Well I guess by now most of you have heard I had the baby on the 12th of March. Just two weeks early and it seems like a good decision on Darren's part cause he was 7 pounds 8 ounces. Labour was 25 hours but actual pain I'd say started 12 hours before he came into the world. I was very erratic in my contractions so I wasn't in constant pain either. The epidural I had to have because of the blood pressure was actually beneficial and I enjoyed it after that. They thought I'd have to be induced because of the erratic contractions but my body thought differently and I dilated quickly to the shock of a few people. Then they thought I might not be able to push the baby out quick enough with the long intervals between contractions so they helped him into the world with a vacuum while I pushed. The pushing actually looked worse on tv but I didn't have any problem. I stayed positive all through the labour and all the things they hooked me up to and I think that's the key to having a great birth experience. I never second guessed myself and just looked forward to the next contraction. Support is also important and I had that in Dave and I'm proud he was there to support and love us in our time of need. Our doula, Laura was my other coach and she was a great source of strength for me. I'm going to bed now to catch up on my beauty sleep but I will continue the story later.

Everything is going well. The baby jumps alot and I get hiccups way too much. Sometimes it's annoying to get the ongoing rythmn that never seems to stop. I started doing some non stress tests at the hospital and it was very interesting. I get to push a button every time it jumps and it translates to a paper trail on the monitor. My feet started to swell up so now I try not to walk at all to keep the swelling down. My foot looks like my great grandmother's, all puffy and stuff. One is bigger than the other too. This I am not liking much. Everyone keeps asking if I'm ready for the baby to come out. I'm kinda in the middle. I don't mind the baby in there but I'd like it out just to eat and walk again. The inevitable will happen anyway but until then I will enjoy all the afternoon naps I can.