seconds I was not in extreme pain, the pressure from my water and the babies head was almost too much to bear.

I measured at a 9.5. 

At that news I almost fainted, 3cm in just over 15 minutes. No wonder I felt like I was going to rip apart. But I was extactic because this meant that I was almost done! 

I asked if the doctor if she could break my water because the pressure down there was so great I could not handle it any longer. 

She broke my water.

It felt amazing. 

Then another contraction came and I just started pushing. 

Panic mode hit the delivery room as the doctor and nurses scrambled to get ready for my baby. 

The pain was real. I was scared that I wasn’t going to be able to do it. I grabbed my husband hand and pulled his head to mine and I pushed until I thought I would collapse. Just when I felt I couldn’t take anything else. I felt her head pop out and then then rest of her body. For a good minute, all I could think about was how the pain was suddenly gone. GONE! Just like that! It was such a relief that I started to cry and then it hit me, my baby was born. I looked down and there she was, after only 4 minutes of pushing there was my sweet baby girl. Born at 10pm on the dot, weighing 8 pounds and 6 ounces. 

All of the emotions of the day hit me as I stared at my beautiful naked baby that was laying on my chest. I cried and laughed and revisited every detail of the last 7 hours to my husband who of course was there the whole time. I told everyone in the room over and over again about how much that hurt and how I felt like I just did a marathon where I walked for the first 6 and a half hours and then sprinted at top olympic speed for the last 30 minutes.

They were all shocked that I delivered naturally.

They were proud of me.

I was proud of myself.

I kissed my new baby a zillion times and marveled at just how small she was. 

There she was, the one that I had been waiting to meet, love and hold for the last nine months – Parker Francine Peterson or as we have been lovingly calling her for months now, Baby Frankie.