Delaney's Birth Day

Three days past her due date and after almost 24 hours of a slow starting labor, it seemed surreal that we were finally at the hospital and I was truly in active labor.  It was the real deal.  Seeing the table all set and ready for Delaney was so encouraging. Now for the fun part- labor!

Toby is the greatest birth coach I could ask for.  He gives me a lot of credit for birthing our girls without an epidural but I couldn't do it without him.  He is so supportive and keeps me focused.  He is also pretty entertaining which comes in handy during the long hours but is not so helpful when he ends up telling jokes mid contraction and laughing makes the pain even worse!  Here he is keeping a log of the events and labor as things progress- just another thing on my list of "while I am in labor" requests.  

Working through the contractions.

 Transition...

She's here!  

I was overjoyed!  I felt such physical relief and an emotion surge of both love and joy.  

Our midwife, Lauren

Sleeping soundly the next morning.