I woke with a loss of fluid in my underwear and a soft crampy feeling in my stomach. By 9am I was having light contractions and I made a phone call to the hospital. 

The hospital was really easy going not phased at all until I mentioned I was a VBAC... The midwife told me to go in immediately; I told her I would come when I was ready. 

We set off for the hospital, in no rush what so ever. We stopped for lunch, dropped the toddler off with his Nanna and even made a pit stop at McDonald's. My contractions we becoming more mild and regular at this stage. Both Shane and I were shocked at how I was riding through each contraction and staying so calm. I was enjoying it. I knew I was going to birth this baby out of my vagina! 

Arrived at the hospital, was asked to sit through half an hour of CTG. After letting them know how I felt about continuous fetal monitoring they were kind enough to take it off after 15 minutes. Contractions had fizzled since arriving at hospital and being made to sit down, they were only coming here and there. The doctor preformed a speculum to clarify whether my waters ruptured at 7am or if the fluid was more mucus plug. My cervix was closed and there were no signs of my membranes rupturing. 

So we headed home. 

After labouring at home all afternoon it was time to go to hospital, knowing we were an hour away I began to think we wouldn't make it! Safe to say Shane managed to get us to the hospital in about half the time... 

Once at hospital the midwife I had was amazing, she had also had three vbacs herself! At 2am we did a vaginal exam and I was 6cms, she told the OB I was only 4cms incase my labour stalled so there would definitely be progress ;) how sneaky. 

The hot shower worked wonders for my back pain at this stage. The midwife also had me "marching" to help bring baby down and finish turning him as he was still slightly posterior. We got down on the floor on all fours and did knee to chest position through about 5 contractions and wow the relief this had on my back was amazing too! It was around this time I asked for the gas. 

As time passed and the contractions became more intense as did the back labour, nothing was easing it. I had a shot of pethadine to try take the edge off. Like Charlie's birth the pethadine helped me relax, I managed to rest between contractions.

At 5am they broke my waters and soon after I was pushing. Not willingly pushing like I did with Charlie, not trying to push him out, my body had taken over, it was pushing, it was intense and the back pain was unbearable. I begged for an epidural. 

The midwife went away and came back and said we could try sterile water injections, I told her to call the anethiest, that I wasn't consenting to anything other than an epidural and to get me a fucking epidural now. With having the epidural she said I had to stop my body pushing; this was hell. Trying to stop something you have no control over, words can't explain the feeling.

The anethiest came and tried to introduce herself and tell me the risks involved. This is something I didn't want to hear and with over lapping contractions it wasn't something I was going to take in either. I rudely told her I knew the risks and I had done more than enough research. 

Unlike the spinal block which I became numb instantly the epidural felt like it took forever to kick in...

After a vaginal exam by the OB (mind you this was the first I had seen the OB all night) they decided that forceps would need to be used to help deliver my son. The lip on my cervix could be pushed to the side but it kept coming back. ( Can't remember any technical words to try explain it... ) 

Due to a failed intervention of a vacuum extraction with Charlie's birth they prepped for a cesarean. This meant we all moved down to theatre; at this point I was scared. It was all too familiar; thoughts of failure dwelled in my mind. I began apologising to Shane, God knows why but I did.

I'm guessing it was somewhere around 8am as we were all moving to theatre. A lot of people introduced themselves to Shane and I. My epidural was topped up, incase of cesarean, this I was thankful for because it now blocked out all back pain. The contractions were fine, I could ride through each wave; the back pain was on a different level.

Before I knew it they guided me as to when I needed to push. After a few pushes the help of the forceps and an episiotomy, I felt lots of pressure and they told me his head was out! One more push and he was brought straight up onto my chest. The blood, the slime and all the amazing stuff was all over me. I fucking did it, I got what I wanted. Tears welled in my eyes and I looked up at Shane, he kissed my head, no one has ever looked at me with so much pride in their eyes. I honestly wouldn't of been able to succeed without him.