Long story...LONG (it's a labor story...you don't have to read)

In order to tell the story, I have to start from Tuesday morning, the 19th. Dr. Decker stripped my membranes the previous Friday and said, "I'll see you this weekend." Doctors really shouldn't give such promises! Anyway, all weekend I was having pretty good contractions, but nothing that would make me go to the hospital. Around 1:30am on Tuesday morning I was having contractions every two minutes. I waited to get Paul up because I didn't want to be sent home. I nudged him around 3:30am and told him what was going on and that I was getting in the shower to see if they'd go away if I was a little more relaxed. They didn't. We waited until the kids got up and we could arrange for someone to watch them until my Mom could get there that evening. She was planning on leaving the next day to come out with my brothers, but because I was in labor (or so we all thought) she was leaving the boys at home and flying to Tucson. We left for 45 minute drive to the hospital. My contractions weren't as frequent, but stronger. They checked and I was at a three. Dr. Decker was on call and had me walk around for an hour and get rechecked. I was still at a three. He had just gotten out of an emergency C-section and said he was very tired. He gave me some ambien and sent me home saying, "I'll see you sometime this week." He was right, I saw him at my appointment on Thursday. By then I was at a 4. He scheduled an induction on the 28th if nothing happened before then. For the next 4 days, I had contractions every ten minutes all day, and around one in the morning to four, was having contractions every one to two minutes. So, we made normal plans for the week. My Mom was wonderful enough to stay, let Paul and I go for walks and a date. We planned an anniversary outing, since we'd be celebrating our 4th. We went to bed Tuesday night anticipating our date the next day and induction the following. Around 12:30 I started getting contractions every minute. They were pretty uncomfortable, but contractions aren't comfortable. I waited...I really didn't want to get sent home again. They were getting stronger and I was having a hard time breathing through some of them. I nudged Paul. He must have sensed that things were different and started suggestioning we go in. I kept saying, "No, they'll just send me home." Finally, I couldn't talk, walk, and could hardly breathe during them. Paul convinced me. We got ready, told my mom we were leaving, and headed. It was now 3:30am and I was so not getting sent home! Tucson doesn't have a very good freeway system...well, one at all! Every turn, pot hole, or stop light became very uncomfortable. We finally got there, checked in at triage, and monitored. The nurse asked me what I was at the last time I was checked. I told her, and she said, "Well, honey you're at 6-7 and 90%. You just won yourself a ticket!" I was glad not to be sent home, but a little nervous about getting the epidural in time. My mom had just told me the day before that she would go from a 7 to a 10 in one contraction. Everything happened really fast. They told me that I was very important and they were going to get everything ready very quickly. Dr. Decker was on call and wanted me to have my epidural as soon as I got to my room. He was in a C-section and would come and check on me right after I got my epidural. I had to wait a few minutes for my labs. My epidural really wasn't as good as it was the last times. They had me tilted to one side so a lot of the fluid went to my left side and I was able to feel the contractions in a pocket around my right hip. So they rotated me to my right side. Dr. Decker checked, I was still at a 7, and he had to run and take his three kids to school. By the time he got back, my contractions were pretty good on the right side. Paul kept asking if I felt like pushing. I was now at a 9. Dr. Decker broke my water, and we waited a little while. He came back in to see me breathing heavily through a contraction and said, "Lets get this baby out." It's really weird to feel contractions on only one side of your body. I couldn't move my left leg at all, but I could move just about everything on my right side! Once the pushing started, I just focused on that. She was out in less than five minutes. She cried for a little while. She has a good set of lungs on her. I got to hold and feed her right after.  She is a very good eater when she eats. She sleeps a lot, and is a little confused about night and day. We'll work that one out. It was a really neat experience. Paul was a very good coach and held my hand during the contractions that were not so fun. The twins are excited for "their baby". Ewan is just glad Mommy's lap isn't so crowded! The staff has been wonderful and very helpful. We're glad everything worked out. It was a wonderful anniversary present! We're still looking forward to going on a date. This time, we'll just be bringing a little one with us.