My mom was throwing a baby shower brunch three weeks before my due date. In typical fashion, her house would be packed with guests (she never understood the concept of a "small" gathering). Meanwhile, at our home, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and best friend were all staying with us for the occasion.
A Change in Plans
Around my 28th week of pregnancy, my husband and I switched from my OB/GYN to a midwife named Mary. After touring the hospital, we realized we wanted a more intimate setting for the birth of our first child. Mary immediately put us at ease, and all our regular checkups showed no complications.
At my 36-week appointment, Mary said something unexpected as I was getting ready to leave: "Lay down. I want to do an exam." She told me I was about 10% effaced and that the baby could come "at any time." I didn't think much of it – of course babies can come anytime near the end!
The First Signs
The next day at work, something felt different. My stomach was behaving strangely – Braxton Hicks contractions, I realized. My body was preparing.
Saturday was busy with houseguests and shower preparations. The swelling in my legs distracted me from noticing anything unusual – until I took a shower. I spotted something unfamiliar and called my husband into the bathroom.
"What is this?" I asked. He didn't know either.
I had lost my mucus plug. We continued with our day, though I asked my husband to join my sister-in-law and me for errands; I didn't feel comfortable going out alone anymore.
That evening, we all laughed as I added songs to my baby shower playlist: "I'm Coming Out," "My Sweet Baby," "Dirty Dancing," and more. We said goodnight and headed to bed, expecting a normal Sunday morning.
The Unexpected Night
At 11:15 PM, I woke up needing the bathroom and discovered my bed was wet.
"I think my water broke," I told my husband when I nudged him awake.
"How do you know?" he asked sleepily.
Before I could answer, a gush of water confirmed it as I reached the bathroom. Contractions started immediately.
My husband called Mary, who advised me to rest between contractions, saying that first labors typically take a while. But these contractions were coming five minutes apart, intensifying rapidly, and getting closer together.
I moved from shower to bathtub trying to manage the pain.
Mary, who had arrived and was attempting to sleep on our couch (all guest rooms being occupied), was alerted by my husband that contractions were now less than a minute apart. When she checked, I was already dilated to 10cm – it was time to push!
By this point, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law had awakened, but remarkably, my best friend slept through the entire event.
A New Life
At 3:16 AM, I delivered a beautiful, healthy baby girl weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces and measuring 21 inches long. She entered the world screaming but calmed immediately when placed on my stomach. Any discomfort I had felt vanished in that moment.
"I can do this again!" I told my husband, amazed by the experience.
The Surprise Shower
After coffee and breakfast, my guests headed to my mom's house to help with the shower preparations while my best friend stayed with me. No one mentioned that I'd already had the baby.
When I walked into my own baby shower carrying my newborn, everyone thought it was a doll – not an actual eight-hour-old baby! The questions came in waves:
"When did you have the baby?" "How did they let you out of the hospital?" "What do you mean you had her at home?!"
Their reactions were absolutely priceless!
I loved my home birth experience so much that when our second daughter arrived, we did it again – water broke, and four hours later, another beautiful daughter was born at home.
Related: Baby Shower Games That Don’t Suck
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