My little lady was very comfortable in my uterus and decided to make us wait for her grand arrival. At 40 weeks and 5 days, in the middle of the Walmart (obviously) my water broke. First, I thought it was pee because if you don't know it yet, you could pee on yourself a lot during the end of pregnancy. But no! It was my water just streaming down my leg under my dress and on the floor of the Walmart while I was trying to push my cart. My mom and I ran out laughing like crazy and she dropped me home.

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"...in the middle of the Walmart (obviously) my water broke."

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My contractions didn't start so I just updated my midwife and went to my appointment the next morning. She told me that if labor doesn't start within 24hrs after the water breaks, it might mean a transfer to the Hospital. She asked me if I'd like her to do a membrane sweep in an attempt to start labor. I agreed. It hurts! Went back home. Labor still didn't start. Midwife advised me to take castor oil mixed with orange juice and a little baking soda. It is used to start some uterine contractions but it might cause diarrhea, she said. I took it and lo and behold the contractions started almost instantly.

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Contrarily to my first birth, there was no smooth progression in the contraction's intensity. It started intense and painful right away. I couldn't even finish the World Cup game I was watching. And then of course with the pain came the worst diarrhea ever. I was on the toilet just having intense contractions and diarrhea at the same time. Okay, okay, too much information.

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Seriously though, I thought to myself what in the world did I get myself into. Once I was off the toilet, I went to my room. My midwife arrived, my husband was checking the birth pool. I've been in labor for only 2 hours! I felt like I couldn't do it anymore. I thought about asking the baby to come another day or having some pain relief. I realized it was the transition period so I changed my thoughts to affirmations such as: "My baby is coming. I'm working with my baby and my body. My cervix is dilating. My vagina is opening. I will see my baby soon." I was fully focused, just commanding my cervix and vagina to open and let the baby through.

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"I was fully focused, just commanding my cervix and vagina to open and let the baby through."

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My midwife was rubbing my back and it felt good. I started to make those deep instinctive sounds so we decided to make our way to the birth pool. It felt so good to get in the cool water. My husband was next to me giving me little massages. After three pushes, my baby was out for a total of 3hrs of labor! I enjoyed how fast it was but it was so intense. My advice for a positive birth is to be able to understand the power you have on your body. Your brain can command change in your body and if you think about and visualize yourself birthing or your cervix dilating your body will obey.