Rose's Birth Story (TMI Warning!!!)

Since I'm usually so nauseous in the morning, Sean lets me sleep in whenever possible. So it wasn't unusual for me to be in bed at ten o'clock Sunday morning when I felt my first contraction. It lasted a full minute. So I started timing them. Five minutes apart, lasting for a minute. I got up and told Sean, "I think we're having a baby today." Sean got in the shower and I called my sister. Since I was induced with Cali, I really didn't know what labor was supposed to feel like. Ashley talked to me through a contraction and told me that it sounded like the real thing and that I should call our mom to see if she was home so we could drop off Cali and go to the hospital. I called my mom and thankfully she was home. She said we could drop off Cali, but that I needed to call the hospital to let them know I was coming.
I called the hospital, but by this time my contractions had changed. I'd have one that lasted a full minute, but then three minutes later I'd have one that would be thirty seconds long. When I told the nurse at L&D, she told me to drink some water and lay down for an hour to see if they regulate again. I thought, "No, Ashley told me that when her contractions were at 5 minutes apart, she got to the hospital and was already 5 cm." It's a half hour drive to the hospital, and we still had to drop off Cali. Instead, I took a shower, ate breakfast, packed a bag for Cali, and got dressed. By this time, the contractions were staying consistent at three minutes for one full minute.
We drive to my parents house and the contractions were now two minutes apart. Sean gets Cali out and she gives me a kiss goodbye. Sean gets back in the car and tells me to hang on. I look at him and say, "I don't think I'm going to make it to Valley Presbyterian. Head to Henry Mayo."
It's pouring rain and we keep getting stuck behind slow drivers as my contractions start coming every minute of the ten minute drive from my parents' house to the hospital. Right as we pass the entrance to the emergency room, I feel myself dilate and get my first "Time to push" thought.
We pull up to the main entrance and I look at the clock in the car. 11:50. Sean helps me get out and we walk in. As soon as we get past the doors, I am hit with the hardest contraction I have ever felt. I fall to all fours, screaming as my water breaks. Sean runs to get help while I keep screaming in pain. Someone comes with a wheel chair and I tell her, "I will sit on her head if I try to get on that." A minute later, Sean comes with some help and a gurney. I get on the gurney and start taking off my pants. The nurses kept trying to pull my pants back down, but I yelled, "I can feel her head!" We get in the elevator and I ask Sean, "It's too late for an epidural, huh?" He just laughed and agreed.
As we leave the elevator, I feel the need to push. I tell the nurses, "I'm pushing." They tell me to stop and I say, "I can't help it!" and push her head out. We get to the delivery room and a nurse looks right at me and says, "Don't push yet!" She pulls off my pants and gets clamps. I hear a cut. (The cord was wrapped around her neck once) Then she looks at me and nods, so I push again. The nurse catches her and starts yelling, "What's the time of birth?" 11:55.
They put me on the delivery bed and tell me that they're going to leave the placenta in and have the doctor help me deliver it. Then I heard Rose's little cry for the first time. Heaven.
Dr. Marter comes in as they're wiping Rose down and looks at me and says, "What do you need me for, you did everything?" He helps me deliver my placenta and then says, "Ouch." When I ask what's wrong he tells me that I tore. A lot. He gives me some shots and goes to work stitching me up. I stopped counting after 12 stitches. A half hour later, he tells me that I have third degree tears starting inside and going to my anus. And that I'm going to be in pain for a while. But, Sean just looks at me and say, "Well, you had an all natural birth. You can cross that off your bucket list."