The birth/labor couldn't have gone any better. I had the induction Monday morning and it was very non-invasive-just a little bit of gel to get things going. And I got to head home after an hour of monitoring. Contractions started around 4 pm on Monday. By 6 pm I was having regular contractions. My midwife came to check me at 10 pm and I was 5 cm dilated! We were surprised that we were so far along, and happy that I wouldn't have to endure the contractions all night. When we asked her how long she thought we had, our midwife said the baby would come sometime in the middle of the night. She prepared to leave, to let us try to rest at home for a few hours, but just then my water broke (at about 11 pm)and she said we had to get to the hospital because I would have to start pushing soon.
By the time we arrived at BC Women's hospital I was in active labor. It took half an hour to get checked in at the hospital, and I was having the strongest contractions in the waiting area, in the elevator, and in the hallway. By the time I arrived at our room (which was private and very nice by the way, not that I noticed at the time) the head was nice and low and I was getting ready to push. I had the contractions standing for some time, leaning on Jamie and severely bruising his shoulders as I gripped them during the pain. Things moved fast. Eventually the midwife moved me to the bed. I pushed for 30 minutes and he was out! Our midwife, and the assisting nurse, asked Jamie to check the sex, and Jamie said "It's a boy!" They passed Oscar up and rested him on my chest for the first time. With his eyes open, he looked around for the first time.
Seriously - 11 pounds 2 oz - everyone at the hospital was talking about the BIG baby and the short labor.
