Labor

Being pregnant was not too bad. I mean I'm not one of those women who feels amazing while she's pregnant but I'm also not completely miserable. Somewhere in the middle.

Labor was what I refered to as screaming agony my whole pregnancy. I knew it was coming and everyday creeping closer. I was scared to say the least. I just didn't want to feel the pain. (but who wants to feel pain) I wanted the epidural 2 months before my due date. Suprisingly the doctor didn't agree to that.

So on March 19th I woke up at 8 am and thought hmmmm...could this be labor!? I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't..more excited than anything. So I took a shower (they tell you to do that since you might not get one for a while) and James and I hung out to distract me. We went for a drive (saw Jamie and Lyndon in their yard) and ate some lunch. We called my parents and Rachel since they had to get on the road. Everyone started to show up around 5 ish I think. And we ordered pizza, put together the exersaucer, watched TV, walked in the back yard and timed contractions. At this time (7 or 8) I was thinking if this is it I'm golden. The whole day I was at 5 min but nothing was really happening. As the evening progressed though things started to move along. Around 10 or 11 I stopped being able to talk during contractions and they weren't so funny anymore. So we packed up and headed to the hospital.

I was nervous and excited and scared and happy and a million other things on the 15 min ride to the hospital. But most of all I thought that I was probably pretty far along and would be having a baby soon. Well I got to triage and they checked and I was only 1 centimeter...WHAT? After all that (14 hrs) only 1! They said that I could walk the halls for an hour and then they would check again...if I wasn't 3-4 then I had to go home. So I walked up and down the hall in my nightgown with James, Mom, Dad, Rachel, Cynthia, Bill, John, Chris and Will looking on or walking with me. After an hour I was 3-4 and got a room. By this time it was almost 2. So they called for the epidural cause it take and hour for them to get there.

My parents, Rachel and Cynthia found places to crash for the night (the waiting room, hallway and chapel). James snored on the pull out chair/bed in our room and I talked to the nurse and rested...I was just to excited to sleep.

The next morning around 9 the midwife came in and checked and I was almost 10 so she said that if I didn't feel like pushing yet they would let me wait an hour and then start. An hour went by and she checked. 10..Finally. I still felt nothing so she went to put on her gown. The second she stepped out of the room I just had to push so I told James to run and get her. He said she would be back in a minute and I said I don't have a minute. She ran back in and 26 min later out came our beautiful baby. I just remember the midwife saying "wow, its a moose head!" She was huge. My mom was so excited she ran to the door and started gesturing madly to my dad and Cynthia...10, 10. They couldn't figure out what she ment (10 minutes, 10 cm's, what?) so my dad came over and found out that she was 9 lbs 15 oz.

I will never forget the first moment I held that little girl. My heart grew and felt like it would burst. I loved her with everything I had in that moment. Its the only time I have ever experience that intense love for someone who has never said a word or done a thing for me. She was so chubby, red, crabby and cute. I love her so much.