birth story

One of my greatest fears of getting pregnant was having to go through labor. Before my d&c, I had never had to have any type of procedure, surgery, etc.....so I guess at least the d&c gave me practice w/ an IV, being put to sleep, the lovely hospital gown, etc.During my first weekly appt. I learned that I was 1/2 cm dialated and 50% effaced......well nothing changed for the next few appts. The dr told me that I would have to be at least 2cm to be induced (which is what we wanted so that both sets of parents could make it, my doctor could deliver, we would be more relaxed making the commute to the hospital, etc.On Sept 26th we went out to dinner w/ some of dh's friends for his 30th bday/last night out. At dinner, I felt like I was going into labor. As we passed the hospital on the way home, I almost told dh to pull in, but didn't because I wasnt ready. I went home and immediately went to sleep--luckily the pain stopped.At my next weekly appt, the doctor told me that I was 2cm--woohoo!! We scheduled my induction for 2 days later and he stripped my membranes--which HURT!!!On October 2, we got up at 3:30 to get ready and head to the hospital. We were supposed to be there at 5, but running late as usual, got there at about 5:15.We were immediately taken to the birth suite thanks to pre-registration. The nurse had me put on the gown, etc. and started my IV.....well she wasnt quite prepared and as soon as she stuck me, I started gushing everywhere.....I thought that this was going to prob be my luck throughout the day!At about 6:40, the dr on call (who just so happened to be the one that I had switched from after my D&C, came in and checked me (I was 2 1/2 cm and 80% effaced) and then broke my water. I started feeling gushes and they would come with every contraction.Soon after that, she brought another nurse in and told me that she would be my L&D nurse. She was WONDERFUL and completely put me at ease. She then started me on pitocin, when got things going rather quickly and the contractions got SO much stronger.My doctor came in at about 7:20 and I was already 5cm and almost 100% effaced. He told me that I could go ahead and get the epidural.Unfortunately, the dr had a few to do before me and did not get there until about 8:30. By then, I was in a LOT of pain and he asked me several questions before getting the process started. I finally got it at about 8:45...but, by 9:00 I told the nurse that I did not feel right at all...she checked me and she freaked! The baby was right there and ready. She called my doctor and got everything together. I did 1 set of pushing, the baby's heart rate was going down, so they put me on oxygen and had me push every other contraction....After a few more pushes, she was here--at 9:27 am. The epidural might have taken a LITTLE of the pain away, but it definitely didn't set in until after I had her.The first thing that the dr said was that "daddy won" meaning she had blonde hair (and we later learned that she was identical to his baby pics).They put her on top of me which was the most amazing moment of my life. DH cut the cord, she scored a 9, and was taken to be weighed/measured.She was 7lb 1oz and 19 3/4 in long.None of our family made it before she was born (we told them to take their time b/c I would more than likely be in labor all day)...but it worked out for the best and we got to have a little family time w/ just the 3 of us before all of the visitors came.The doctors and nurses could not believe how quickly I had her. They said that most 2nd time moms didn't go that fast....Once dh called my mom to say that she was here, my mom actually freaked out thinking that something had happened and that I had to have an emergency c-section.It was definitely painful, although I am fortunate to have had a short L&D and would do it all over again in a heart beat!!The pain has not been bad thus far at all and we are adjusting quite nicely.