I loved giving birth. I know some of you think that is crazy or that I am lying but it's true. It was the single most amazing experience of my life. It was fun and challenging! Kind of like how some people get a high off of running a marathon or climbing a mountain. Giving birth gave me that kind of high. You hear all the horror stories from moms who were in labor for 3 days or had to have an emergency cesarean and for some reason when you are pregnant they feel the need to share their stories with you. I don't know how many times I was asked "You're getting an epidural right?!?!" Even if I wasn't going to get one I don't think I would have told them just so I wouldn't have to listen to what a mistake it would be for me not to. I did get an epidural and I think that the scariest part of my delivery was anticipating them injecting me with it. In hindsight I wish I hadn't and I wish that I hadn't been induced but thankfully I was able to still have a beautiful delivery. I decided to get induced because my doctor encouraged me to and I really trusted his opinion. Bishop was a week late and we all thought that I was going to give birth to a baby sumo wrestler because I was so big ...I mean BIG. I was retaining water like the Hoover Dam! One day when I went in to see my sweet OB for a checkup at about 7 months he jumped back startled and said "You blew up like a balloon!" I only continued to get bigger. Even towards the end when most people stop gaining I was still packing on 3 pounds a week! By the time Bishop came I was over 200 pounds! My maternity clothes didn't even fit and all the extra weight had put so much strain on all my joints. In the mornings my fingers would be locked in a curl position. I had to physically straighten each one out with the other hand. I was dangerously close to getting preclampsia from the high blood pressure and weight gain and after my due date came and went we all agreed that I should be induced. So on the morning of October 30th we went to Baptist Hospital for my induction. My water was broke at around 9 and I started to receive my pitocine. At about noon I caved and asked for the epidural. I wanted to stick it out but the pitocine can make you have some mean contractions and I didn't want to miss my window of opportunity. After about a half hour I was completely numb from the waist down which is a very strange and annoying feeling. Then it was just time to wait. Thankfully my mom, sister, Jeremy and Lori a.k.a. Moppa were there to keep me company and the time flew by. After several hours I started feeling the contractions again so the nurse checked me and said that I was at 8 cm dilated and it was about time for me to start pushing! At 4:45 I started pushing with my sister holding one leg, Jeremy the other and my mom at the end of me with a very uncomfortable worried look on her face. I was in no pain only frustrated because I was so thirsty. Jeremy was so great by putting wet wash cloths on my head, getting me my chapstick and not annoying me. I told him before we got there that I didn't want him to look below my waist but once the nurse said that Bishop's head was visible I didn't want him to miss a thing. After what seemed like no time at all Bishop entered this world at 5:32 p.m. He made quite an entrance too with all his high pitched screaming! They immediately plopped him up on my chest and for a couple seconds I wasn't able to see him. I had been pushing so hard that my contacts were lost somewhere in my eyes. Finally when I regained my vision I looked down at the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen. There are no words to describe the overwhelming feeling of love, happiness and just pure awe. I knew that from that moment on my life would never be the same. It was like now that your here how did I ever live without you?!
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