XP: Natalie's water birth

Our beautiful baby girl, Natalie Anne, was born on Monday 2/16 at 7:34 p.m.!  Here's a recap:

Sunday 2/15 in the evening, started to feel very mild contractions.  I warned my husband that labor might be starting, but not to get too excited because the contractions were so irregular.  Went to bed and mostly slept through the contractions all night. When we woke up Monday a.m. around 7:30, I started timing them while laying in bed and they were about 7 minutes apart.  Got up and got our day started, and kept timing them and they spaced a little more to 8-10 minutes apart, still very mild.
Called the birth center to ask their opinion of whether I was in labor or not, and they said to come on in to get my first dose of antibiotics for GBS, just in case it was starting.  Got to the birth center around 1:00 and got a pelvic exam, and was 4 cm and 75% effaced. I was really surprised, didn't think I would be that far along judging by the strength of the contractions.  They were still mild and 7ish minutes apart.  Midwife asked if I wanted him to strip my membranes to get things moving, so I said okay. Came back home with instructions to return at 5:30 for another dose of antibiotics.  Labored at home for a while, and the contractions started to get stronger and closer together. By 5:00 when we had to leave, I was sure I would be having the baby that day.  Arrived back at the birth center at 5:30, and went straight to our room and started filling up the birth pool.  I got checked again and was at 6 cm.  By around 6:00 I was able to get into the warm pool, and that really helped me relax  through the contractions. I eventually found that laying on my side in the water felt the best. When I would try to sit up or be on hands and knees, I felt so much pressure. Side position was great.  I labored in the pool, only getting out to use the bathroom a few times, for the next hour and a half.  I'm not sure of exact timing, but probably around 7:15, I started getting the intense urge to push, and just went along with it. I finally felt my water break and at 7:34 she was born! The water birth was an amazing experience that I highly recommend for anyone who wants to go med free.  My husband was great support throughout the whole thing timing my contractions and telling me how far into each one I was so I knew how much longer until I would get some relief.  It was only really unbearable towards the very end, in the transition phase.  Other than that just relaxing through the contractions and letting my body do it's own thing was the key for me. Oh - one of the best things was that as soon as she came out she was in my arms and I got to look and say "it's a girl"! That was pretty darn cool.

On a side note, this being my second child, I expected my labor to go much faster than my first, which was a speedy labor/delivery at 8 hours total.  This one was 12 hours from the time we started timing contractions, and more like 24 hours from when I first started feeling the contractions the night before.  Just wanted to point that out for other second-timers....every labor really is different.

Good luck to all of you ladies nearing the end! You have an amazing little guy or girl coming!!