So now that things have settled down from having Taylor, and learning to adjust to 3 kids under 4, I can finally post my birth story!

I had problems with preterm contractions from the time that I was 25 weeks pregnant. When I went in for my last OB appt at 38+5 (Wednesday, Nov 30), I was 5cm and 50% thinned. My ob said that he was scheduling my induction for Monday morning, if I didn't have him that weekend. They were waiting until Monday because there were no open induction slots on Friday. Since I had tested GBS negative, I asked if he could strip my membranes to try to trigger labor. I really wanted to go on my own and not be induced like I was with my 2nd. After my sweep, I asked him when it would work if it did. He said within 12-24hrs. My appt was at 1pm and by the time I got back to my parent's house, my contractions had started picking up. I was staying with my parents during the day so they could help me get to the hospital if I went into labor, and look after my older 2 kids. Anyway, I timed them for an hour, then decided to go in to labor and delivery. They monitored me, and checked me again after 4 hours,but no progress. They said I was definitely in early labor, but They were sending me home until my contractions got worse. My parents kept the boys that night and my husband stopped and got me McDonald's for supper on the way home. I ate my burger and fries, then my hubby went to bed. I couldn't sleep (still contracting every 2-5 mins) so I turned on music videos on YouTube and danced. Anything to help yet things going. Finally, after an hour or so, I couldn't stand up any more, so I laid down in the recliner and finally dozed off around 4am. My dad picked me up the next morning around 8am, and I had been awake since my husband left for work at 6. Daddy took me to his house and within 15 minutes of us getting there, my contractions went from fairly uncomfortable to one right after the other and unbearable. I was on my knees in the kitchen floor, crying, and leaning over a stool. Daddy helped me get to the truck, off we went. Mom and dad live a good 30 mins away from the hospital. I have a history of fairly quick labors once I hit 6cm. The whole way there I was praying I wouldn't have Taylor in The truck! Once we got to the hospital, dad helped me up to l&d and They got me into my room immediately and started putting the monitors on. The doctor came in just a few minutes later and checked me and I was 8cm and 60% thinned. They started an iv for fluids and I got the epidural about 30 mins later. I was still feeling pressure, but not pain. After a while, they had me roll to my left side because my blood pressure was a bit low. I stayed there for a few minutes and started feeling very woozy and disoriented. I tried talking to my husband to tell him I felt weird, like I was about to pass out, but my speech was slurred a lot. The nurse came in and gave me a shot of epinephrine to try to get my bp up. Five minutes later, she gave me another shot. Finally, I started feeling better, but the episode left me feeling nauseous. They left me to labor and try to rest. I have no idea how long it was, but they came back and checked me and I was 9.5cm and fully thinned, but my waters hadn't broken yet. I asked if they could just rupture it for me, and they did. As soon as they did Taylor dropped almost completely down where he needed to be for birth. Ten minutes later, I started feeling pain again and thought my epidural was wearing off, so they checked me again and said that I was 10 cm and 100% thinned, and Taylor just needed to drop a little more before we could push. They told me not to sneeze, cough, laugh, or move without telling them, especially if I started feeling pressure. They no more than left the room when I felt the need to push. My husband ran to the door and told them (i was right across from the nurses station) and they came in and started breaking the bed down. While the doctors were gowning up, the nurse checked to see where i was at and told them to hurry up because the head was right there! They told me not to wait on them and just push when I needed to. By this point, I was feeling a lot of pain and on the next contraction, I have one hard push and screamed and Taylor was born! It turns out that I didn't get the epidural quick enough so I was numbed everywhere but where I needed it most so I felt EVERYTHING when he was born. Now i understand about the "ring of fire"! Taylor was 7lbs 3.3oz and was 19.25" long d perfectly healthy! He's now a 14lb (at least) chunky almost 12 week old baby! This was my longest labor at just under 23 hours.