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Hi! I'm just now getting a chance to post Ava's birth story so here goes :) She was due July 4, but apparently liked it too much inside so my doctor scheduled me for induction Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 6:00am. We got to labor & delivery shortly before 6 and they got me into a delivery room and hooked up to pitocin by 6:15am. The nurse upped the pitocin every 15 minutes or so and my contractions really weren't doing much more than the Braxton Hicks contractions I'd been having for weeks. At about 9:30am the nurse checked me and I was still 1cm! I'd been at 1cm since 36 or 37 weeks so that was kind of frustrating. My doctor came in and broke my water a little after 9:30 and found that Ava had had a bowel movement inside of me. She said not to worry and that they would need to suction her out extra well at birth to prevent any bacteria from being inhaled, etc. I was of course freaking out but forgot about it when the contractions started getting more consistent and harder. Not too long after breaking my water the nurse checked and I was to 3cm. We all cheered in the delivery room, ha ha....my mom and boyfriend were both present which was perfect. So the contractions gradually got harder but it went pretty slowly. By 1:30pm or so I was at 4cm and the contractions were pretty intense so I got my epidural. The anesthesiologist came quickly and it was done in minutes. Only bad part was having contractions sitting on the bed while he did it. I must say that it was fabulous!!! :) I was able to sleep some, watch tv and even read a magazine for the rest of the labor which was sweet. Around 2:30ish I was already at 7cm and then about 3:30 I was at 9 plus cm! The doctor had an emergency csection to perform so she asked me to lie on my side and "labor down" I believe she called it. I could feel more pressure down below and even called the nurse one time to check that the baby wasn't coming yet. With my epidural I could still feel some sensation in my feet and legs as well as the tightening of my uterus, just none of the pain. At about 5pm the doctor came back in and when she checked me, Ava was crowning. They got me set up and had me push. I pushed once with the first contraction that came along and then on the next contraction she had me push and then stop partway through so that she could suction out Ava's nose and mouth immediately. Then one more small push and she was out!!! It all happened so fast that I was kind of in shock when they put her on my chest :) She is so beautiful and I feel more blessed than words can ever describe. For all of my worries and fears this entire pregnancy, I can't believe how smoothly everything went. I'm so thankful :)