More Delivery Details

Dare I even say it was easy going? Yes, pre-epidural, there was pain but it remained managable. (The birthing class techniques came in handy after all.) And I never once screamed at Chris, blaming him for "ruining my life" or whatever else they say in movies/TV shows.

Once the epi was administred, I could actually relax and experience the event as a joyious occasion and yes, deliver online updates during the event. (Not sure if you've been to Henry Mayo Hospital but the beds have a flat screen terminal that easily allowes you to watch TV, play video games, listen to music, and, of course, connect to the internet. Cool, huh?)

The real work started at 11:20 when, at 10cm dialation, I would have to begin pushing. (No more time to blog.)

Talk about a weird sensation, trying to bare (bear?) down on an area that's now devoid of most sensations. You just have to mentally focus on that region and hope you're doing the right thing. The one thing I was sure of was that with each push my face was probably red and puffy like a raspberry. (I'm surprised I didn't blow a vessel.) Parker's big head was making things difficult. They eventually put me on oxygen to keep up my energy as I pushed for three, ten second periods during each contraction. In between each contraction I had a couple of minutes to rest and hopefully recharge for the next bout.

Chris was an excellent coach the whole time -- physically supporting me as he counted through the contractions. Two hours later, at 1:28pm, Parker finally emerged and Chris was able to cut his son's umbillcal cord, detaching him from the mother ship. (What I should realy do is get Chris to add an entry regarding his front row experience.)

You'll have to trust me until I get a chance to upload a photo (ETA tomorrow) -- he's a real cutie. And even better, he's pretty mellow so far!