Submitted by Joanna in TN
(read more by visiting http://thebouldins.blogspot.com/)
We left the house around 6:40 am to be at the hospital for check in at 7 am. Christopher had spent the night so he could be here to take care of Julia during the day for us. At the hospital we answered questions and filled out paperwork and were eventually admitted into my Labor, Delivery and Recovery (LDR) room about 7:20 am. I got in bed and met my nurse, got hooked up to a number of monitors and started answering even more questions!
Around 8 am, Dr. McKeown stopped by to break my water. Generally he also starts a pitocin drip at this time, but he was very accommodating about my request to “see what happens” once my water broke and to wait on the pitocin a few hours.
Since I had (repeatedly) told my nurse that I would like an epidural, she went ahead and put me on the anesthesia list. At that time I was dilated about 3.5 cm and contracting very regularly every 2-3 minutes. After about an hour, the anesthetist came by, asked even more questions and inserted the epidural. At this point, I wasn’t getting any medicine, but having it in place meant I would get medication MUCH quicker once I decided I wanted it. During the insertion, Dave headed out of the room … he saw too much of that stuff last time. When he got back, he rubbed in the fact that he’d been down in the basement at the cafeteria eating waffles. Meanie! 
And then we basically waited … and waited … and waited …
On the television screen where my monitors showed my (and baby’s) stats, you can see the stats of everyone in the labor/delivery section. So Dave spent a bit of time telling me how awesome I was doing compared to all the other women hooked up at that time 
Very encouraging. We had time to take some pictures, do some puzzles and just hang out. Actually, it was really nice because things have been so crazy these last few weeks, the two of us haven’t had a lot of time to sit and chat. HA! It was a much more relaxed situation than when I came in last time!
I had them start the epidural pump around 11:30 am. It took the edge off, but I could still feel the contractions. I didn’t realize that would happen since it went so differently with Julia.
Dr. McKeown came by to check on me around noon and said it would be another hour or two or three. He said I was right around 8 cm. This was about the time my contractions started pegging off the chart.
Around 12:45 pm, Dave was telling me something about one of the other women on the monitor and I looked at him and said, “I think you should ask the nurse to come check me and let her know I can’t NOT push during these contractions.” He turned back to the monitor and started to say something else and I said, “Uh, NOW!” Hee. I think his mind wasn’t ready to hear that things were about to happen!!
The nurse came chirruping in, “I was just telling the ladies out there that I bet you were complete and ready to go … ” She lifted up the sheet and sprinted for the door, “Amy, call Dr. McKeown and tell him to RUN! We are CROWNING in here!” Oh boy! And then things really got crazy …
The epidural had worn off by that time … that I know. And Dr. McKeown didn’t have time to get into a proper gown and the nurses didn’t have time to prepare the bed … that I know. And this one wasn’t sliding out as quickly as Julia … that I know. And I remember screaming at the doctor, “Just get him OUT!” … everything else is kind of a blur until I could hear the doctor saying, “He’s a big one!”
I did tell Dave later that I felt a weird sense of accomplishment having pushed this kid out into the world. It was hard work! And totally worth it …
