Although I feel like the phrase "birth story" should serve as a warning that there's some serious TMI ahead [after all, is birth ever really pretty? No. It's pretty much always a little bit gross], I'm going to do the standard warning anyway. I realize only soon-to-be mothers, recent mothers, and birth story junkies care about the nitty gritty details. This is for them. If you're not into knowing that much about someone else's bodily functions or the details of contractions, effacement, and all that jazz, I'd suggest you skip this post altogether or just go straight to the pictures. It's gonna be long, y'all... and maybe a wee bit gory.