I gave birth to a son on November 22, 2024, weighing 4910 grams. I was...

I gave birth to a son on November 22, 2024, weighing 4910 grams. I was supposed to have an induction that morning at 41.3 weeks. Around 3:30 AM, I woke up due to contractions, thinking they were just the usual practice ones, and went back to sleep. By 4:30 AM, the contractions intensified, feeling like they came in waves lasting a minute every three minutes. I walked around the ward and the corridor, and after half an hour, I informed the nurse that the contractions had started; she thought they were probably just practice ones and called the doctor. The doctor examined me around 6:30 AM, I was dilated to 3 cm, and we moved to the delivery room. I texted my husband, but he only arrived by 9 AM; I thought he wouldn't make it because of the traffic. In the delivery room, the contractions got stronger, and by 9 AM, I was dilated to 9 cm. The water hadn't broken, and the baby wasn't descending, so they told me to squat during contractions and stand up during breaks. Every minute, my husband and I squatted during contractions; I can't imagine doing it without him. There was a fitball, a wall bar, and a bath in the room, but the easiest way for me was to live through it standing and hugging my husband. I'm still surprised I didn't scream; during strong contractions, I could only whine a bit, and thermal water helped a lot👍👍 I recommend it. Eventually, the water didn't break on its own, and after half an hour of feeling the urge to push, I held back as the doctor instructed. A bit later, she said I could do what I wanted (meaning, if I felt the urge to push, I could push a bit). Since the baby wasn't descending, they decided to break the water; the amniotic fluid was green with meconium and came out slowly. The CTG was normal. I lay on the bed and it began; he wasn't passing through, I pushed as hard as I could, it was slow, and I realized I needed to push everything out quickly as there was a big risk of inhaling the water, but I couldn't break through my limit. My head was surprisingly cool; I wasn't hysterical, just trying to make myself push harder. About 15 minutes later by my feeling, I was trying to push him out, and the head was visible. They poured oil on my perineum and started pressing on my stomach (I no longer felt the contractions). The head came out, and as the shoulder was turning, I tore up to the anus. One more push, and he was born at 11:02 AM. He didn't cry; they immediately took him and started suctioning the meconium, all came out and he started grunting, then they took him straight to the NICU, I didn't even get a chance to look at him or hold him. They stitched me up, and my husband and I were left alone in the room for the "golden hour." My son was supposed to be taken to the NICU anyway to check for a heart defect, but we didn't think it would be like this. In the end, the defect wasn't critical and surgery isn't needed yet, but they kept him in the NICU for three days because of the meconium inhalation. The contractions were not like with my daughter; it was easier to live through them knowing how to breathe and conserve energy inside. If it weren't for his large weight, I would even say it was unexpectedly easy. Only the screams of neighboring mothers in labor threw me off, making me want to feel sorry for myself and scream too. The takeaway from this birth: only listen to yourself, if you feel something is wrong, double-check, ask again, be overly cautious! No one expected, except me, that it would be so difficult; it was a big risk and we almost managed (I'm writing this text still in the maternity hospital in the neonatology department, we are still recovering with my son). I hope we will be home soon😌