the shannons: Legends are Born in October

And as we had hoped, so was our baby girl, Alexis Leigh Shannon. She came on Halloween, of all days, so not only will our little pumpkin always have a fun birthday every year, she will share it with her uncle Ross. I'm thrilled to continue the tradition.

Since you all want details, here's how it went down:

Saturday night the 29th was a terrible night of sleep with cramping all night long, which up to that point was pretty typical for me. But then I woke up Sunday morning and noticed that the cramps weren't going away - they were getting worse. After about 30 minutes I noticed that they were about 10 minutes apart. For the first time all month they were regular, which could mean only one thing: real labor. Yay! Also, hurray for no induction! I'm so proud of my body for doing it's job!

I woke Sam to tell him that I didn't think we were going to be teaching a lesson at church today, because I was about 90% sure I was in labor. I took the morning to rest a bit and start timing them more, taking every opportunity between contractions to finish picking up the house, packing the bag, showering and even drying my hair. I have to say, at that point they weren't too painful and for awhile I thought that maybe labor wouldn't be so bad after all.What wishful thinking.

Around 4pm they were about 4-6 minutes apart, but as I mentioned still not that painful, and we hopefully jaunted off to the hospital while still in pretty good spirits. We were there about an hour and a half before they finally determined that I hadn't progressed AT ALL since my last prenatal appointment and sent us home. I was devastated thinking this might be a really really long labor. Ironically it was at the hospital that the contractions really started picking up and getting harder and harder to talk through. By the time we got home around 7 they were 3-5 minutes apart and right about the level they should be when most folks leave for the hospital. We were so afraid of being sent away again for lack of progress that we hung around until midnight, trying a warm shower, massage, different positions, anything to keep my mind off the increasing back labor.

We were back to the hospital at 12:30am, but this time the contractions were so bad in my back that it felt like someone was driving an industrial drill through it. I was near hyperventilating through them and it took several nurses and Sam by my side to remind me to breathe. My wonderful midwife evaluated me, and even though she was really hesitant to admit us since I had only progressed one more centimeter since the last time we had come, she felt that my pain was too much to be making my labor effective and that an epidural to help me rest through them and might actually speed things along. She was right. And so is everyone who's ever had one - they are a miracle.

It took until 3:30am to get it going, break my water, and get us settled, but from that point we were finally able to rest, and within 2 hours I was at 7cm. 2 hours later I was at a 9, and a 10 an hour after that. Thank heavens for modern medicine, because it really made the second half of labor a breeze.There was a 30 minute period in the last hour before we started pushing when the epidural wore off in one spot and my back was in intense pain again. It didn't quite fade all the way, which made pushing rather uncomfortable, so I was bound and determined to get her out quick.

After an hour of pushing, she was born and was immediately checked by a respiratory specialist since they had found some meconium in the amniotic fluid, but thankfully she was alright and didn't need any special treatment. I was so dizzy and tired after pushing that I was in sort of a trance and it felt a bit like an out of body experience, but it didn't change how amazing it was to bring her into the world. They placed her on my chest and I will never forget that moment of looking into her eyes for the first time. That and watching Sam hold her for the first time.

She's a good little chunk at almost 9 lbs. and was 20.5 inches long, but she's a wonderful eater and breastfeeding has been second nature for her since the moment she was born. We're both recovering well and adjusting to this new life as the three of us.We are so blessed. I am so in love with my little family.

Just minutes old.