Here goes the gross part...7pm-8pm

I was in labor for nearly 14 hours (5am-7pm) before it was time to start pushing. If you thought my labor stories were a little too much, I suggest you stop reading. Now. Run away. Because labor is nothing compared to the absolutely disgusting job delivery is, whether you deliver vaginally or have a c-section. I assume since you're reading up to this point, you want to hear it, which means you are either a mom, or thinking about becoming one. So here goes...

7pm- It was shift change for the labor and delivery staff. Luckily I had the same doctor (Dr. Khalek) but my main nurse changed. Her name was Jenny. What an amazing coincidence! We were so excited, the nurse included...we talked about how it was fate that she was working that night, and she had never delivered a baby named Jenny (or Jennie, which is how my daughter's name is spelled). While Jenny prepared things for the doctor to do my next exam, the excitement began to build.

7:15pm- Dr. Khalek does her exam. I'm at 10cm dilated. It's go time! Nurse Jenny says one of the most haunting phrases from my whole ordeal- "I'll bet in 2 or 3 pushes, Miss Jennie will be here!" All the nurses and my doctor say if I want to see anyone one last time before I have a baby, now is the time. Our dads come in, and I don't remember if anyone else did. We chatted while the staff prepared the delivery room: turning on the heater in the crib, setting up all the tools and instruments needed for delivery, and I'm sure a hundred other things I didn't witness. The doctor says she is going to go check on her other patients while Nurse Jenny coaches me through some practice pushes.

7:30pm- Practice run- I scoot to the end of the bed. Nurse Jenny says I have to pick two people, one to hold each of my feet up while I push. I wasn't sure how Jake would do from that angle (I didn't want him seeing anything down there, and he had no interest in it either), so I said my mom and Jake's mom could. I was told to push my chin to my chest, wrap my hands around the backs of my thighs, and push like I was taking a crap. Ok, I'm sure the nurse said something more professional, but I don't remember. It's true what they say- you do have to push like you are going to the bathroom. I have my chin to my chest, Jake is supporting my neck, and each one of my feet is one of Jennie's future grandmas' hands- I have to take a deep breath, let it out, take another deep breath, and PUSHHHHHHH while Nurse Jenny counts to 10. I do this a couple of times and Nurse Jenny is telling everyone to get ready to see a baby by 8pm- I'm doing great pushing.

7:45pm- Dr. Khalek comes in, does another exam to see how far Jennie has descended (can't feel a thing, thanks to the epidural...amazing!) and she says her head is RIGHT THERE, and that I'm at "+1". I'm not sure what that means still to this day but I guess it meant Jennie was gonna come, and gonna come soon. Nurse Jenny instructs me that from now on, whenever I a) feel a contraction coming on or b) she sees a contraction happening on the monitor I'm going to push, just like I did practicing. Everyone started placing bets on when Jennie would arrive, and everyone said sometime before 8pm. I was so excited!

8pm- I start pushing...