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My daughter Kahlan Eve, was born on December 14th, 2006. That is a special day that I will always cherish. I was having labor pains at 4:30 A.M., I calmed down and said to myself, "Jen, don't worry it's three days too early, you are having false labor pains, again." Then at 5:00 A.M. the contractions became stronger and stronger. I nudge my husband to get him up. I said, "Honey, it's time. I have a feeling that this morning is going to be Kahlan's birthday.

He quickly rushed me to New Britain General Hospital, by the time we got there it was almost 6:00 in the morning. I was wheeled into a room where my contractions were being monitored to be sure that I was truly in the pre-stages of labor. When the contractions did not let up, I was then brought into yet another room where I would wait out the labor pains until labor actually began.

The nurses came in and stuck me with I.V.s for nutrients. I went into the hospital knowing full well that I was not going to use any drugs whatsoever. I figured women have been doing this for years without, so why should I use drugs to decrease the experience? My husband, Ryan was there with me the entire time. When I got up to use the bathroom, my I.V. came out of my arm. The nurses stuck me 6 times and they still could not find a good vein to hook the I.V. back in. I was in so much pain that I didn't realize that I gave birth with I.V. and no drugs.

My husband had done Lamaze with me in the months prior. He was the best supporter that I could have ever had. He was there holding my hand and kissing my forehead telling me what a good job that I was doing. True labor began at 8:30 AM. At that point all the Lamaze in the world could not have prepared me for the pain that I was about to endure. My husband who is a medical assistant said that he now appreciates the act of labor because he understood the lines on the machine that was measuring my contractions. He was crying too because he felt so bad for me.

At 9:03, about a half and hour of pushing, little Kahlan Eve Carlson made her appearance into the world. The started crying immediately, which the doctors said was a very good sign. I had about five doctors in the birthing room. They were shocked that as a first-time mom, labor and birth happened so quickly. My doctor joked with us that they would have to admit me three weeks early for the next one.

I have never seen a man show emotion like my husband did when he saw his baby girl for the first time. When asked to cut the umbilical

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