They Don't Call it "Labor" for Nothing

Yes, Baby Kiar has arrived, but I didn't labor for hours to not tell about it. So here is the abbreviated version. After my due date passed, we were scheduled for an induction on Wednesday, July 15 at Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines, FL. However, the hospital didnt have any beds available (yes, there are that many babies being born this month), so we got bumped to Thursday, July 16. We called the hospital Thursday morning, and there were still no beds available, so it seemed like Baby Kiar would get her wish and she could stay inside as long as she liked. My wonderful doctor was able to work some magic and get them to admit me Thursday morning anyway, so at 9:30am, we were on our way to the hospital. This turned out to be a good thing, because not only was I 4 days past my due date, I had started to have contractions earlier that morning.

We had some tests run after we arrived, then they told us to go to lunch as they still didnt have a room for us. It seemed like we'd be having this baby out in the hall way, but once we got back from lunch at 2:30pm, a room had just opened up, and they rushed us right in.

I use the term "rushed" loosely, because every step of the process seemed to take at least an hour of wait time. At around 5:00pm, I got the first round of medication to start the labor process. The nurses told me they expected it to take 12 hours to kick in and another 12 to deliver, but Baby Kiar is an over achiever, just like her parents, and cut the wait time in half.
Once I got the first round of medication, the contractions started coming on faster, and by Midnight, I was ready for the epidural. I give a lot of credit to women who have their babies without any drugs because I dont think I would have made it another hour without them. Once I had the drugs, it was smooth sailing until we were ready to push. My labor nurse checked in on me about once an hour, and I was making good progress overnight and was ready to push at around 5:00am on Friday, July 17.

I will say that the epidural took the pain away, but when the baby is ready to come out, you get the most intense urge to push. Marty was there by my side the whole time, though he later told me that his arm got a cramp while he was holding my leg, but he refrained from asking the doctor if we could take a break for him to stretch (good call, Marty).

After about an hour of pushing, Brianne Elizabeth Kiar was born at 6:34am!