Details...

Several people have asked for more details/information regarding Kate, the labor & delivery, and anything else I can (and am willing) to offer. So here goes...

Dr broke my water at 8:30 and nearly 2 hours later I still didn't have much going in the way of regular contractions. She wanted to start pitocin and, with the nurse on our side, we managed to talk her into giving us more time before she brought in the pitocin (i.e. drug from Satan). Rita, one of the best nurses in the world, shifted me from position to position to help move the baby down. IT WORKED! I progressed through the stages of labor pretty quickly and had only a couple of 1/2 doses of stadol to "take the edge off." That's what they told me anyway. I let my Dr talk me into the stadol and really...it didn't do much at all except make me sleepy.

I was experiencing an immense amount of back pain which after several hours became intolerable. I requested an epidural because I just couldn't take the back pain any longer. The anesthesiologist finally got there and scrubbed my back with betadine. At that instant, Kate dropped and was ready to come barreling out. The nurse informed me that it would take at least 10 minutes to do the epidural and the baby would be delivered in less than 10 minutes. So, they called Dr L and she came running in just in time to put on a gown and catch Kate. I had pushed for less than 5 minutes - only through 2 contractions. No tearing and no episiotomy. FANTASTIC!!!

I am SO thankful that Kate dropped when she did and I didn't have the epidural. What I truly wanted was to do it without the epidural and it was completely worth it. Having done it both ways, I can honestly say the recovery time is so much faster/quicker with a drug free delivery. Within just a few days, I was feeling like a human again and ready to go. I'm anxious to get out of the house and go places and she is only 8 days old now. If it were safe for her, then I would have been at church on Sunday. I just can't say enough about a drug free delivery. I felt empowered...as if I had fulfilled a God-given purpose for my life. If we are able to have more, then I will definitely plan for a drug free delivery again.