it started tuesday around 3 a.m. james was running a couple days fashionably late and just about ready for his grand entrance. with the contractions getting more consistent through the morning, we decided to make the call and head over to the hospital around 10 a.m. at 11 a.m. i was dilated only 2-3 cm, by noon 5 cm, and so it continued until about 10 p.m. when we got to 10 cm. by then i felt like i was connected to a million things, from the iv pumping fluid to me, another one pumping pitocin, to the catheter pumping fluid to the baby and the catheter pumping fluid out of my bladder, to the epidural in my back, to an oxygen mask on my face, the blood pressure thing on my arm and probably a few others i can't remember. not my best look, i'm sure.
around midnight, when james was low enough, the nurse told me we were ready to push. to be honest, i wasn't very good at it and they kept telling me i was only pushing with my face so it was getting all red and squished with no action down below. after about an hour and half of that, they could finally see james' sweet little head poking through, at which point they called my doctor to come and do the rest of the delivery. so after about another 25 minutes of waiting, i pushed a couple more times and out came baby james! along the way i had to vomit a couple times and i got a 100.3 fever, but by 2:13 a.m. none of that seemed to matter because our baby boy was perched on my chest and i was in love!
i came in not knowing what to expect, and though it's definitely been mixed in with moments of cluelessness and emotional drainage, i can't help feeling the experience is more amazing and he is more precious than what i could've imagined. can't wait to see how james' journey continues to unfold, from bump to baby to...
