The Day Sam was born....his birth story

Sam stayed put just like we prayed for him to do!  He was born on his due date.....or maybe a day later....since this was a leap year.  We thought he would be here much sooner because both his brothers were born a month early and I started having contractions that were painful at about 37.5 wks.  They would come and go and even get as close as 7-10 minutes apart but then would disappear after an hour or two.  At 39 weeks, I let my Dr check my cervix and the contractions were actually making some changes and I was 3 cms dilated and 70% effaced....more than I have ever been prior to labor.  The contractions continued.....we went through the last weekend in August and it was full moon (a blue moon at that too), yet no baby.  I was happy because I loved the fact that Sam was  staying cooking.  After labor day weekend, and spending most of it in pain....I went into the Dr on Tuesday - September 4th to see what was going on.  The contractions were staying a consistent 10 minutes a part, but were not going away.  He examined me and said I was 4 cms and 90% effaced.  Given my history of a very fast 5-10 cms with August and RDH....he was a little concerned about how much time I would have to get to the hospital once I was in full blown labor what I currently was experiencing was pre-labor.  I went home after the appointment and he said that if the contractions stayed consistent then to go to St Davids in the morning.  They stayed consistent that afternoon....even got worse, and I started losing mucus.  So.....the next morning we headed into St Davids.  Hooked up to monitors, I was showing contractions 7 minutes apart (they want you to be a 3-5 minutes before they admit you).  My Dr decided that he wanted to break my waters to give my body a little push.  He was very worried about sending me home as I was at 5 cms by then...and he wasn't sure we would make it back.  I was SOOOOO hesitant to do this and had even dreamed of delivering "en caul" but finally I conceded because at some point you have to trust your Dr and I truly felt like I had been in labor for days at this point.  At 8:15, my water was broken by my Dr.  Not only was the flood gate open - literally but so was the flood gate of PAIN!  I couldn't see straight - the pain and contractions were so intense.  I couldn't talk, I felt like my body was completely being ripped in half.  I felt Sam descend into the birth canal....I was sick with pain.  I started shaking uncontrollably....I seriously felt as if I was going to die.  I had an AWESOME L&D nurse who provided strength and comfort.  My body went from  5cms to 8cms in 20 minutes.  By 930am I was at 10 cms.  I could have pushed and had the baby then....but I was a complete wreck....I could not organize my thoughts mentally to gain composure and my dr was not back at the hospital yet.  So at 10 cms and with the babies head engaged, I got an epidural.  They will give you an epidural at any point in which you ask for one.....but they are not as effective once you cross a certain pain threshold.  I kept asking why is this thing not working and the anesthesiologist explained to me that I just waited too long.....but at least it brought the pain down to where I could speak.  Since Sam was doing well on the heart monitors, we sat and waited....waited for some sort of pain relief and waited for my Dr....this also allowed Sam to get nice and situated in the birth canal.  We waited 45 minutes and I couldn't move or push.....or Sam would be here.  It was a great decision as it allowed for me to stop the violent shaking I was having before and allowed for me to relax.  I still felt the pain of the contractions.....but at least they were dulled.  After 11am, my Dr arrived, I was placed in stirrups.....he exclaimed....HI BABY.  I pushed once.....and Sam was here.....all 8 and a half pounds of him.  CRAZY!  So......I am glad i did listen to my dr because if the contractions had come on greater at home or if my water had broken at home....Dr Richard Heller would have attended the delivery....along with an ambulance as I don't think he would have been able to get me in the car to get to the hospital.  Sam had a 9 APGAR score and is perfect in every way.  I decline the traditional nursery bath for him so the child actually hasn't been bathed to date (waiting for the umbilical cord to fall off).  Everything was done in our recovery room, so he never left us and I loved that!  We were then taken to a suite at St Davids because all the other rooms were full and they didn't have time to prepare one for us since my delivery was so quick.  The suite was awesome!  Richard enjoyed the full sized bed and we both enjoyed the refrigerator and coffee maker :-) 
Thanks for all our visitors!  We loved sharing the first few hours of Sam's life with you!  And thanks to Grandma for taking such good care of August and RDH and making them feel special.