The Walkers: Barrett's birth story

We woke up early Wednesday morning and headed to my 39 week check-up appointment. The night before I had a few contractions, but they went away so I was very anxious to find out if I had made any progress. My doctor checked me and I was 90% effaced and dilated between a one and two. He said I could go into labor anytime. A couple minutes later I started bleeding and after doing some more exams he said he couldn't let me go home and we were going to have this baby! We were in complete shock! After having a few moments to ourselves we were able to process everything and it really sunk in that we were going to meet Barrett before the day was over. I was put into a wheelchair and we were on our way to the hospital. I was hooked up to the monitor and put on pitocin to get labor started. I have to say that being induced was not what I wanted at all. This whole pregnancy I have been planning on a natural birth and we were afraid the induction would cause a longer and harder birth process. When they hooked me up I was actually already having some mild contractions on my own so we were hopeful that it wouldn't take much to get labor started. Everything progressed pretty quickly...even though it didn't feel quick to me AT ALL! I really wanted to have Barrett naturally with no epidural and as his due date got closer I grew more and more concerned about not being able to do it. I knew labor was supposed to be painful but I had no idea just how much the contractions were going to hurt. There were many moments where I wanted to give up and I felt I couldn't take the pain anymore, but somehow I made it through with no epidural. After about 7 hours of labor, baby Barrett was born into this world! Steven was wonderful through the whole labor. It was hard on him to see me in so much pain, but he was right there with me through it all. He would rub my back, talk me through the pain, and get me fresh apple juice when it started tasting too watery. My nurse was also a huge support for me and I couldn't have done it without her. She knew how much I wanted to avoid an epidural and she knew exactly what to do and say to get me through the worst contractions. My best friend Jessica is a l&d nurse at this hospital and I found out from her later that my nurse is studying to become a midwife so it worked out perfectly that she was my nurse. I get tears in my eyes when I think about that day because as painful as it was, it was even more rewarding when Barrett was born. It's really hard to explain the feeling of bringing a child into this world. Meeting our son was the best moment of our lives and I will never forget the pure joy that Barrett made us feel. I have wanted to be a mom for so long and I feel so blessed to have a healthy, happy, and beautiful son.