Backing up to my Wednesday ultrasound... the results indicated a large baby (8lb 14oz, plus or minus 1.5lb) with a large, round head. Even so, my doctor decided that we'd go ahead and try a natural birth. She said to expect a call from the hospital as early as 5am on Thursday to tell me when they were ready for me.
The call came around 10am. We had a couple things to do around the house first, and then we packed the car and headed to my dad's to drop Owen off. We checked into the hospital just before noon and my Pitocin line was started at 12:45pm. Contractions started quickly but were so small I could hardly feel them. Around 4pm or so, the contractions suddenly became much more intense. I was a little frustrated because they weren't registering well on the monitor. As in, they looked small. I told Chris "That machine needs to start being a little more accurate... I feel like I'm not getting credit for all this pain!" Of course, he thought that was funny. Chris also liked my Excitebike comparison (remember the old Nintendo game?). I said "this monitor makes my contractions look like the little bumps on Excitebike, but they actually feel like the big bumps." So anyway, I decided to go ahead with an epidural. Until Wednesday, I had contemplated going drug-free. But the possibility of a 9-pounder caused me to change my mind. I'm so glad I requested the epidural when I did, because they were able to steal the anethesiologist away before she headed off to a C-section. She warned me that there was a chance the epidural wouldn't work since it didn't work with Owen. But it did work, and it was wonderful! Chris needed to take care of a few things and asked if he could leave for a little bit. I said yes, and it gave me a chance to sleep for a little while.
A couple more hours of contractions came and went. I was connected to the Wi-Fi and having some fun updating my Facebook page. At some point I texted Chris and asked him to come back. The epidural was turned down and the contractions were becoming pretty intense. I can't remember exactly when, but my doctor came in and broke my water. The baby was still sitting up pretty high so the nurses arranged me in various positions to coax him down. He finally started to drop but settled off to one side and got stuck.
So... that meant I had two goals: push really hard to get him "un-stuck", and then push really hard to deliver him. My doctor came in and confirmed that he was hung up on my pelvic bone so we started pushing. The contractions were pretty painful again so I welcomed the chance to start with the pushing. I think it took about ten minutes or so before he was free from being stuck, and we continued with the pushing. I can't recall why, but my doctor suggested pushing on every other contraction. Yeah, I don't think so! Who wants to lay around and take that kind of pain when there's a baby to be born? So I pushed for a few more minutes, and at 9:53pm we met our son. 
They laid him on my chest for a few minutes before snitching him back to measure, weigh, bathe, etc. He wasn't as big as the ultrasound predicted, but still a good-sized baby at 8lb 5oz and 20.5 inches. Chris left the room to let our families know (my mom, sister and Chris' parents were in the waiting room... my dad had Owen at home), and an hour later I gave them the go-ahead to come in and meet Logan. And I finally had a chance to eat. I hadn't eaten in about 28 hours and all I could think of was food :)
Everyone left and it was just Chris and Logan and me. And I had a full bladder. FULL. My epidural was still stuck in my back but I had enough feeling in my legs, and after waiting five minutes for a nurse I took matters into my own hands. I instructed Chris to unplug me and I freakin' walked into the bathroom and went. For a long time. And when the nurse found out, I got into trouble. She said "your legs could have given out on you at any point!" She must have told the entire wing, because throughout the night various nurses popped in and said "so this is the woman who got up and walked with her epidural still in!" I guess that's a no-no, but when you gotta go, you gotta go, right?I was transported to the postpartum wing at midnight (exactly twelve hours after checking into labor & delivery). We settled in for the night. Chris actually slept for several hours, and I was able to sneak a couple in myself.
I'll write about the remainder of my hospital stay soon, incuding Owen meeting Logan for the first time.
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