by Kelly Wilbanks posted in Pregnancy

I sat down in a quiet house to a dinner of steak and lobster--my "last meal" before becoming a mother of three.
My induction was scheduled for midnight and I was enjoying the calm before the storm. My two daughters were with Grandma and my husband was finishing his last night of working swing shift before taking three weeks of hard- earned vacation time to be home with his newborn.
I've always dreamed of going into spontaneous labor, but my body has always needed a medical nudge. This time around was no different. Given my exhaustion levels, and the fact that my most recent ultrasound showed a lower than normal amount of amniotic fluid, I chose to induce at 39 weeks.

 
Still, I tried to get my body to start labor on its own in its final week of pregnancy. I drank cactus smoothies and red raspberry leaf tea. I took evening primrose oil morning and night, and had my pressure points triggered with prenatal massage. I nested and walked and stimulated my nipples whenever I found a down moment. Despite all that, I found myself settled into a hospital bed, beginning the first round of cervix softening at 1 a.m. At 6 a.m. I started Pitocin, and at 7:30 I had breakfast. Can I tell you how much I love my midwife for letting me have breakfast" It wasn't long after that the contractions began to pick up.

I bounced on a ball for a while. My midwife came and attempted to break my bag of waters, but nothing came out. It wa...