Yes, I did have the baby

It has been almost 2 weeks since Jaelyn made her debut. It's been a crazy time trying to figure out a newborn, and also trying to figure out how to survive on sleep deprivation. So, the blog has been on hold until I found some time to just sit and think.

And with only getting about an hour of sleep last night, I'm not sure why I decided right now would be the opportune time to write up a little post. Jaelyn is finally asleep, and I think that I should be joining her. Hopefully she doesn't wake up as soon as I lay down. That seems to be our routine lately.

Anyway...the information you have all been waiting for:

Jaelyn Elizabeth Kemp was born on May 29, 2012 at 11:01 pm. She was an extremely healthy baby, weighing 7lbs 9.5oz (not the 8+ lbs the doctor guesstimated) and 21.5 inches long.

The whole labor and delivery thing was not at all what I expected it to be. Hearing countless horror stories from other women, I just knew that I was going to have a terrible delivery. And so I expected the very worst. 

How wrong I was! I was totally surprised by how easy it all seemed.

We were scheduled for an induction at 8am on Tuesday. I really didn't want to be induced, but...and let's just be honest here, I really didn't want to be pregnant any longer either. I was just so ready to meet my baby. And see my toes again.

By 9:30 they had started me on petocin and broken my water. How totally uncomfortable! Water leaking out of you all day is just not fun. I held off on getting an epidural for several reasons. One, I didn't want a giant needle in my back. It totally freaks me out. Two, I didn't want to have to get a catheter. That also really freaks me out. And three, it costs SO MUCH! I was trying to take the less expensive route and just endure. 

Well the enduring was going quite well. I was having contractions, but they were definitely bearable. But around the afternoon/early evening the doctor said that I really wasn't making great progress. And if I did get the epidural, it would make me relax, which could help the baby move down more and all that doctor lingo jargon stuff.

Eventually I just agreed to it. And boy was it a great decision!! I felt great! And I felt no pain until about 9:30 pm. I was certain that the epidural was wearing off, and I continued to push the button frantically, hoping to get some more juice in my system. Of course, it doesn't work like that. But when you're in pain, you don't think very rationally.

And apparently things were progressing quite rapidly. The nurse checked me around 10pm, and said I was at 8cm. Phil was trying to tell me jokes to get my mind off of the pain. But all he really ever got out was "A priest walked into a bar". Over and over again, a priest walked into a bar. Nothing else every happened. It was a bit amusing to see him getting nervous about all that was about to happen. Around 10:30 I called the nurse and told her I was feeling more pressure (And here I thought the epidural would help me NOT feel the pain. Pish posh!). She checked me again and said it was time to push.  Everyone was told to go to the waiting room, and they anticipated being there several more hours.

The nurse said the doctor would be there in about 10-15 minutes. She strolled in as everything was getting underway and delivered my baby at 11:01pm. I pushed for approximately 20-30 minutes.

And here are some pictures to prove that the whole thing really did happen: