I was admitted for induction Friday evening, July 15th.  Induction seemed to take forever, without any real progress for more than 12 hours.  Thankfully, I had a great epidural and was not in any pain.  However, the baby was having some issues with a low heart rate, so I could only lay on my left side and I had to wear oxygen.  This was enough to steady our baby’s heart rate.  Twelve hours in, the nurses told me I would probably labor for at least another 12-18 hours.  Then to everyone’s surprise, I was ready to push only three hours later.  My OB friend, Jordan, offered to deliver our baby, and Brett and I gladly accepted.  Jordan and I started at Kaiser at the same time and she knew Brett as well.  Jordan admitted me on Friday, but she was not working on Saturday.  So when my body was finally ready, Jordan wasn’t in the hospital.  Fortunately, Jordan was only 20 minutes away.  The medical team told me not to push until she arrived.

Once she arrived, we got right to it.  There were only four of us (soon to be five) in the room: Jordan, Karen (our nurse), Brett, and me.  It made an intense time feel peaceful and relaxed.

Our nurse told me I was ready and could deliver our baby in 30 minutes.  So of course, I made that my goal.  I was further encouraged to push by a little friendly competition.  The woman next door was pushing too, and my competitive nature kicked in: I decided to deliver before her.  After 28 minutes of pushing, we had a baby (of note, I beat the other woman next door).  Brett announced we had a baby girl and cut the cord.  It was amazing to finally know and see our daughter for the first time!