Who needs the midwife?

I was due on June 25, 2015.  On June 28, 2015, my baby moved into a position where I was unable to feel her kick so I panicked and went to the hospital. They did an ultrasound and she passed all tests so they sent me home but I still couldn't feel her the whole next day and was so upset not knowing if she was ok. My dr and I decided that inducing me the next night was the best option since I was 4 days overdue anyway and couldn't feel the baby move to monitor how she was doing. I was nervous about being induced, because I wanted to have an all natural, unmedicated birth without an epidural, but I decided this was the best option based on the circumstances.  I had a pill inserted at 9:00 p.m.   They told me to lie down and not move much for two hours.  Strong contractions started at about 10 and it was a struggle to lie still, but I managed until 11 pm.  The nurse checked me before I stood and I was already dilated to 4 cm!  Once they let me stand, I couldn't sit or lie down the rest of my labor until I started pushing!  No position was comfortable because of the intense pain and pressure-- I couldn't sit on the birthing ball or lie down-- everything was excruciating except standing.  I would stand and hold my husband's hand between contractions and kneel down on a pillow during contractions.  The nurse checked me at about 12:15 and I was already dilated to 7cm, so the nurse left to call my doctor to have him come to the hospital!   At about 12;30, i was exhausted and so tired from standing, so my doula suggested positioning the bed so that I could hold the back of the bed but kneel on it.  I tried this through one contraction and that was all it took for my water to break!  At about 12:40,  I started to feel the urge to push during contractions.  It was such a weird feeling, it was like my body had taken over and knew what to do and pushing was out of my control.  The nurse told me I had better lie down or I might have the baby standing up!  She checked me again at about 12:45 and I was fully dilated!  Once I was lying down, the nurses tried to get me to stop pushing because my doctor wasn't there yet.  I tried through 2 contractions to breathe away the contraction, but I just couldn't stop my body from pushing!  On the next contraction, I pushed and the nurse said she could see the baby's head and yelled for them to get the on-call midwife to the room, but on the next contraction I pushed and the baby was out!  The nurses delivered her, even the midwife didn't get there in time. Samantha Ariel was born at 12:53 a.m. on June 30, 2015.  She was 7 lbs, 6 oz and 20.25 inches long!  She was perfect and scored the highest possible on all tests!  Though I got through it with no pain meds because of my awesome doula, I was caught off guard by just how painful it was! I only asked for an epidural once right before the pushing sensation began, and of course it was too late at that point anyway!  I needed some stitches, but all was minor considering what could have gone wrong without a doctor or midwife there for the birth!  Everything was perfect and I ended up with exactly the kind of unmedicated birth that I wanted. 

                    Hello, baby girl! 💜