Not the most pregnant person around any more

Sure!

Contractions started around 3:30 Saturday afternoon, and by 4:00 were steady. By 5:00 I was telling my husband to call the doctor, and by 6:00 we were in the hospital! They admitted me -- which is great, with my first it took three trips -- and at the first exam I was at around 4 cm. I got an epidural (as I'd planned) at around 6:00, and it worked very well.

I had decided to "labor down" -- to relax and let my uterus the work -- which my doctor (who had to rush to get there in time) supported. The baby's heartrate was taking a little long to get back up after each contraction, but oxygen helped and if there were ever any worries, nobody told me about them. Pushing started at 9:15, and she was born at 9:30. She had to be suctioned because of meconium when the water broke, but that didn't take long and they did it right there in the room. It went so well, just about perfectly. Eight pounds, eleven ounces; twenty inches long; the chubbiest cheeks I've ever seen!

But... you knew there'd be a but... the placenta tore as it was coming out, despite my doctor's best attempts to gently remove it. The OB on call was brought in and... ew... he went in after it with a piece of gauze, wearing gloves that went up to his elbow. My doctor had done the same thing, but less forcefully (and without the gauze). It was a very... how do I put this? A very physical experience. I still had the epidural but I could feel what they were doing and it was uncomfortable disturbing briefly painful.

I needed sbreastches after the membrane recovery attempts, but nothing too major (as far as I know, I'm scared to look). I'm swollen and very sore (any advice?) from that, but everything else is fine.

Breastfeeding is going very well. She latched on like a champ and has barely unlatched since birth. She's sleeping during the day and nursing during the night, for hours on end, trying to get my milk to come in, so I'd better go take a nap... zzzzzz