last year. I was waddling around 39 weeks pregnant. My ankles were swollen to the size of elephant feet from the constant 100 degree heat. With my due date of July 12th quickly approaching I felt I needed one last date with my husband before we dove into parenthood. Wednesday July 11th Sean took off work so we could go see the opening day of Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix (I'm a large Potter fan and was anxiously awaiting the opening day for months). We went to a matinee, sat in the balcony seating where you can order food and relax in heated love seats. We lived it up gorging ourselves on pizza. Then afterward Sean took me to my 40 week appointment. The nurse took me back to the exam room after weighing me. I believe some whales weighed less than I did full term. The nurse took my blood pressure and made a little "hmmm....that's not good." Basically something you never want to hear in the medical field. The doctor came in an informed me that my blood pressure was high and wasn't a problem as long as it goes down by the end of the appointment. The nurse came back in and rechecked it and this time it was higher. Doc came back in and said she was sending me across the street to the hospital to be induced right then and there. I personally think my blood pressure was high because of the large amount of salty pizza I had consumed right before the appointment.
I was so excited! Actually I was just excited to not be pregnant anymore. I went into the waiting room and told Sean and we made our way over tot he hospital to be admitted. After waiting in that waiting room for two hours we finally had a room. Around seven pm I had my IV in and was starting my first of two rounds of antibiotics for Strep B. They started the pitocin and by 9 pm my contractions were starting. I got an epidural when they became painful. After that Sean and I were able to get a few hours of broken sleep. Around midnight my epidural started wearing off the left side of my body and I was in quite a bit of pain with each contraction. I can't even imagine how women don't get epidurals, that's crazy talk. The doc came in and adjusted the tube in my back and once again I was feeling no pain. 
Around 4 in the morning I was told I was ready to push...who knew? Forty six minutes later little Wesley was born. It was such a wonderful experience. I remember laughing and joking with the nurses and doctor through it all.
Almost immediately after the birth I started feeling incredibly nauseous so they gave me some medication through the IV. They failed to mention that it would knock me out for half a day. I swear it was an elephant tranquilizer. I wish I would have declined the meds because I missed out on those precious first hours with my new family. 
We stayed in the birthing suite for two days before being released. I wasn't sure if I was going to like staying in the hospital for that long but it was actually very relaxing. The nurses were coming and going at all hours, there to help out and answer any and all questions. They were a great help getting the breast feeding off to a good start. The best part of the whole stay was the food. Whoever said hospital food was gross was 
nuts! Who knows if it was merely the fact that some one was serving me (for a change) or that I didn't have to cook but I really liked the food. Plus they had a goody tray of desserts that came around throughout the day. It was heaven.Overall it was an excellent birthing experience and I look forward to doing it again one day in the (not so near) future.
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