Alyson's Birth Story

My due date was November 3rd, but that was ten days away. I was doing what I did every morning, which was sleeping in as late as possible, when my mom came into my room and said what she'd been saying every morning: "Today is the day!" I just rolled my eyes and went back to sleep.

About two hours later, my boyfriend, who was just done after working all night, came over to see how I was doing before going home. He was just done working all night. I told him I was fine, and we started playing with my baby brother.

A little while later, I felt like I had peed in my pants but I knew I didn't, so I told my mom and she said to call my doctor. The doctor asked if I was having any contractions, but since I didn't know what they felt like, I said no. They told me to go to the hospital to be checked and to make sure my water hadn't broken. So my mom and I left to get my sister from school so she could babysit until my step-dad got home and could watch him. Then we were off to the hospital. I got there about 11:30 a.m. and was told I was 4 cm. dilated and 80% effaced. The nurse told the doctor and he decided to break my water. He then told me to wait an hour to see if things had progressed, but they hadn't, so they started me on Pitocin. I asked if I could have an epidural, but the anesthesiologist was involved in a c-section so she couldn't come yet. They gave me some pain medication which made me very tired.

At about 3:45 p.m. everyone was at the hosital with me, waiting for the arrival of my baby girl. My medication had worn off by then and I was in major pain, but the anesthesiologist still wasn't done. At 4:45 p.m., I was 8 cm. dilated, and was told that the anesthesiologist would be in shortly. I was finally going to get my epidural. I received the shot at 5:00 p.m. and was checked again. I was 10 cm.

My daughter was born at 5:11 p.m. so my epidural never got a chance to kick in, but I didn't care anymore. I had my angel...

Alyson Marie weighed in at seven pounds, two ounces, measured nineteen and three quarters inches long and she had a head full of hair.

Today Alyson is almost two months old, and is about to have her first Christmas. She is a healthy and smiley baby, ready to explore the world!