Live from Labor and Delivery

8pm: Check into labor and delivery. Our nurse of the evening is Burnie.

9pm: Miso pill inserted to get this show on the road. What a pain, every time I have to pee, which is every 5 minutes with this IV, I have to call the nurse. She has to unhook me from everything, and help me and my supplies into the bathroom. UGH, I'm going to try and not use the bathroom unless it's an emergency!

10:30 pm: Miso pill working in fact working too well, contractions coming strong and one on top of the other. Nolen's not a happy camper. 3 nurses run in to give me a shot that will slow/ stop all the contractions and give me an oxygen mask to help little man. Super stressed and scared, can't stop shaking from that shot. :(

10:30- 4:00 am: Nurses running in and out sporadically because Nolen's little heart beat is in distress. A quick flip of me to the other side and we're good to go!

4:00 am: Pitocen started, contractions coming every 1-2 minutes. Strong but not unbearable. Feels like aunt flo cramps. Just enough to keep me awake. 1cm dilated, 50% effaced.

8:00 am: Dr. B arrives to check things out. Breaks my water (with what appears to be a crochet hook, yikes!) and kicks up the pitocin. Nurses switch shifts, our new nurse is Jossie. 2 cm dilated, 80% effaced

8:00 am- 10:00am- HELL! Strong, painful, hellish contractions coming every 1-2 minutes. GIVE ME DRUGS, give me whatever you have! I think back to my original plan of doing this drug free and quickly realize how crazy that was! I like to think that I have a pretty high pain tolerance, and this is unbareable. Through each contraction I can't talk, move, or have anyone touch me. Tim's trying to help by rubbing my back (like we learned in class), it's all I can do to mumble "GET OFF!" I think I might vomit, this is going to be a LONG day! I set Tim on a mission to get a hold of someone who can give me drugs, and pronto!

10:00 am: Drugs arrive. Ahhh, instinct relief. Epidural is my new best friend, literally. I would happily have paid any amount of money for my new friend. I can still wiggle my toes and move my legs but can't feel a single contraction! Anyone who would consider not getting this little miracle is crazy. It is heaven in an IV. Yippee!

12:00 pm: Watching house hunters, updating my blog, thinking of playing makeover on myself, in my hospital bed. Life is good! 4cm dilated, 90% effaced. They said we could have our little man as soon as 6pm :)

1:00 pm: 3 super mama contractions back to back, Nolen didn't like that. Pitocen stopped, oxygen applied, little mans heart rate monitored closely. 5 cm dilated.

2:00 pm: back on track...pitocen back on. And I got a Popsicle, Yummy!!! Thia is turning into a very long day. 6 cm dilated...slowly but surely.

3:00pm: I have another new friend, his name is Bob the epidural button! He's been hanging out next to me all day and whenever we get a huge contraction I can just push him. Ahhh...now if we could only find a tequila dispenser that works the same way! 7 cm dilated, woot woot!

4:15: Nolen has been break dancing all day. In fact he's danced so much that he danced all the fluid around him out. Catheter in, giving little man some more dancing fluid. Pitocin still going. What have I been doing to pass the time you ask, shopping online for baby clothes of course.

6:00pm: 10 cm dilated...it's go time!

7:46: Mr. Nolen Reed makes his grand entrance into the world. 7 pounds, 3 ounces- 21 Inches of perfectness!