I don't quite know how to start this post. I probably should have blogged this alot earlier, but I've been too lazy.  Let's backtrack to Wednesday, May 26th, I had an appt that morning (39 weeks) and asked to have my membranes stripped in hopes that it would put me into labor.  I had been having contractions for weeks but nothing regular and I was getting really tired of it and was ready to be done.  So after my appt, the stripping gave me more contractions but still nothing regular. We even walked over to Xander's school (it was field day, and we didn't know what his class was doing, so we walked around the school to find him but had no luck, so we went home) and walked the Mall.  It all just made me really tired and achey. I was retaining so much water that the only shoes I could wear were flip flops, so my feet were hurting.  By the afternoon I decided to call the office and see if I could schedule and inducement for the 28th.  (Pat already had the 29th & 31st off of work so we wanted to make sure the baby came before then.)  I was told that there were already inducements set up for that day and that I would be at the bottom of the list and considered an on-call inducement, which I was totally fine with.Thursday night the hospital called and told me that I was #5 on the list and to call them Friday morning at 10:00 to see how their morning was going.  So Friday I stepped out of Xander's Graduation for a minute to call the hospital. They said that they still didn't know when I could come in and to call them back at 11:30.  So after graduation, we headed home. The kids played and I just sat on the couch and waited until it was time to call again, almost falling asleep in the process.  I was startled awake by a phone call at 11:00 from the hospital, the nurse said that I was on the schedule for coming in at 12:00 and if I could be there by then. I told her yes, then sent Pat a text telling him that he needed to come home!  Pat dropped me off at 12, took the kids to his sister Lana's home, then got to the hospital before they even had my IV hooked up!When I got there, they monitored the baby for at least 20 minutes before I got my IV, then I had to have a bag of fluid before I could get my pitocin, so it was about 2:00 before I got the pitocin! By that time Pat and my sister Karri were in the room with me.  Sitting in a hospital bed is so boring, especially when there's nothing good on TV.  Once I got hooked up to the pitocin it seemed like things were really going.  My mom got there around 2:30 and then it was just a waiting game. I chose to wait it out before my epidural to see how far I could go.  It was really nice, because I was able to get up and walk around a bit. My nurse Jen was AWESOME (she is the mother to one of Pat's co-workers), she helped us with ideas of how Pat could help me get through contractions, it was great! Jen was hoping that I would be able to have the baby by 6:00, because that is when her shift ended :) (that would have been nice because Karri had to leave at 6 also) After a few hours and not much progression I was getting tired and decided that it was time to get my epidural. I knew that my midwife was going to come and break my water soon and that labor would go fast after that. (I went from a 5 to a 10 in an hour & a half with Mara so I knew that this was going to be a quick one too)I got my epidural about 5:30, then Claudia (my midwife) broke my water around 6:00.  My epidural was nice because I was still able to wiggle my toes but the pain was mostly gone. I could still feel alot of pressure but the epidural took the edge off.  For the next hour I could feel that things were going fast, the pressure was building and I was starting to get the shakes.  My nurse at this point was Melody and she came in at 7:10 to see how I was doing, I told her that I was getting the shakes and she said that I was probably complete, and sure enough I was!! My mom had left to get some dinner for she and Pat a little before this but walked in a few moments after I was checked. She was so flustered, it was cute. Melody called in Claudia and a nurse for the baby and it ended up being Jen!!!  She was able to stay long and help with the baby now :)  It was such a different experience for me. It happened so fast that I was kind of nervous and scared. While pushing I felt like I was one of the ladies you see on TV that scream during labor.  I didn't scream, but sure felt like I could have. Once I started pushing, Jaina was born within 5 minutes.  It was amazing to finally have her here. Because I had originally thought she was a boy, the first thing I asked was if she was still a girl. I know, I'm crazy.Once she was all clean, I held her in my arms and cried. It's been such a long trial to have her join our family and I was relieved to finally have her in my arms.  Through it all I am thankful for an amazing husband that loves me forever.Here are some pics of her first few hours.[Image] l-r: Claudia, Jen, & Melody.[Image]The kids ended up going to Grandma & Grandpa's for the night, but were able to come visit their new sister first.[Image][Image]Brent & Lisa came a few minutes after she was born. They would have been there sooner but they went to the wrong hospital![Image]Grandma Tolman[Image]Mana & Mara[Image]Great Grandma Joan[Image]Aunt Karri was able to come back and see Jaina, but was sad to have missed the birth.[Image]We also had visits from Aunt Lana & cousin Noah and Aunt Liza & Uncle Morri.  I know that I have a picture of her with Grandpa Tolman, but it must be on someone elses camera.[Image]The next morning:My 3 blessings.[Image]Daddy and his girls.[Image]I was able to come home the next night about 10 pm, which made me happy, because I hated sitting around that hospital room, and especially sleeping there was horrible.
(Ah!! I finally got this post done, and now I'm being summoned)