Warning: A baby story

So I know I haven't posted in...okay...nearly forever. Those last few weeks of pregnancy were just pure torture for me. I have never been so uncomfortable in my life. Constant pain and unsympathetic doctors. *sigh* Here's how everything went:
2 weeks before my due date I went in for a regular check up and we found I was already at 3 cm and 75% effaced. I've known women who were at 3 cm for weeks before delivery so I wasn't too concerned or excited, but 4 days later at another appointment I was measuring 4 cm. I was also informed that the next week, if I was at a 5, they would just send me to the hospital.
I waddled around for another 9 days until my next appointment and was to the point of no sleep at night (or during the day) and not being able to sit without serious pain and pulsing in my back and ribs and not being able to walk or stand without something or other hurting. Thankfully I don't swell during pregnancy and I usually don't feel contractions until after my water breaks.
So I went in for my next appointment sure that I would be sent to the hospital. The doc said, "Well I'd still call it 4 cm." I really wanted to ask for a second opinion. I didn't, but I almost started crying. They did a NST and the baby looked fine. They also did an ultrasound and the guess was the baby was about 9 lbs. 2 oz. I was offered an induction on Saturday and I took them up on the offer. As much as I'm not for induction, I just couldn't see walking around waiting for my water to break...especially since I was having contractions every 2 minutes or so, but couldn't feel them.
Saturday came and we dropped Miss Fabulous off at a friend's house and someone came to get Star and we headed into the hospital. We walked in, told the nurses we were there for an 8 am induction, and they replied, "We have an induction today?" Hahaha. They just hadn't looked at their schedule. So funny.

Ugh. So yes, I was as big as a house and they gave me a tent to put on. We found that I was at 6 cm, but when they went to break the water, they found that there was SO much that the baby was still somewhat floating around...making it impossible to break the water without pitocin. *sigh* I had been hoping to avoid pit altogether.
They started the pit and called for the pain doctor...who ended up being so busy that I'm pretty sure I was fully dilated before he even got there, since by the time he was done and they checked me, I was at a 10. Well, with an epidural came a stall in contractions...or at least I didn't feel ANYTHING. I've never had that degree of numbing before. It took another 2 hours and the nurses came in and suggested we try a practice push or two. I pushed once and they frantically started to call for the doctor. They found him, he had enough time to pull on gloves and catch.

Baby Dash (uh...not his real name...but you probably guessed that) came into the world at 3:51 pm weighing 8 lbs. 12.9 oz. and measuring 21.5 inches. He barely made any sounds for the first few days. He has slept fairly well so far and eats about 3 oz. every 3 or 4 hours.

He didn't really enjoy his first bath, but I loved this picture.

One of my very favorite pictures from the hospital. A volunteer at the hospital makes these little hats and booties for the babies. I LOVED that they were blue and green...matching his room, etc. perfectly.

Little Star's first encounter with her little brother. She has taken to him quite well, maybe too well! She loves to pat him and give him kisses and often puts her head on him and says, "Ohhhh Bee-bee!" She does NOT like it when John holds Dash in the evenings when its her snuggle time with daddy. She sticks her chubby little finger out and starts scolding Dash in her jibberish language.

Miss Fabulous holding Dash for the first time. She wants to hold him all the time and change him and feed him and burp him...

I asked her what she thought of having a little sister AND a little brother now and she just said, "I don't care how many kids we have in our family." She seems to love having the little ones around, as frustrating as they can be sometimes.