He's Here!

Anthony "Tony" Dewayne Pledger II finally arrived!! Born 2.26.2012 at 2:49am. Weighing 7 lbs, 12 oz., and 21 inches long.

Anthony and I decided to try an old wives' tale on Friday night and get some spicy Mexican food for our "Last Supper." It worked! I went into labor at about 11:30pm on Friday, February 24. I didn't exactly know if I was in real labor or not, so I didn't wake Anthony. I figured out pretty quickly that I was. I took a hot bath for a couple hours, and worked through the contractions. They were 10-12 minutes apart at that point. Anthony woke up around 5:30am and asked, "What are you doing?" as I was walking up and down the stairs. My response, "Um, I'm in labor!" Parents were called at that point. We probably should have waited to call my parents for a while, but oh well.

This being my first time through labor, I was really nervous. Against Anthony's wishes and my better judgment, we went to the hospital at about 10am. We were there a long time that day, but like I said, I was nervous. I dilated from 2-3 between 10am and 9pm, so it was very frustrating. The contractions were definitely getting worse but the dilation wasn't happening. They decided to "sleep" me for the night at about 9:30pm, which meant giving me a shot of morphine and 4 sleeping pills. I could still feel the contractions and they were getting much worse. At 11:30pm they woke me up to see the progression. I asked if I could have an epidural, but I was dilated to 9. That was the one thing I was looking forward to all day and it wasn't happening. The nurse said, "Call everyone and get them here. You're having a baby!" I had to re-focus and just do it.

The doctor came by about 12:30, and I started pushing. They said he would

be born within the hour, but Tony was crooked. Anthony held my leg and counted for me the whole time. I don't know how he did it. One thing is for sure - I would not have been able to do it without him. Tony was born at 2:49am. So I was in labor for about 25 hours and pushed for 2. All natural.

All Grandparents and Aunt Monica were there for the birth. We were so thankful that they could be there to share the incredible day. We are so blessed and are enjoying every minute!