My son William Joseph was due to be born on Sept. 1, 1997. I was so excited and anxious for him to be born as we all are. I was ready for him by August. Being pregnant in the summer is the worst! Well, the first rolls around and no Will. So on the second I said,'This kid has GOT to be born!!' So Steve and I went to the park and I walked a mile hoping it would set things in motion. That night we rented a movie and things went along as usual. I go to bed. About 4:30 in the morning I wake up with contractions. Steve is still awake, he had been playing Nintendo. I tell him I think I am in labor and we sit up playing pinball and wait. Well, I am defiantely having contractions but they are erratic and not close together, but get closer slowly so there is no doubt I am in labor. I try walking up and down the road to get things going but it is dark and I get scared and give up, being the big wimp that I am. I call the doctor's office at 8 and they tell me not to come in until my contractions are 2-3 minutes apart or I can't talk through them. We were only about 5-10 minutes away from the hospital so I don't worry about them getting that close together. Meanwhile I pack and repack my bags. Take a shower and strain to shave my legs 'cause God forbid I go in to the hospital with hairy legs! I also walk up and down the road picking wildflowers to pass the time, where I live the state plants Sweet Williams along side the road so I thought it was appropriate. Time has never passed so slowly! Finally my contractions get closer together but never regular. When they consistently stay between 2 and 4 minutes apart we go in to the hospital. It is about noon. They get me checked in and all that stuff. My contractions have been that close together for nearly an hour and when they checked my out I was only dilated to a 2. I nearly cried becuase I thought they were gonna send me home and I didn't want to go back. So my sister is there by that time and we walk the halls for about 20 minutes and I have gone up to a four. They get me settled in bed, hook up the monitor, etc. I am nervous and happy. After my sister arrived at the hospital, she was to be in the birthing room with us, Steve leaves to go to Wal Mart, Which makes me mad. But when he returns he has gone to Halmark and bought me a present and Will a present and a birthday card. It was so sweet. He bought me a beautiful glass frame for Will's picture with a sweet poem on it and Will a Cherished Teddies figurine that has his name. They day drags on and my labor is slow. My contractions stay at about 2-4 minutes apart but I am not dilating hardly at all. I get so tired from not having much chance to recover from the contraction before another comes along that it seems to hurt worse and worse when the monitor reads about the same. I get up and down having to go to the bathroom, most times unsuccessfully. THe nurses are in and out reajusting my monitor because my belly was small enough that they couldn't tighten it enough and it slipped everytime I moved. When the nurse trys to give me my IV she can't get it in and keeps sticking me and it hurts. The doctor is supposed to come and give me my beloved epidural at 5. He has an emergency and doesn't get there till 7:30. That is the only time I really get cranky, except I get tired of Julie and Steve telling me to breathe through the pain. I tell them I am breathing between the breaths I am holding. I can see them wheeling a woman into surgery and want to know what is going on and they won't tell me. Which only upsets me. Turns out she had miscarried. So the doc finally gives me the epidural. I am sitting on the edge of the bed with steve facing me. I have my arms under his and my hands over his shoulders. Just as the doctor is putting it in my spine I have a contraction and grip Steve so hard Julie has to grab the back of his pants to keep him from being pulled into the bed with me. ABout thirty seconds later ... RELIEF! I can still feel the contractions but only as a sort of pressure. I get on the phone and fill out paper work. THe epidural slows my already slow labor. They give me a pitocin drip and it helps things along. Suddenly I am ready to push but don't really know it. I feel my internal monitor seem as though it is slipping out and call the nurse. She says it's time to get the doctor. My delivery nurse is so sweet and nice to me. Her name is Tamara. Also in the room is another nurse who happens to be one of Steve's ex girlfriends which is hilarious to me. Anyway, I have a mirror but have my eyes closed most of the time and don't use it much. The doctor is joking with me the whole time. I push and push. The only time I get scared is when the doc has to cut me. I hated that but couldn't really feel it. I push for an hour and a half. WHen the doc can see Will's head he says we need a comb for this kid! Then tells me he needs a haircut. Finally I get him out. He has ahold of the monitor wire and immediately pees upon hitting the air. THe doctor puts him on my stomach and says "you take this its slimy". Steve cuts the cord. He is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and his eyes are wide open and seem to be looking right into mine. I don't feel anything after that. Not the placenta not the stitching up nothing. I just have my baby close to me. It was wonderful. We were all in tears, Steve Julie and I. He was born at 11:08 pm and weighed 8lbs 15ozs I stay up all night holding him. Tamara comes in at the end of her shift to check on me. She tells me I did a wonderful job and she would see me the next night. I barely sleep at all in the hospital. I am too excited by having Will. He doesn't leave my sight except for me to take a shower.