I went to the hospital as planned on February 27 to begin the induction. I had my "last meal" and Dad came to visit with me for a while. Later that evening, Travis went home to get his last night of good sleep and I settled in for a pretty uneventful evening at the hospital. It was funny though....I kept looking over to the right of my bed to see the warming table that was to hold our son sometime the next day. The little blankets were already set up and ready for his arrival. It made the whole experience seem so real. Travis came back early the next morning and my doctor started the Pitocin (the drug given to help put me into labor). She also went ahead and broke my water at that time. Man, I'll tell you - that was the weirdest feeling in the world! I just giggled and giggled! After that, I just settled in, watched some TV, chatted with Travis and my friend Laura, and waited for the fun to begin.
I started having some contractions soon thereafter, but they weren't really regular. They were getting stronger though, so I quickly ordered my epidural. (Hey, as Laura says, they don't give you a medal for "toughing it out", so I had no intention of doing so! Haha!) Because of the swelling that I was having due to the blood pressure, I had to have the epidural done twice. It wasn't the most pleasant experience in the world, but the relief that followed once it was complete was well worth it. I continued to have contractions (but I wasn't feeling them - woohoo!) and I was SURE that I was progressing past the one measley centimeter that I was dialated earlier that morning. My doc came in around lunch time.....yeah, I had progressed. To a whopping 2 centimeters.
Long story short(er): By mid-afternoon, a few things were apparent. I wasn't progressing at all. The baby didn't react well to contractions when I was lying on my right side (his heart rate would drop). I was running a fever and had to have an antibiotic. The baby was at a -3 station (that means he was nowhere NEAR dropped in the birth canal). The verdict? C-section.
I was prepped, given more numbing meds through my epidural, we called the families, and Travis dressed in his "sterile wear" (It was a great look for him. Once I get the pic from Laura, I will post it here!). I'll be honest. I don't remember too much from the delivery. I do remember that the surgery was uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. I felt no pain from the incisions or anything like that, but the pressure that I felt was like nothing I had felt before. Lying there, I wondered why any woman would ELECT to have a C-section. Just not fun for me. I did hear the anesthesiologist say at one point that the baby had a nice head of light brown hair. I looked at Travis in shock. I never thought our baby would have hair. Then I heard my OB say something along the lines of "Come on, hoss". We knew then that we had a big boy on our hands. We heard a small cry from him and my doc said that his cord was wrapped just slightly around his neck. This is probably why he didn't tolerate labor well when I was on my right side. They took him to the warming table, Travis went to take pictures, and we heard them call for the NICU team. Our baby wasn't breathing well on his own and had apparently taken a pretty big gulp of amniotic fluid right before he was pulled out of the womb. Another moment of honesty here. I don't remember too much after this point. I remember being very worried, but everyone kept telling us it was going to be OK. They brought Tyler to me as I was being closed up, and I was able to give him a little kiss on his forehead before they whisked him out of the room. Things are fuzzy past this point, but I know that my Dad and brother visited with me, Travis got to go to the Progressive Care Nursery to see Tyler (and brought me pictures), and the neonatalogist came to let us know how our little man was. 
Once I was able to move my legs, I was moved to the post-partum wing. But first I was wheeled into PCN so that I could finally see my son. I was still a little doped up, but I remember being scared because of all the tubes and monitors and what not. But I was assured that he was in the best care. In fact, this is the unit that Laura works in so I knew that he had the best nurses. And off I went to post-partum for the longest night of my life - away from our newborn son.
However, he got the greatest care in the world, and he was finally moved to the newborn nursery late Thursday night. Travis, Tyler, & I spent the next few days in the hospital getting to know each other and becoming a family. We were finally discharged on Saturday, March 3rd. Both Tyler & I were given a clean bill of health and we were on our way home! 
And here we are.....home. Travis & I now have a family of our own. Tyler has completed us. And we couldn't be happier.
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