Tzipora Sara was born at 5:13am on 12/30/10. She weighs 6lbs 7oz and is 20 inches long.

After having the "real fake" contractions all day on the 29th, I was getting annoyed and discouraged that it was going to go on forever. So, I convinced my hubby that he needed to help me get things started (and I'll leave the rest to your imagination there.) I passed my mucus plug/bloody show around 11pm after the hubby and I, well you know. Then I was up for a bit being semi-excited that I had even passed the mucus plug. I finally laid down for bed a little before 1am and was having slightly more regular and painful contractions when I was laying down. Then, around 1:15am, my water broke. It was just like everyone had said. I felt/heard a "pop", knew exactly what it was and jumped up for the bathroom. lol I woke up the hubby by accident because I banged the bedroom door on my way to the toilet. I had a bit of fluid leakage, so it just confirmed that it was my water, and then I went to wake up Shmuel and tell him to get ready. We still had a few things we needed to finish packing, so that took us time. As for labor, well, good L-rd ladies...that was it. Having my water break caused contractions to come fast and furious!!! Every 2-3 minutes and they hurt like nobody's business. Because I was contracting so much and we were still packing the last few things into the bag (and the car), we didn't actually get to the hospital until around 2:15am. Then it took time for us to get up to triage and get everything hooked up, so my midwife didn't come in to check me until nearly 3am. And yes, I had my favorite midwife!!!!!!!!! I was 4cm dilated and fully effaced, but she said that the ferocity of my contractions probably meant it wouldn't be a long haul...and boy was she right. I got into my room probably around 3:15 or so and *really* wanted to try getting into the tub. I was willing to do nearly anything to get the pain to lessen up. Unfortunately the tub did nothing... So we got out and I tried a few other positions...nope, still writhing in pain. My doula got out her TENS machine, which definitely helped, but there was nothing touching these bad boy contractions. Everything was made worse by the fact that each time the baby moved was excruciatingly painful and would then cause another contraction. I didn't have almost any rest between them, and it was quite overwhelming. I was in so much pain that Shmuel even got a bit queasy and had to excuse himself. (He's so sensitive and just couldn't watch me in that kind of pain.) By 4:30 I was begging for mercy and any kind of pain relief they would give me (except I didn't want a narcotic). My doula suggested a sterile water injection in my back, and I was like "sure...whatever you want...just make them HURRY". While I waited, she suggested I try going to the bathroom, as a full bladder can make contractions worse. I didn't really feel like I had to go, but I went anyway. Once I got on the toilet, I relaxed and my body naturally wanted to bear down. Gee...all of a sudden the contraction didn't seem as bad and it felt really good to push. Uh oh...but I was only an hour and a half from being 4cm...I couldn't imagine that I was actually complete and ready to go. I told the doula to call for the midwife to check me before I started accidentally pushing on a semi-closed cervix. But honestly, the urge was so intense that not pushing through a contraction was a zillion times worse. The midwife was actually in the middle of delivering another baby, but soon came into the room. I had already pushed a little bit through a few contractions while she was gone, hoping I wasn't screwing things up. She checked me and (you guessed it)...fully dilated with the baby halfway down the birth canal. Woo!!! I pushed for just about a half an hour (including the few pushes I took before the midwife got there) and POOF! There was my little girl at 5:13am...only 4 hours after my water broke! Compared to the incredibly painful contractions prior to pushing, I would say that pushing was the easy part. I only had two very, very minor tears (one superficial tear on the labia and one that the midwife called a "dimple" on my vagina). I think she gave me a grand total of 3 stitches and then was all set. So there you have it! My baby made it in time for the tax deduction AND I got to deliver with my favorite midwife (who called me a birthing goddess). Soooo perfect. :-) Enjoy these pics!!