Yep, I'm a little overdue in writing this post but, what can I say, I've been a little busy!

I went in for my induction at 6:00 AM on Monday, October 29.

After getting checked in we went upstairs with the nurse and they started the Pitocin to get things going right around 7:00. By this point, I had made very little progress on my own, even though I was 6 days overdue, so I was hopeful that the medicine would do its thing and baby would make his appearance.

The contractions started slowly and the doctor came in to break my water around 10:30 AM. I had made barely any progress since the meds started so he was hopeful that this would get things going.

Luckily the contractions picked up considerably and I was definitely in labor within the next couple of hours.

I was uncomfortable, but was hoping to go all natural so I walked laps with Erik and my trusty cart that had my IV and meds hooked up to it. I also spent a lot of time sitting on the birthing ball with Erik rubbing my back to help relax me.

After some more checks by the doctors and nurses, my contractions were coming on quite strong. I was hopeful that the meds were doing their thing and that baby would be making his appearance soon!

But, alas, my body was not making as much progress as the doctor had hoped. The contractions were close together and strong but for some reason this baby just did not want to come out. I finally caved and decided it was time for an epidural in the hopes that it would relax me and move things along.

I don't know the exact timing of when everything else transpired as it all became sort of a blur...

At some point in the early evening as I was relaxing in bed with my epidural, the nurse came rushing in and told me I had to switch positions as quickly as possible. I had no idea what was happening but did as I was told as the nurses put me into place. After they helped me move, the nurse told me that baby's heart rate had started dropping and that sometimes a change in position can help. Luckily it did.

They decided to stop the Pitocin as they thought that may have affected baby's heart rate. But since I hadn't made a ton of progress they planned to start it back up at some point. They were monitoring baby's heart rate more frequently and keeping an eye on me to make sure everything was going ok.

Around 7:00 PM, they restarted the meds and the doctor came back to check on me. I still hadn't made progress since the early afternoon and once the Pitocin started up again, baby's heart rate started dropping. The doctor told them to stop the meds.

Needless to say, Erik and I were more than concerned at this point. I had been in labor 12 hours, baby didn't appear to be making an appearance anytime soon and his heart rate kept dropping.

At this point, our doctor told us we were going to need a C-Section. You'd think I would have been nervous or scared of such a thing but all I felt was a sense of relief that we had a game plan in place and that we were going to get to meet our baby soon.

We called our parents around 8:00 to let them know what was happening since we had barely been in touch with them all day. And then waited 2 hours to go back for the procedure. It was only 2 hours compared to the 13 that we had already experienced, but it felt like the longest 2 hours of my life. Luckily, with the meds stopped, baby's heart rate was going strong so there was no need for an emergency C-section. But, that didn't make the waiting any easier.

Finally, at 10:00,  it was time to go back to the operating room and meet our baby!

I remember the room being incredibly cold. And bright.

I remember Erik coming in once I was prepped and standing right next to me the whole time.

I remember Erik leaning down to tell me "It's a boy" and immediately crying once I knew our son had been born.

I remember hearing our baby cry for the first time and crying again.

I remember the nurses commenting on how big his feet are!

I remember Erik bringing our son over to meet me for the first time and, you guessed it, crying again.

It's funny how most of the day is now a blur to me, but the memories I have of hearing our son cry and meeting him for the first time while my amazing husband held him close to me is something that is burned into my brain. It was the single most amazing experience I have ever had. I can't even put into words how it felt.

So, that's how William McAdams Brandstaetter came into this world at 10:15 PM on Monday, October 29. He was 8lbs, 1oz and 21 inches long. And he is the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen.