Labor and Delivery

Well, I'm just now getting some time to sit down and type. It's been a crazy week. I'll try to give a concise version of the labor story. It still makes me twitch to think about it in too much detail.

It all started when I woke up with contractions at 4:30 Friday morning. They were about 7-8 minutes apart. They weren't too strong, but I definitely knew what it was. They continued, but didn't progress, so Friday we went for a walk and stayed active, but nothing happened.
As the night wore on, they got to be about 5 minutes apart and stronger, so at 3:00 Saturday morning we went to the hospital.

At my first exam, I was only 2 cm (burst my bubble). After 3-4 hours, I was at 4 cm (slow progress). The midwife took me to the delivery room where contractions got much more painful, but I could handle them. Then, the Dr. came in to examine me, and I was only at 5 cm (are you KIDDING me?). He went ahead and broke my water. That was actually humorous, because I couldn't see it, but the look on Jonathan and my mom's faces was priceless. After that, the contractions got CRAZY painful, and I started asking for pain meds. I was scared it was going to last another several hours. The Dr. said I was too late for an epidural, but they could do an infusion with an IV. So, by the time the release was signed and she got the IV in me, I felt the overwhelming urge to push, so she turned it off. I was only at 8 cm, so she had me panting to keep from pushing, which is the hardest thing in the world. A few minutes later, I was at 10 cm and free to push. After what seemed like FOREVER, a BIG purple baby girl was laying on the bed with me. The midwife was great, and I didn't have any stitches. The Dr. just stood back and watched! My mom had to help the midwife hold my legs. I was squeezing Jonathan's hand and he was taking pics and video. I was shaking uncontrollably afterwards, but it was worth it to see our perfect little girl and hold her in my arms.