Daniel's Birth

Quick run down of the labor.

7:30 : Arrived at L&D to get ready for induction.

9:15-9:30 : Dr. checked cervix - hey now I'm 4cm. Yeah!! Doctor breaks my water. Apparently no one was quite prepared for the tidal wave as I soaked the bed, all the pads and the nurse's leg. I think someone mentioned building an ark.

10:30 : Do I or don't I want the epidural yet?? With every contraction I say yes, then there is the relief and I think maybe not yet.

10:45 : Never mind I want the epidural. I have gone from hey, these aren't too bad to breathing through them to this breathing thing is a crock of shit all in the course of an hour.

11:15 : Nurse tries to get someone to check my cervix. No one available to check me. Oh well, the epidural team is here.

11:30 : Epidural in place. Aaah relief. I can feel alot of the tension leaving my body.

12:00 : How come I'm feeling contractions on my right side? They suggest I lean to the right as there is a gravitational affect. The contractions aren't painful, just noticable. I feel like I need to fart. LOL!!

12:30 : OK, now they are on the left too. But these are tolerable also. I want to lay flat, but this is not an option. Are you sure the epidural is working and it wasn't just a quick fix dose?

1:00 : Nurse has been staying in room me the entire time, since before the epidural. Strange. I find out it's because she thinks I'm ready.

Blurred time : I tell the nurse the tops of my tops of legs are aching. She disappears. Comes back with a doc to follow. The doc checks my cervix. "Fully!" Excuse me? Did you say 4 still. NO, she said fully!! Doc told me to give a sample push then said whoa, stop stop stop!! Do not push. Call Dr. J. and get him here.

Luckily Dr. J was in the hospital getting ready to check in on me. 2 pushes (barely) later Daniel arrived. There was no time for them to gown up or even break down the bed it happened so fast. It was amazing.

Ethan was so funny. They had my feet up in stirrups and he said "I think that's the head" He started asking if it was the head, but everyone was in such a rush no one responded to him. Daniel came out with his hand right up by his face and was grabbing the doctor's fingers on the way. I guess it was quite the site.

His arrival was quick and beautiful. He had a mucous plug at first, but that didn't prevent him from letting out that big scream. The placenta had begun to calcify so I am glad I had the induction when I did, however based on my progress I believe he would have arrived on his own within a few days.

He is doing wonderfully. He's a bit of a sleepy baby, so feeding can be difficult as I have to wake him all of the time. Life is adjusting and we are so happy.