Thanks to Melissa, my DDB, for updating you all, even though she has Miss Emily at home.
I'll post a longer birth story and, of course, more pics later. For now...
12am - Woke up to pee. Got back into bed and starting getting really bad lower back pain on my left side. Never had that all pregnancy. Woke up DH when it wouldn't go away. He massaged it, it got better, and I decided to move to the recliner.
1am - I hadn't fallen back asleep yet and felt a small gush of fluid. I honestly thought that I might have just peed myself because I was having a BH, and my bladder has gotten increasingly weak.
1:30am - Decided I should take a shower just in case and just see what happens.
2:00am - Went to the bathroom, and after peeing felt a pop. When I wiped, there was bloody show. Painful contractions (though totally manageable) started within less than 10 minutes. I woke up DH, who got everything ready while I finished up my hair and got dressed.
2:45am- We left the house, with contractions ranging from 4-6 minutes apart. It moved fast.
3:30am - Checked in with L&D.
4:00am - Got hooked up to monitors, while contractions progressed to every 1-3 minutes apart. Upon examination, I was already almost 6cm. I told them I wanted an epidural.
I honestly was really proud of getting through contractions with breathing, though. I did better than I thought I would, and my husband and the nurses were so encouraging.
4:30am - Three different nurses and the anesthesiologist tried desperately to get an IV started in my hands/wrists, but my veins kept disappearing. After six very painful sticks, the anesthesiologist finally just put it in my arm. Not the ideal spot, but she had to put it somewhere if I wanted an epidural.
5:30am - I finally got the epidural, at almost 8cm dilated. Oh the relief! However, my left side was not completely numbed, so I felt all the intensity of the contractions in a small portion of my uterus and hip.
6:30am - I was dilated to just about 10cm. Jackson was a bit stressed during each major contraction, so they decided to just keep monitoring, readjust my position, and wait for him to do a lot of the work on his own.
7:15am - The nurses helped me to get him to crown with just two contractions. Then we waited for the OB.
7:45am - The OB and nurses talked me through one more contraction (three pushes), and Jackson was born. Actually being able to feel the contractions on that small portion of my left side was really helpful. I knew exactly when I needed to push.
7:51am - Jackson William was born, at 6 pounds & 10 ounces and 19.5 inches long. Five-pound baby, my ***! My placenta was delivered seriously within three minutes of Jackson's birth.
I did suffer a second-degree tear, so I have some stitches and some pain. I'm just taking Motrin, though, and doing okay. The epidural wore off fast, and when I could finally pee on my own, I think I peed for 5 minutes straight. The nurse and I were totally laughing about it.
Jackson is absolutely adorable, though he is definitely cone-headed since the pushing was so intense and fast. He has a full head of black hair and dark blue-gray eyes for now. He also has a dimple on his left cheek. He has a combination of our features, though I think he probably favors me a little bit more for now.
He latched like a champion within 20 minutes of birth, and I was so relieved to be able to provide him with colostrum. He has since nursed again successfully. And I am getting ready to nurse yet again. Then I plan to try to get a nap because I am pretty darn exhausted.
Okay, so that ended up not being just a summary.
