Baby Cole.

He is here. Baby Cole. He's a cutie.

Here's the story:

I went into labor Saturday night. (I was secretly hoping to.) Contractions started about 1:45 am. They were about 7-8 minutes apart.....then 10 minutes apart and then as soon as I got up they stayed at 5 minutes apart for an hour. I was pretty sure my water hadn't broken which made it more confusing. (Am I in labor or not?) Despite being a little unsure, we dropped Carter off with my sis and headed to the hospital figuring that if I wasn't in labor we would just go home.

We show up at the hospital around 10:00 am. I definitely got the vibe that they didn't think I was in labor and the nurses admitted that after everything was said and done. (I guess the machine wasn't really reading my contractions well because my uterus is tipped so they couldn't see how strong they were and my water hadn't broken.) Ha.

Well....we were all in for a surprise because as soon as the doctor checked me I was at 9 cm and ready to go. Ha. Ha. (It's funny now.) I decided to do it naturally since I was so far and it would only take a few pushes. (In theory.) The nurses encouraged me.

The doctor breaks my water and that's when the real drama began. I screamed my head off. It hurt. I guess the entire floor could hear me. I was a drama queen and didn't care one bit.

After processing everything now, I can say that it would have been nice to have mentally prepped for a natural delivery before doing it...just a few pointers would have been nice.

Despite the nurses attempts to help me (they kept saying "you need to stay in control"....what?), I was processing absolutely nothing that they were saying and focusing all on the pain. Once I started pushing right ("baring down"), I didn't really feel the contractions just lots of pressure...which isn't a cake walk but much better then post-water breaking contractions.

Mind you this is all happening in a time frame of about 20 minutes.

So back to the labor...I have a few good pushes between a whole lot of screaming. Cole is about ready to enter the world. I just need to come up with one good push. The doctor says if I don't they would have to vacuum suck him out because his heart rate was dropping. That was a game changer for me. I had all the motivation now because the last thing I wanted was my precious baby to be vacuumed suctioned out of me. How awful does that sound? So I pulled it together, "bared down", and out he came.

And it was so satisfying when they plopped him on my chest. Loved that moment.

I'm glad it's over. I was emotionally, mentally, and physically traumatized. My body was shaking and I didn't know what to do with myself. I had no words or thoughts. Casey was doing about as well as I was. Poor guy.

It was an experience. I must say doing it without an epidural made recovery so much easier and a lot more satisfying when it was over.

We got home Tuesday afternoon thankfully. I was ready to leave the hospital. St. Luke's is great but between all the nurses and doctors that come in and out doing whatever I was wanting to lose my mind. Is it really necessary to check vitals 20 times? Remember....I am emotional. :)

Despite my crazy hormones, I am thankful for everything and my 2 healthy baby boys.

Maybe next time (if there is a next time.....who knows?) I will do a home birth. (Ha. Ha.) My husband will definitely veto that one.

All the boys. Love this pic!

I'd say he's a pretty good reward for all that pain. :)