The Birth of a Chilean. Part 1

 I was used to getting strings of regular contractions getting stronger as the months and weeks went by. Sometimes I was pretty sure that I was in labor, but I wasn't.
At 11:15pm on October 26 I was awoken by the strongest one that I had had yet. I took note of the time. They continued to come every 18 minutes and very slowly got stronger. After several hours, I was sure that I was in labor.
These were intense contractions.  I did not sleep that night. I prayed that Leon and the children would not wake up so that I could concentrate on relaxation and keep my focus.
 It was a wonderful night and it passed quickly. I meditated on trusting God and repeated over and over again, "I have no need to fear". Sometimes, I was tempted to fear the coming pain and my inability to handle it. You can't run from a contraction. There's no where to run, no one can stop it and it IS coming.
 I was in constant prayer during and sometimes in between the pains. My prayers and meditations went something like this: "Thank you God, You can bring thips baby out, I trust you, I am in your hands and under your eye, hold me. I am ready, I do want this".
There were also some things that I visualized to help me give in totally and not fight the contractions. Sometimes it helped to push out my stomach and hold my breath. Every 3 contractions I would turn to the other side.
At 5:20 I was a little nervous. "Should I wake Leon and ask him to call the midwives".