Baby Aaron has arrived!

I went in for my scheduled induction on June 15th at 7am. It was my mom, Jeremy and I when we checked in, soon to be followed by my in laws. They got me all checked in, set up on my IV (I needed antibiotics for a + test for Strep B). My doctor came in and said that he was going to break my water and see how things got moving. I was a bit apprehensive because of the fact that I wasn't SUPER dilated or effaced and not sure that my body was going to progress (I'm not sure why I was so concerned, I just think that with each delivery I go through well, I fear that the next may not be as good). So I asked him if it was possible NOT to break my water and just start me on a mild dose of pitocin. He is such a fantastic doctor, he really listened to my concerns and basically went along with what I thought was best. I so appreciated that about him. So I was started on pitocin around 8am, on the minimum dose. Contractions did NOT start. They kept upping the dose, very slowly, and around 10am we started getting a few contractions. Once I got to 3cm and 75% effaced, he broke my water (10:50am). The contractions continued, nice and steady (about 3-4 minutes apart) and nice and strong, without being TOO strong. It was actually the BEST labor experience I've ever had, it was what I would imagine a "natural" labor being like...slowly progressing, not unbearable by any means. It was JUST right. It was definitely longer than my last 2 labors, but the fact that it was slow and steady was awesome. The contractions started getting stronger and I was starting to shake, which for ME indicates some good progress, but when they checked me, I was only at 5-6cm. I knew that when I get to that point, I tend to go rather quickly...so not wanting to take any chances, I asked them if they could get me started on an epidural. Now, let me just say, I did NOT want an epidural, I didn't NEED an epidural, but I was afraid that as things progressed, the pain might get a bit out of control (due to my past experiences). In retrospect, I should have gone without...but as they say, hindsight is 20/20. So they came in to give me the epidural. I had a VERY simple request (at least I thought so). My request was: diminish the pain of the contractions without killing all feeling in my legs. I didn't want a STRONG dose of anything, just a tiny "take the edge off" dose. Apparently that's not how epidurals work. Once I got it, my entire left leg went dead. I could not move it to save my life, in fact, once it started falling off the bed, and had someone not caught it, I probably would have dislocated my hip! The right leg was tingly, but had enough feeling to move it. The contractions, however, didn't change. Nice! I called the anesthesiologist back into the room to see if there was anything that could be done to fix my situation. She started getting an attitude with me, telling me that what I was asking for was impossible. So I said, "nevermind, I'll deal with it". The contractions did diminish a bit...enough to where they were painful, but I didn't have to BREATHE through them, so I was okay. Things didn't progress as quickly as I would have liked though...I was a bit surprised. The doctor came in and said, "Hmmm..we're going to put in a catheter and drain your bladder and see if that helps things to progress". Sure enough, he put it in an my bladder was FULL! Lo and behold, as soon as they did that, I went to 9cm, and baby was at 0 station, ready to move on out! The contractions were now hard, enough to have to seriously focus and breathe through them, but I could feel Aaron moving down...I knew it'd be quick. The doctor came in, checked me and said, "Oh wow, he's RIGHT there...2 pushes or so and he should be out!". He got all set up, I pushed 3 times and there was my precious baby boy!! It was by far the easiest, most wonderful delivery I've had.
Aaron Wilfried Troyer came into the world at 6pm on the dot, weighing 7lbs6oz and 21 inches long. I was released from the hospital within 22 hours (I could have left earlier if things had been better planned--we weren't expecting to be released so early, so the car seat wasn't in the car, so Jeremy had to drive all the way back home again). I needed to get out of there, it was so busy and I had to room with a first time mommy with a very fussy baby...so even though Aaron was fairly quiet and sleepy, I couldn't sleep much because of the OTHER baby in my room.
Aaron is wonderful, his brother and sisters ADORE him (in fact, I'm having trouble finding a slot to hold my OWN baby!). Luke gave him his favorite blanket and offered him some of his pacifiers. Savannah held Aaron last night AND read Luke a bedtime story at the same time and Abby has literally cried over not being able to hold him as much as she'd like. They just LOVE having this sweet little guy home, and so do I! He seems to be confused on days/nights, he's not nursing as well as I would like because he's so sleepy, and so far it's been very difficult to put him down without him waking up and crying. Then again, every time I've tried to put him down, there is someone standing in line wanting to hold him the second he squeaks. Hopefully the novelty will wear off fairly soon and we can get into a more reasonable routine, but for now we'll just enjoy our precious little blessing from the Lord.

One more thing I want to note just for future notice: Aaron was delivered by Dr. Kenneth Nelson, the nurses name was Diana (she was a very chatty, sweet lady). Jeremy, my mom and Karen were present at the delivery--Jonathan waited in the waiting room, but was there for all of the non-graphic stuff. The nurse that took care of me in the evening after delivery was named Joy...she kept telling me how cute Aaron is--that he looks "just like an Anne Geddes baby". Oh, and Aaron has a little black birth mark on his left calf.

After all of the issues with the epidural, I didn't get feeling back into my leg to where I could bear weight on the leg and walk on my own until after midnight--I was starting to wonder if I'd ever walk again! Also, the only real pain I have after this birth is the pain in my back from the epidural...not sure I'd ever go that route again.