Day 1- Gabriel's birth story continued

At this point Dr. Morales came into the room. She checked in with the nurses and sat at the foot of my bed. I think she had me push for a bit, and wasn't happy with the results. She told the nurse that I needed to have the baby drop some and then finish pushing. What followed was the most intense pain I have ever been in. I thrashed around on my side through each contraction. Jason held my hand. At that point I thanked him for helping me. Then my parents came in. Dad gave me a kiss on the cheek and mom sat on a couch in the delivery room. Dad went outside. (This was what I wanted) The nurses double checked to make sure that was what I wanted. I tried to manage the pain the best I could. The nurse explained to mom who asked why I was hurting so much that the epidural could not get ahead of the pain like with most people- it basically didn't have time to work well. It did seem to help a bit when it finally kicked in. My water Then Dr. Morales came back in and it was time to push. She asked me if I was ready to have the baby and I said yes. My water broke. I probably pushed about 15 times. She asked me if I wanted to have his head vacuumed out or have a C section. She told me I could do it, have a vaginal delivery. So that's what I went with. An oxygen mask was placed on my head and after each contraction I had to take a deep breath and push as hard as I could. Through two contractions, it didn't work. Before the third one, the nurses explained how to push and encouraged me to have my baby. So, I did. I pushed, Jason told me I was almost there. Then I heard his head was out, and then the rest of him. I heard him let out a big lusty cry. Dr. Morales stitched me up while people cooed over the baby. I looked down at gauze pads soaked with blood. The stitches hurt quite a bit and Jason stayed with me while mom cooed over the baby. Then they put the baby on my skin and asked me what his name was. I told them he was Gabriel and smiled down at my baby. Dad came back in and gave us both kisses. I thanked Joanna and she told me I took years off her life!