Introducing...

Owen Robin Mudgett, born at 9:38 AM on April 3, 2009, weighing in at 9 pounds, 12 ounces, and measuring 22 inches long.

I woke up yesterday at 7:30 AM and my water had broken! We came to the hospital where I was admitted, and waited for labor to progress. We had no idea what we were in for!

My contractions didn't pick up in intensity or frequency until around 5:00 PM. Around then, I had to start focusing to get through the peaks, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. At around 9:45, I was finally checked to see how my dilation was progressing, but I was only at 3 cm!! I couldn't believe it, because the contractions were really getting tough by then. I was very discouraged, but Dan was super supportive and helped me keep believing in myself. We spent a long long night pushing through contractions that were 3-4 minutes apart and lasting around a minute. Then at 4:45 AM, I was checked again. And I was still 3 cm. His heart rate was still good, but since my water had been broken for almost 24 hours and my labor wasn't progressing, we had to turn to pitocin to medically induce stronger labor. By then, I could barely handle the contractions I was having, so I gave in and got an epidural. They ramped up the contractions, and I got to sleep for 2 hours!

At 7:00 AM, I was checked again to see how the pitocin was working. And I was still 3 cm. Now his heart rate was starting to dip too low after each contraction, and we had to start considering a c-section. Another midwife came in at around 8:30, took one look at his heart rate chart, and said, "Let's go have a baby!" Less than an hour later, we were getting prepped in the OR, and he was born at 9:38 AM. He's incredible and we are so excited. And exhausted. He's been super quiet all day, but it's been pretty busy with nursses and visitors. We're hoping he stays sleepy tonight so Dan and I can get some rest. But now that it's dark, he's a little more active. We're going to try breastfeeding again to see if that might help calm him down, but even if we're up all night, we couldn't be happier.

I'll post more pictures soon. He's here!