Baby's Birth Date: June 28, 2007
Baby's Weight: 7 pounds, 2.4 ounces
Baby's Height: 19.5 inches
Lemoyne, PA

"I was being induced because I had diabetes during my pregnancy and they didn't want him to be huge when he was born. So, I went in on Tuesday, June 26th, 2007, at 5:00pm to get gel put behind my cervix to help ripen and soften my cervix. That went fine and it was over quickly."

"I started having mild contractions at home, but nothing crazy. Wednesday I went in at 9 am to start the induction process and they started pitocin at 10 am. I was only 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced at that point. Contractions started, but they weren't real bad and I could handle them.

"So, my boyfriend, my mom and I played cards. It was fun."

"They said if I wasn't more dilated by 7 pm that night they would stop the pitocin and in the morning they would break my water. So at 6:45 pm they checked me again and I was only 2 cm dilated and 80 percent effaced. I went through 8 hours of labor that for only 1 cm!"

"It was not enough to continue the pitocin. So, they shut it off and told me to eat and get some rest for the night and take a bath. It was SO nice taking that bath in the jacuzzi!"

"At 6:45 am on Thursday, June 28th, 2007, the doctor came in and broke my water. By 8 am they started pitocin and my contractions were getting really bad. By 10 am I was in such pain and I was SO tired because during that night I was in the hospital I didn't much sleep because the nurses were checking on me so much. They suggested that I get some Stadol to help me rest so I could dilate faster. But, they warned me that when the Stadol would wear off I would be in extreme pain. I slept nicely and didn't have bad contractions."

"It was 12 pm (2 hours later) when I woke up with a terrible contraction. They checked me and I was 6 cm! I was so excited. At 1:30 pm they checked me again and I was 8 cm! After that I was in real bad labor until 2 pm. But I went from 6 cm to 10 cm in 2 hours!"

"By 2 pm it was time to push. It felt SO good to push. I only screamed through the contractions, but never pushing. Maybe just a little grunting :) It didn't hurt bad enough to scream during pushing. The nurses kept asking if I was sure it was my first baby cause I knew how to push right away the right way, ha ha. But after pushing for 45 minutes at 2:47 pm he was born and when his head popped out, everything felt SO much better."

"I never did end up getting an epidural because I didn't want one. After that they put him on my chest and I felt so in love. I was so happy I was having a little boy."

"They then cut his cord and took him to his warm bassinet to weigh him and make sure he was fine because of the diabetes issue. He was perfect! I think my labor went great, especially since I was induced and I didn't get an epidural. I proved it to myself that I was strong enough. I love mommyhood!"