This is the story as I remember it (in response to my comadre's email)

Hey comadre,

I am indeed feeling much better. I don't know why I have so much energy either but I just can't stop going! :) I'm actually not normal, as a psychologist I can tell the signs of a disorder and man I'm manic!! Look at me now, Addie is asleep since 12, won't wake up until maybe 4:30 and here I am checking my email instead of sleeping. I'll drink a cup of tea after this one and just lie still for a while to see if I can sleep.

I didn't take a drop of any drug during those 29 hours... they did put an oxigen mask on me for the last 4 or 6 (can't remember and Matt, the doula and my mom were also too tired to look at a clock). My water broke at 3:40 am on Sunday the 21st and I was having contractions but they were very mild. I called the hospital, my mom and the doula at that time.

The hospital said to come even when I wasn't having contractions, my mom jumped in the next plane she could and the doula told me to get some sleep and not to go to the hospital. Matt and I decided to go to the hospital anyway just to make sure that she had enought amniotic fluid in there because it was gushing out!! When we got there they asked me about my contractions, they could see them in the monitor but I wasn't feeliing anything. A doctor came and said she was going to give me pitosin to make the contractions stronger and I refused, so they sent me back home. When we arrived to the house, about 7am, we went to bed until about noon. During all this time my contractions were 10 minutes apart.

Matt and I decided to get up and walk around. We went to target and then to get something to eat (beans and rice to be strong later!). The doula came home at around 2 pm and showed us a picture of a mexican midwife in Veracruz that gave birth to her 3 child on her own in her house (with the assistance of her husband). It was very inspirational and sweet and got us going :) The doula then left and asked to be called whenever the pain was too much to handle on my own. We decided at that point that we were going to stay at home for as long as possible to avoid any interventions.

My mom arrived about 7pm and the doula shortly after that. My contractions were then every 8 minutes and continued to become stronger as we went. By 11pm I was having them every 3 minutes and we started to get ready to go to the hospital. We arrived there about 11:30 and handed out copies of our birth plan to the staff. The midwife that was assigned to me had never seen me and it was a little weird but they were supportive of our decisions. There was a doctor involved too that came to check on me every so often. When they first put the monitors on me and checked to see how many centimiters I was they were excited to report I was at 5 but still -1 and about 80%. The doctor said she knew about my plan but she had to offer an epidural. I refused and got in a very strange state of mind: I didn't talk, I had my eyes closed, I moved my body in a rythmical way that I never did before, I moaned, I danced with Matt, I took a shower and kept dilating.

In my mind I only kept pictures of the words "AFUERA", "ADELANTE" (out and forward) and was "talking" to Addie Luna all the time, inviting her to come out and meet us. It really wasnt' that bad, I felt in control and the doula, my mom and Matt were incredible. At about 1 in the morning the doctor came to check me and I was 9cm, still -1 and about 90%. They offered drugs again, I refused them again. The pain at this point was almost non-stop but I was very excited to know we were so close!! I was running out of gas at this point, and I think it was then when they put an oxigen mask on me.

The doctor came back at 2am and things hadn't change, still -1. The doula made me try many different positions at this point because it was strange that the baby wasnt' coming down. I was a 100% efaced, still 9 but -1!! They seemed to be confident but that changed quickly. At 4am I was 90% and getting swollen, still 9 and -1. The doctor said it wasn't safe to keep trying because more than 24 hours had gone by since the water broke and there was a chance for infection. She said I needed a C-section and there were no other alternatives.

I asked for another hour to see if the doula could do something else but I gave in to fear. I was doing this without drugs for Addie Luna's sake and now jeopardizing her health seemed like a bad idea. But we were so close! But I was so exhausted. The doctor came back at 5, now I was more swollen and still 9 and -1. I told her to give me antibiotics, pitosin or whatever but not to cut me open. She said there was nothing to do at this point because my uterus was still powerful and the contractions were good but it might be that she was too big or that there was something else going on. She said I could go on for 2 days and the baby wouldn't come out if there wasn't enough space for her. She said my uterus could rupture and put Addie Luna's and my life in risk. That totally snapped me out of "my zone" and now I was in unbereable pain. I still asked to talk to the doula, my mom and Matt to see what we wanted to do. I said I would try another hour. The doula agreed. Matt caved in and my mom was freeking out, she thought I was dying!

At 7am they came back and pushed hard, I was suffering a lot. I was about to faint. I was now yelling and screeming. The doctor said she thought Addie Lunita wasn't positioned right or had a very big head. They brought the paperwork. They told me about the risks, made me fill out some paperwork. My sense of control over the experience was completely over and I started to push (the only thing that made me feel better) but nothing changed. They came to introduce the staff, I was yelling and screaming. I was very scared. I thought I was going to die. I was crying a lot. My birth plan was off the window, they did whatever they wanted with us from that point forward. They were all very nice, but I was frustrated, dissapointed and very nervous. They took me in the OR on my own, then they let Matt in after they put the spinal. Addie Luna was out at 8:55am.

It turned out she was looking sideways and she was indeed in the big side (8.2 pounds, 19.5 inches). She was never in distress, she never suffered, she was just more stubborn that I was, she liked it in there, so much so that she bit the doctor in her way out :) After the operation they took me to a room on my own to recover. Nobody was allowed in there. I hated it. It wasn't until noon that they let me go to my room and hold Addie Luna. All was worth it, she was perfect :) So that is the story. Check out the pictures here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?UV=70368175103_409145682210&mode=fromsite&collid=367848672210.226068672210.1223689664950&conn_speed=1