First off I want to thank you all for thinking of me. When I saw almost 1000 hits to the post about me being in labor, the first thing I thought was "no wonder it went to fast...look at all the people sending labor vibes!!!"

I truly felt loved and respected.

So..........

I had said I had woken to sensations, not regular, but definately cervical. I got up and phoned my sis.

I then had something to eat with my dd while the boys watched morning toons. It was no different than any other morning. I wanted to wait until some time had passed to call my girl friend (Cathy) and let her know what was up. It was about 9 AM that I did call her at work and give her a heads up. After dh woke up I told him that I thought today was baby day, and to notmake plans.

I made calls to two other support persons and gave them a heads up. this was approximately 9 am -9:30 am.

I ate drank kept my bladder empty. At one point I went pee and when I wiped there was show. I called Cathy and she immediately left work and got her gear in order to come over (9:30).

I puttered about sewing, reading on the net, posting to the board and chatting on line. Eventually it got too uncomfy to sit on my puter chair and resigned myself and my balloon feet to the couch. Cathy called me and asked if I needed her to pick up anything, I calmly told her toilet paper and hair spray. (yup folks, I'm that far advanced I'm concerned about being out of hair spray! NOT)(11:00)

I roam about eating and peeing and drinking and being a mom occationally (yelling at kids to be quiet). The sensations have picked up, but nothing regular, though they do ache a bit more and I have to "do something" during them.

I eventually think about going up stairs to my room, to do what I haven't a clue. Well on the way upstairs I have 2 more sensations, WHOA!!! bigguns. Dh is asking me if I need something, but I don't. He goes back to the kitchen and continues to cook. I go upstairs. I see that the kids vacuuming job really sucked, so decide that I need to do a better job of my bedroom. so I do what comes naturally, I turn the vacuum on. And away I go.

Well if ya ask me now, I think that the motion of swaying my lumbourous body during vacuuming dropped Amy's head onto my cervix and I was off to the races. I had two more severe cotractions (notice I say contractions now!!) but continued to work. Withthhe third one I promptly dropped the vacuum and grabbed onto the door frame and moaned my way through it.

I had a bath run from previously during the morning and it was still warm, so I undressed and got in turned on the hot water and sank to my knees while splashing the hot water over my groin and pubis. This was okay for about all of 3 minutes. I got out and headed to my bed, where by the contractions got so intense I was crying my eyes out, calling for my dh and feeling like some one was beating on my back with a baseball bat and searing a hot poker across my belly (nice eh!!.....for those that have never given birth...I'm sorry for being so vivid...but....it was part of MY experience). Anyways dh comes running and I tell him to shut the windows so the neighbors wont hear me. I tell him to call another girlfriend of mine who (was and L and D nurse) to come and check me. (I want to know how far long I was so that I can know when to go to hospital. (I swear if she had said one cm and firm...I would have gone in right there and then and had an epi....it was THAT intense). I never once even contemplated that this was a preciptous labor.

Anyways.....I continue contracting about 1 minute long or more (I think more) and hardly a break in between, I run to the bath between contracts and almost make it. I contract as I am trying to sit down....THAT hurt! I eventually get lying down and trying to deal with the intensity when I get pukey feeling. (Oh yeah!) I hear Cathy arrive (12:00 noon)and begin to call out...."I"M GOING TO THROW UP!!!!!!". That brings people running. Cathy immediately gains control of the situation, puts rescue remedy in my mouth and begins to rub my back...Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...for all of three seconds, I continue to contract long and hard. She soothes me and calms me down and I regain focus..I keep saying "I can't do this no more"..(hm where have I heard THAT before....duh...every doula client I have ever attended!!)

She tells me..you are doing it, you are doing great, just relax and you'll be okay....(and a bunch of other stuff)...I begin to cry. I turn to Cathy and tell her my heart feels good.

Next contraction has me doing this horse lippy breathing thing (realized later I had read about it in Ina May's new book)it really works to focus on doing that then on relaxing my bottom and letting go of the pressure in my spine and groin. I do that for about 4 contracts......then I grunt. It is 12:07 pm.

I do it again, I tell Cathy..."ohhhhhhhh....I'm pooing", she does as all best friends should do.... she reaches in the water with her bare hands and cleans it up.....now THAT'S a friend!

next contract, I feel the cervix melt away and Amy drops fully into place and I begin to involutarily push...I'm thinking "OH MY GOD!!!!! this is not supposed to be happening." But it is....I think....should we go now???...do I get out of the tub??? OMG OMG OMG.

Next contraction I feel the head pushing down and my water breaks (12:09), then if goes back, next contract the head is on the perineum, next one the head is out.

By this time I know that we are NOT going anywhere, we are not calling EMS/911..this is happening now, we are on our own and I can't stop it. Cathy reaches down and says "the head is in a great postion, and it is beautiful" (all very calmly I might add). I tell her, "well here comes the body" , and I push Amy out fully into the water. Cathy scoops her up and puts her on my chest (12:13). I turn her to face me and she calmly looks at me blinks and sighs. she is breathing, she looks perfect and does exactly what I had thought she would do at birth.

My head is whirling and swimming. I start to think about calling for help (as in 911). Dh makes it into the bathroom just in time to see Amy on my chest..this is not what he expected. I feel the next contraction shove Nicki into place and I know that there is no time to do anything but get out of the tub (the water was horrendous by then).

Getting out of the tub was not a pretty thing or a comfortable thing to do.

Once out, I was semi kneeling and having a huge contraction that did not stop. I put my hand down on my perineum to feel the tissues (like Gloria Lemay says to do) to prevent tearing. I feel the bag of waters, growing and bulging. I look at Cathy and Say..."Nicki's coming breech" and I begin to push. Long and hard and not stopping. I don't feel anything. I don't feel the bag break, or the baby come out , but once at the neck I feel the contraction wane and Cathy says.."push NOW"..I do and Nicki is born completely, immediately followed by a huge "plop"...their fused placentas(12:22). I scoop her up noting how bloody she looks and I think I've ripped myself apart this time. I hold her to my chest and she scowls at me, she takes a breath. Neither one has let out any sort of cry. The whole event is calm and peaceful. I grab Amy who was put into a nest of towels on the floor while I birthed Nicki and amaze at what has just happened in under 30 minutes. My dh is stunned, I'm stunned...Cathy begins to take pics.

The friend who was coming to "check me" walks into the room to see me sitting there naked with two babies in my arms (still attached to the placentas), Nichole is nursing already, and me literally sitting on the placenta (on a white rug!).

The place is a disaster of towels and recieving blankets, bloody smears and wonder.

Within half an hour I am cuddled in bed nursing Amy, Nichole is being held by her oldest brother (all the children had been taken to the park when Cathy arrived). Laundry is on the go, food is being passed around and the phone is already hot with use. We are feeling all very overwhemed.

Thats it.

We decided not go to hospital afterwards. Being as there were two nurses (one was myself)in the room with tons of knowledge and experiece, I decided to just hang out and assess both babies and I. If anything was amiss we not hesitate to go in. All has been better than imagined. The girls are nursing well, and all systems are working. My full milk is in and the girls are little guzzle guts!

Again thank you all for your candles, and thoughts and prayers, and for speading the word that......

BIRTH WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Patti