Finn's Birth

So my 1st and 2nd daughters were very similar. K was born at 38 wks, on a Tuesday the 14th at 9 am, and weighed 6 lbs, 14 oz. E was born at 38 wks, on a Tuesday the 16th at 8:30 and weighed 6 lbs, 13 oz. Finn's due date was March 1st. 38 wks was a Tuesday. It was also the 15th. I knew for sure I would have a baby that day.
At my midwife appointment at 36 wks, I told my favorite midwife all about this. She was quite intrigued with all the similarities. Then she remembered she was going to be out of town. Not only out of town, but out of the country that week.
So now my question was, do I try to wait til she gets back (I really wanted her to have delivered both of my babies, plus she is so entertaining, I couldn't imagine having either of the other midwives there...) or do I try to have a baby on the 15th?
The 15th, came and went, with no baby. We started Friday night prior trying to induce, naturally ofcourse. I ate a whole pineapple. I squatted. At my 38 week appointment, on the 16th, the other midwife told me to have 'good husband and wife relations'. I walked. I walked really fast on a treadmill at the YMCA where I work.
Finally on Friday, the 18th of Feb. I was at our homeschool co-op, and my replacement yoga teacher, who was also covering for me at the YMCA was there, and I sat in on her class. I decided during final relaxation that I was just going to let it all go. I wasn't going to obsess about it. At this point, I was freaking out over the possibility of having to have a c-section, since an induction wouldn't be done on me, since I was a VBAC. (I didn't want an induction anyway, but if push came to shove, I would have had an induction over another c-section).
But I decided to let it all go. Although I was crammed in the corner, sitting against a door with the hinges digging into my back, and I was perched precariously on one butt cheek to stay out of the 'space' for the 2 kids that were next to me, one who was just there b/c his teacher hadn't shown up, it was the best final relaxation I've ever had.
During the next 'class period' I texted my good friend Shakira, who's also a Reiki Master. She's Reikied me a few times during this pregnancy. She could get me in the afternoon. So I got home from the co-op, took a warm bath, listened to some yoga music, and then went to Reiki and relaxed some more.
The next day, I had sporadic contractions like I'd been having for the past 3 months. Sunday morning, I woke up at 6 am. Uncomfortable as all get out. Tossed and turned. Got up to use the potty, laid back down, tried to go back to sleep. I might have snoozed some. At 7 am, I'm laying there trying to go back to sleep and I feel this hard pop.
I thought, 'Surely this isn't her head engaging.' (Her head wasn't engaged the last time I checked.) So I got up, and went back to the bathroom, where I was leaking fluid. It was the 20th. The day my midwife actually came home from out of the country. Tomorrow she'd be back at work. So I called the midwife on call, and I knew it was going to be my 2nd favorite one, b/c my least favorite was on vacation starting that Friday 2 days before. She asked how far apart my contractions were, and I said I wasn't having any. She told me not to wait more than 4-6 hours before coming to the hospital. I thought, 'Great... no contractions, I'm gonna go to the hospital too early in labor, and be confined to that stupid fetal monitor and....."
Aaron woke up when I told him my water broke. He wanted to go back to sleep and I told him to since I wasn't having any contractions, but he was too excited to sleep and went to McDonalds.
Some 30 minutes later, my contractions started. At 3 min. apart. But they weren't very intense. So I called my mom, asked if it was normal and she said it was for me, and she'd start getting ready. So I woke Kaylor up. I called Aaron. By the time everyone got here, and got ready, we set off to the hospital.
I'm still convinced at this point, that it's super early for me to be going to the hospital. Convinced so much of this, I tell my husband that I'm getting an epidural b/c the hospital is going to make me crazy and I'm fine now, but it's going to get worse and I'm going to be stuck there on the fetal monitor, and besides, I've had a c-section, I've done it all natural, why not since this is the last one?
I also tell my husband not to drive with flashers on. Not too drive like maniac and too keep his thoughts about the other drivers to himself. The ride to the hospital wasn't bad. My contractions stayed regular, and I busied myself calling and texting people. Curves & turning were kinda bad if it was at during a contraction.
My mom caught up with us on a 4 lane road, and I thought that my contractions had slowed down. We got to the hospital, and I waited thru a contraction to get out of the car. We started in, and as soon as I got under the cover at the front door, I had another, this time in my low back. I leaned against a pillar. She was faced the wrong way. Is her head engaged yet? I just kept thinking, she's facing the wrong way, my labor is going to be longer. In the meantime, my mom tells me to keep walking. WHAT?
So we get in, I'm still calm. I have a few more contractions. I get into my room, and sit on the toilet, as I was doing that at home too before we left, and thought in that respect, I'd never make it to the hospital.
Contractions picked up, and the back labor intensified. The nurse finally convinces me that if I get on my hands and knees, it'll help my back. So I get on the bed, on my hands and knees. I'm suddenly exhausted. We put the head of the bed up, and I lean against it. I think this made it worse, so the nurse told me to rock side to side. That helped.
Finally the midwife shows up. With her hair down. And a white sweater. She's also chewing gum, which was amusing to me.
She checks me, and says something like 'we're gonna have a baby'. But she continues to sit and chew her gum. I was so exhausted, that I wasn't moving, and my contractions were practically nothing. I was sitting up at this point and they'd already dropped the end of the bed. But the head of the bed wasn't giving me any low back support so I had to move to get more comfy, and as soon as I did, a hard contraction would hit me.
The back labor was like I was being stabbed on both sides of my lower back, and I had sharp shooting pains down the outside of my thighs and it stopped at my knees. I told them this, and they said she's just on a nerve. But it was horrible. And I just wanted to sleep.
I pushed a few times, I was feeling the urge, but again, she's still sitting there chewing her gum. Now I did have in my birth plan that I wanted people to be quiet and let me do my own thing, but it was the same birth plan from the last time and nobody was quiet then! They brought me a bar to lean on, but I hardly had the energy to lean forward on it, and I knew that I would have a contraction as soon as I did. I begged them for an epidural so I could sleep.
Aaron wanted to catch her, and the midwife said let her get the shoulders out and he could. He'd worn a long sleeve shirt, and though he washed his hands, he hadn't rolled his sleeves up, so my mom did that. Kaylor was there and fed me ice chips. My mouth was so dry.
My mom told me I wasn't pushing hard enough. So I pushed and there was a head. I had to wait for the next contraction to push again for the rest of her to come out.
So at 11:16 Finn was born. I had to work to get the placenta out, and had to have 4 stitches. She was 7 lbs and 22" long. The longest baby in either of our families. I had said all along she was going to be a big baby.
After the birth, and everyone left, I got up and took a shower and felt almost..normal.
We went home the next day, but call had switched so my favorite midwife came in. I told her about how she really was a bigger baby, and she still laughed and told me that 7 lbs was not big. She sat and talked to us a while, told us about her trip. It was a good hospital experience. We ended up not really getting out any quicker than we did with E. It was 26 hrs before E had a name, and we couldn't leave til we did the birth certificate. That was done this time. We were just waiting on a chatty midwife to show up and let us go.