The labor story...finally!

OK, I apologize for the sideways picture. I have no idea what's going on with my camera. It usually turns them automatically.
Anyway, I just thought I'd type up my labor story for everyone. It'll be kind of long, so bear with it! On Sunday night/Monday morning around midnight, I started feeling contractions. At the time, I didn't know they were contractions...it was just a really uncomfortable feeling of someone pushing hard on my lower stomach. After laying in bed annoyed with this for a few minutes, I got up and went to the restroom, and then realized that Matt wasn't asleep, either. We were both pretty restless, so just laid there talking, and I realized that my weird feeling was coming every 3 minutes, and lasting about 30-45 seconds long. After getting up and looking online for the signs of real labor vs. false labor, talking to the nurse in labor and delivery, and noticing that the contractions were hurting worse, Matt made the decision that we were going to the hospital. Since I was wanting to deliver in Durango which is an hour away, and it had started snowing, he thought it was better to be safe than sorry, so we both took showers, packed our hospital bags, and headed to Durango.

We ended up getting to the hospital at about 6am, and they hooked me up to the non stress test to monitor Aubrey's heartbeat and my contractions, and periodically take my blood pressure. The nurse seemed to think that based off of my contractions, and the fact that I was about 2-3 cm dilated and 75 % effaced at this point, that the doctor would want to admit me. At about 9am, we got the word from the doctor that the nurse was right, and based off of my BP (a little high), even if I didn't go into active labor myself, they would induce. At 10am, they checked me again, and I was 5cm dilated and 80% effaced, so they just left me there to labor for a few more hours. At about 12:45, I hadn't dilated any more, so they broke my water, and offered to let me sit in the whirlpool tub. As soon as I got in there, my contractions got MUCH stronger. I felt like I was ready to push. At that point, I got a little nasty with Matt (who was awesome through all of this!!), and decided that I wanted to cave and get some drugs. They got me out of the tub and into a gown, and the nurse tried to talk me out of the drugs because I was almost through the worst part, but I insisted. She gave me a short term IV painkiller. Almost immediately after getting the painkiller, I was pushing...I never felt the effect of it! Either way, Aubrey was born at 1:48pm, so the worst part of my labor literally lasted only one hour. I had dilated from 5cm to 10cm in less than an hour! Craziness! I thank God that it all happened so fast, and that she came perfectly healthy 2 weeks early, because I don't know if I could have dealt with an extra pound on her body!

Everybody is happy and healthy right now. I'm healing up nicely, and Aubrey is doing amazing. She's just perfect. She loves to sleep, and we have to work pretty hard to get her to wake up just to eat. She is nursing pretty good (at least her diapers indicate this!), even though I have to wake her up in the middle of it for her to finish...haha. She really does nothing but eat, sleep, and poop!