We had a BABY!

Well, we had a baby. It's a boy, and we named him Levi Hunter Franjesevic. He was born on Wednesday November 17th at 8:48 pm, 6 lbs 13 oz. We were scheduled to be induced that day at noon. When we got there, however I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes consistently. They decided that they may in fact not start me on the pitocin because I may go completely natural. But, I got up to go to the bathroom and when I came back my contractions came to an almost complete halt. After 25 minutes or so, they went ahead and started me on the pitocin and contractions came back. After an hour, they upped my dose and my contractions got stronger and a little bit more painful and I was even nauseous. They gave me some zofran for my nausea and then later they gave me some fentanyl to take the edge of the pain. Well, the fentanyl didn't do a whole lot because my water broke and everything on the pain and pressure scale multiplied by about 10. I could tell Tim was getting scared because I was literally on one side gripping the bedside so hard, practically convulsing and trying to breathe through the contractions. I understand now why pregnant women yell at their husbands during this stage. I tended to tense up and not breathe completely and he would remind me to breathe and I remember being so irritated with him. However, no mean words or names were spoken and I'm proud of that one.
Back to my water breaking. No one was in the room except Tim and I when it happened. We called the nurse's station to let them know but apparently no one told our nurse and after 25 minutes of those painful contractions Tim went out to find her to tell her that I wanted my epidural NOW. She was mildly upset because no one had told her that my water had broken. Also, no one then believed me that my water DID break even after they checked me. In fact, they still had the docotor come in later to try and break my water and when he tried he said "ummm, there's no bag of waters TO break, all I can feel is the baby's head" But that was after the most amazing part, the epidural. To be honest, I was terrified of getting the epidural because of the risks involved and even some of the horror stories I've heard in the past. But, they weren't kidding when they say you get to that certain point where you just want to be relieved of the pain, no matter the cost. They raised the bed up really high so that my lower back was even with the anesthesiologist's torso. His name was Doug and he was VERY nice and did everything really quick. In fact, I was surprised he was done when he told me he was. I even told him that I loved him to which he responded to Tim, "Don't be jealous, every woman tells me that" Soon enough, the medicine kicked in and I was feeling so much better. I fell asleep for about an hour and a half. I didn't realize that the epidural would still allow me to somewhat feel and move my legs and lower half. I actually didn't think it had worked because I could still move and feel my contractions. My mind changed when they came in to check my progress and I literally could not feel anything that they were doing. I was so comfortable and I loved it. I don't know how women do it without, kudos to them. By this time, they told me I was completely dilated and it was time to start pushing. So, one nurse and Tim spent the next 45 minutes with me, coaching me through the pushing process until the baby was close enough that the doctor could come in and basically catch him. The doctor came in and after a few more pushes, decided that he would use the vacuum assist to help get the baby's head out. Before that he also decided that he would be preventing any more tearing by giving me an episiotomy. Soon enough, after one last push, my little guy's head was out and then the rest came easy. They quickly took him to look him over while Tim went and watched and took pictures, all while the Doctor stitched me up. Apparently, I had a 3rd degree episiotomy which is a little more extensive and painful afterwards. I'm definitely not a fan of going to the bathroom just because it's such a long process of cleaning and its uncomfortable the entire time. Other than my episiotomy and a hemorrhoid or two, I'm doing pretty well. I have my prescription drugs, my sitz bath, and of course my son who made the whole thing worthwhile. I can't even begin to imagine my life without him now. He's perfect and I love him so much. It's truly love at first sight and I will never forget that moment.