Lauren's Grand Appearance!

Finally... at 4:43 p.m. on October 24, 2008, Lauren Brynn made her entrance into the world! She is absolutely perfect and the cutest little thing to boot!

I don't really want to bore you with all the details, but here is how it went down, er, came out ;) For those of you who are interested... if you aren't, enjoy the photos :)

We went to the hospital at 7 p.m. on Thursday evening to be induced. I didn't really know what to expect, other than the end result of course, but I didn't know I was going right to Labor & Delivery! We get to our room, get settled and then a couple of hours later, the doctor comes in to start the induction process. Balloon in, check. Contractions intensified, check. Progress? Not so much! Around midnight, the nurse comes in and suggests that I get a dose of Nubain so I can get some sleep, so I take it with open arms. Let me tell you how great of a drug that is! Within seconds of it entering my bloodstream, I feel as if I am drunk! Drunk and in labor, what?! Really though, it was great. I instantly fell asleep and would stay that way until 7:30 in the morning. Other than the hour on the hour blood pressure checks, it was nice to get some rest...

Over night, my blood sugar level dropped, so nausea set in...it was so bad that my blood sugar dropped and I was allowed solid food. At this point, Pitocin was started, contractions still in action and was nauseous, such a lovely combination. This is the way I would stay until noon when the wonderful anesthesiologist by the name of Frank came in and did his work with my epidural - which I was afraid to get (Heather, let's talk about this)! I got the epidural at this point not because I couldn't handle the contractions I was already having, but if I didn't get it then I wouldn't be able to get it at all and I wasn't going to have any part of feeling all that pain!

Finally, it was time to call the family and have them come to the hospital for the show was really on the road! So from 12:15 to 4:00 Aaron and I sat and chatted with family and enjoyed the labor process. The only thing I really remember in that time frame was the wonderful experience of my water spontaneously breaking... I couldn't wait a few more minutes for the doctor to come and do it, and that wouldn't be the only time I couldn't wait for her... We were all just sitting and chatting away, Aaron and my mom watching T.V. and Mark just minding his business and there I am, feeling like I just got into a huge squirt gun fight and I was the only contender!

After that, everything happened SO fast... I don't know if it really did happen fast, but it did feel like it. Around 4, I was checked and was told "it's time to push!" Oh what? Come again? Push? So there it started and lasted for roughly 20 minutes... Yes, only 20 minutes... I was lucky enough to not feel any pain, only the urge to push. My nurse was WONDERFUL with helping me along and getting me set up for the doctor... the doctor who wasn't even back to the hospital yet. Yep, you got it, I was one of those lucky women who gets to push, then wait for the doctor! Good thing I wasn't pushing for long, I can only imagine what those women feel, oh man! Finally, the doctor shows up, does her magic, we go through 2 more rounds of pushing and the rest is history!