The Long Version (mostly for my memory's sake)

We woke up at 5 am on Wednesday to call the hospital (as we were instructed) to make sure there was a birthing room available ... well, there wasn't. Apparently all the pregnant women in the city decided to go in to labor that day - and the hospital did not feel that Carson's induction was as important as these "walk ins" who had NOT made a reservation! So we waited until noon when they finally called back and asked us to be there at 12:30. I was shown to the delivery room right away and made quick friends with Sammy, the delivery nurse. She was soooooooo wonderful and made us feel very comfortable. She also went and tracked down the greatest anesthesiologist in the world, Dr. Owens, who spent the hardest hour of his career administering my epidural. It was really complicated because of my back surgery 11 years ago which has left a slew of metal scraps and fused bones in the way of my spine! I was hooked up to machines and IVs immediately which showed that I was already having contractions (though I couldn't feel them yet). I finally started feeling them around 2:30 which is when the epidural took effect - so that was lucky. From that point on, until around 8 it was smooth sailing for me. For Carson, not so much. The contractions kept causing his heart rate to drop, so they would have to take me off the pitocin for hours at a time which of course slowed the whole process down. Fortunately, he was able to hang in there, so the threat of a c-section never became too real. I couldn't feel anything below my waist so I welcomed family visitors in and out of the room, we watched TV, and movies. That all went by really fast, and then, around 7:30 my epidural began to wear off (yikes) - which was a risk with the complications of its insertion. They tried to increase the dosage, but without success. By this time I was dilated beyond 7cm, and made it to 10cm in about 30 minutes. I was definitely starting to feel the pain, but had to wait about 30 mins to push for Dr. Jansky to arrive. Also, at this time the nursing shifts changed so I had to bid farewell to my beloved Sammy and was introduced to Sandra - who was completely different, but the Lord's perfect provision for this next phase of labor. We began pushing at 8:30. Sandra instructed me on exactly what to do, Dr. Jansky was a perfect mix between encouragement and business and Daniel was in the zone - doing more than I could have ever dreamed! I pushed for an hour - an hour I wouldn't mind forgetting one day, though parts of it make me laugh now. Eventually, Dr. Jansky went in w/ the forceps and fished him out. She kept exclaiming, "LOOK AT YOUR SON!" But I was kind of out of it and wouldn't say it was the most sentimental of moments. Daniel cut the cord, and got to hold him for about 30 mins before they took him to clean and test him. So, that's about how it went - or all I can remember, at least.