Alistair is here (long)!

As I write this, I can't believe my little guy is four days old already.  I had an amazing labor and delivery with him.  Due to a series of concerns, I had been scheduled for an induction on August 8th.  I was ok with the idea, but I really wanted to have the experience of a natural labor.  I tried everything I could to send myself into labor - walks, pineapple juice, etc. - but nothing worked.  Finally, August 7th, the day before my induction, I woke up at 7:30 and my water broke as I was sitting up in bed. 

Hubby and I got up, showered, and made it to the hospital by 9am, where they confirmed my water had broken and I was 4 cm dilated.  However, my contractions were weak and not very regular, so at 11am, the call was made to start me on pitocin.  Shortly afterwards, I started getting extremely painful contractions and couldn't stop shaking everywhere.  It was definitely the worst pain I had ever felt in my life, so I made the decision to get an epidural.  Afterwards, I could still move my legs without difficulty, but I was virtually pain free.  My hunger pains from missing breakfast were the most I felt until I pushed!  Finally around 4 pm the doctor came in while hubby and I were watching a movie on netflix to check my progress, and I was 9 cms.  The last cm took a very long time, but I was finally able to start pushing.  It was an amazing, empowering experience, and hubby and I were able to cuddle and talk in between contractions.  Finally after an hour an a half, Alistair was born.  He started to tear me as he descended, so I lost a lot of blood and ended up with one big vaginal wall tear, and a 2nd degree perineal tear.  It's been a rather painful recovery as a result, but Alistair is BFing like a champ, and I couldn't have asked for a better baby.