My Labor Experience

First off, let me just say that I am thoroughly enjoying being a mom and I think it's the most wonderful thing I have ever experienced. I have loved every second if it!
Ok so here's what happened:
Tuesday, October 16th
We had our weekly checkup in the morning. I was dilated to a 2 and about 80% effaced with the baby at a 0 station. My doctor told us that since my cervix was ripe enough, he could induce me on the coming Thursday. I had a little panic attack when he said that, but Brandon got really excited. We talked about it between the 2 of us for a few minutes and decided to go for it! I had already been to the hospital a few days prior for some serious stomach pain so I was ready to have the baby come out. We had them schedule the induction for Thursday morning.
Wednesday, October 17th
I freaked out pretty much all day.
Thursday, October 18th
7:00am-We both woke up before our alarms went off because we were so anxious.
8:00-Brandon left for his volleyball class and I was left to freak out at home.
8:10-Brandon was back from his volleyball class because his teacher told him to go have a baby.
8:30-We left for the hospital. Let me tell you, that was the LONGEST ride to Orem I have ever experienced. We listened to pandora on the way there and the song "Don't worry 'bout a thing" came on. How appropriate.
8:50-We arrived at the hospital.
9:00-The nurse came in the room to get me all hooked up. She first put the IV in my left arm, but she didn't get it in my vein so my arm started hurting really bad. So she ripped it off and changed arms. The ripping off of the tape was the worst part of the morning. She eventually got it all right and we were left to be. By this time it was 10:00. (Oh, and now I have a huge bruise where she put the first IV...it is about 5 inches long on my arm. She really didn't have it in the right place.)
10:00-She started the oxytocin on a very small dose so I wouldn't get intense contractions right away. When we started the oxytocin, I was dilated to a 3 and still about 80-90% effaced. I decided that I didn't want the epidural until I was feeling pain, so I could still move at this point. The nurse came in every half hour to up the dose of oxytocin and to check my progress.
2:00-We were watching the Lord of the Rings and playing Phase 10 when she came to check me again. I hadn't progressed hardly at all so she decided to call the doctor to see what he would like to do. The contractions at this point were strong but not painful.
3:00-My doctor comes strutting in and says that he's come to break my water. I wasn't really prepared for that but we probably would have been there all day since nothing was happening.
3:10-My water was broken (what a weird feeling!) and everything was fine and dandy. I was expecting it to hurt when he broke my water but I surprisingly didn't feel anything except the gush of liquid. Almost immediately after my doctor walked out of the room, the contractions were very near unbearable. I told the nurse to get the anesthesiologist in there to give me the epidural as soon as possible. I only had to writhe in pain for about 10 minutes and he was all set up and ready to go. I was surprised how long it took for him to get everything set up and working, but I'm sure that's because I was in a lot of pain.
A few minutes later-My blood pressure dropped as well as the baby's. The alarm for code red was going off and a ton of nurses came running in the room. I couldn't breathe, I started shaking, and I got very light headed. My blood pressure was already very low during my whole pregnancy and epidurals lower your blood pressure even more, so that caused some problems. I think it got down to something like 70/40. The baby's heartbeat got down below 80 as well. I was put on oxygen and they gave me something to make my heart rate increase. This whole ordeal lasted about 30 minutes and then things were, for the most part, under control. Every time I had a contraction the baby's heart rate would drop alarmingly low. Because my water had been broken, we assumed that the cord was around the baby's neck so they went ahead and pumped me full of liquid. That helped a ton! By this point, both Brandon and I were scared and nervous. Brandon was glued to the monitors after the blood pressure fiasco and I was just praying everything would be ok.
6:00 pm-The nurse checked me and I was at a 6.
6:20-Dilated to an 8.
6:30-Ready to push!!
6:35-Doctor was ready, so we started pushing.
6:56-Baby was out and crying very loudly.
I did have to have an episiotomy, but other than that I am very happy with how the pushing went. I was very surprised that it was so easy. I was expecting the pushing part to hurt, but it was completely pain free. The baby didn't have the cord around his neck and other than just being a little small, he is absolutely perfect in every way.
The epidural took a long time to wear off. I wasn't able to move my right leg until a couple hours later, but the feeling in my left leg came back a little faster.
We stayed up pretty much all night just watching and gawking at the amazingly beautiful child that came to join our little family. We feel so blessed that he is healthy. We had a nurse come in and tell us that we were the only one of her patients that got to keep the baby in our room with us--all of the others were in the NICU. The only time the baby left was when the pediatricians had to check him out.
We stayed in the hospital until Saturday afternoon. I was feeling awesome (probably from the Percocet) so we went ahead and left. I am still pretty sore, but I feel much better than I did a few days ago. The baby is eating very well (which kind of surprised me because I've heard so many horror stories about breastfeeding) and we'll see tomorrow at the doctor's appointment if he's gained back any of the 6 ounces he lost during the hospital stay.
We absolutely love and adore Grant and we are excited for the years ahead. Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers in our behalf. We are so happy to finally have our rainbow baby after the long struggle with miscarriages. We know that the Lord truly blesses those who continue to be faithful even in times of discouragement and grief. We have definitely learned all about patience over the past 2 1/2 years and that things happen for a reason and when the Lord sees fit.

Only 2 1/2 weeks away!!

As I sit here bouncing on my yoga ball trying to induce labor, I figured it was the perfect time to update the blog since I've slacked off lately.
Things have been really great the past few months. I really can't complain because I know so many women have things far worse off than I do. Everyone keeps telling me I'm so small, but I am measuring exactly where I should be so I have no idea what they're talking about. I feel huge and that's what really matters, right? We finally have everything we need for the baby (except a stroller.....) and we are just getting excited for the day to finally be here! We made our predictions for when we think he'll come a few weeks ago. Brandon says this Thursday (which would be cool because it's 10/11/12) and he will weigh 6 lbs 4 oz. I said the 15th (which I promise has nothing to do with the fact that I have a midterm that day..........) and he'll weigh 6 lbs 10 oz. We will see who is right! (I secretly hope Brandon is right because that means we will see him this week!)
We have been taking long walks lately and I have been bouncing on my ball in hopes that it will speed things up a little, but to no avail. We also went out for Chinese food the other night and that didn't work, either. I guess we just need to be patient.
I've been reflecting a lot lately on our journey to have a baby, and I'm extremely grateful that Heavenly Father decided it was time for us to raise a child. We thank Him every night for the baby and are aware that this is a special opportunity for us to learn and grow. Thank you so much for your support and love through this long journey--the prayers and thoughts have been much appreciated.
Anyway, until next time...(we will have a baby next time!!)