"Angela Schepers" wrote in message
I
came in 5 cm dialated and 90% effaced before anything was done.

I think it is neat that you were halfway "done" already, before labor
even began! Now that's the way to do it :-)

By this point I wasn't completely and totally numb from the epidural
as
I hadn't really had it that long and they turned it down anyway. At
first the pushing was definately painful and uncomfortable (man oh
man
was I huffing and puffing!) but wasn't all that bad until about 10
minutes into it that really started feeling the baby come down.
During
the next 15 minutes the pain REALLY picked up and at first I was
hesitant to push through it. DH was right there with me and so
encouraging. I wasn't sure how he was going to be during the delivery
but he was absolutely amazing and completely focused on me. After a
total of 25 minutes of pushing Quinn Alexander Schepers was born into
this world screaming as loud as his little lungs would allow. His
second order of business was to urinate all over the doctor while she
was suctioning him out, lol... Just after he was born DH and I
started
bawling like crazy. I never thought he would cry but I guess neither
one of us could hold our emotions back at that point. DH then cut the
umbilical cord and he was taken over to the warmer, suctioned out some
more and given a little oxygen while screaming his head off the whole
time. He came out 8 lbs, 1oz and 19.5 inches long at 3:38pm. His
apgar
scores were 8 and 8 so all was good there.

Yay! Congratulations! I really like the name Quinn. (I also like
Alexander very much.)

I received a grand total of
4 stitches and I was suprised to find that my perineum (sp?) was
completely intact (it still never really bothered me afterward) but I
did tear upward just a bit which still smarts, especially when I
urinate, but it's healing up. I guess I was pushing so hard that I
burst capillaries in the sides of my cheeks and face and in one eye,
and
broke a blood vessel above my left eye as well. DH said I was turning
all kinds of colors in the face while I was pushing.

I also had an intact perineum that didn't really bother me at all (I was
told several time that BM's may be difficult, etc, but never had a
single problem). Didn't seem swollen really or unduly uncomfortable. I
also had a little upward tear though (no stitches) and that became
infected and did cause me a lot of pain/discomfort. When I went for my
two week check up and told them it was still bothering me, they said
"oh, a little stinging when you urinate?" Ha ha! Try, making it hard for
me to walk properly!

Sounds like things went really well for you. How is the swelling in your
ankles now?

Congrats again!

--
Em
mama to L-baby, almost 8 months old!