After yet another doctor appointment, we were asked to go to the hospital for more monitoring.  We were told that Sharon might end up getting induced due to her elevated blood pressure and the fact that Bean was already past his due date.  We took a quick trip back home to grab our hospital bags and gather some last minute items. 

We got to UMASS Memorial Hospital in Worcester, MA at 6:00.  After a short wait, Sharon was escorted to her own labor and delivery room by our nurse Sybil.  The nurse took Sharon's blood pressure and it was back down.  Sharon also got connected to the NST Monitor and we saw Baby Bean being incredibly active.  He was so active, that our nurse couldn't understand why we had been sent to the hospital at all.

The high risk doctor on call that night, Doctor Mello, came in to check Sharon and she was still only 1 cm. dialated despite the contractions the monitor was picking up.  After checking with Sharon's doctor, it was decided that we would be admitted for the night and that they would start the induction process to get Bean on his way.  The nurse told us that the induction process could take three days.  Sharon was none too thrilled since she really wanted Bean to arrive on his own time without any interventions.   

The doctors decided to start Sharon on Cervidil in hopes of getting her more dialated and jump starting labor.  She had to stay hooked up to the monitors just to be sure she and Bean were still doing alright.  Our night nurse Daphne (who we loved) had to wake Sharon up all night long to check her vital signs and readjust the monitors because Bean just couldn't stay in one place long enough.  It made for a very restless night.

After a sleepless night Sharon's doctor came in to check on her progress and decided to stop the Cervidil and start Sharon on Pitocin through her IV.  She started on a very low level, but every 20 minutes Sharon's new nurse, Jean, would crank it up a bit more. 

Because Sharon was attached to the IV and still being monitored she was pretty much tethered to the area around her bed.  They would let her get up and sit in the bedside chair for a little while, but then her blood pressure would spike and she'd be sent back to bed to lay down.  She was getting increasingly more uncomfortable because of the more regular and stronger contractions, and from being stuck in bed on her back all day long.

Sharon spent all day in and near bed on the Pitocin drip.  At 6:00 the doctors came back in to check for dilation, and found that although Sharon's cervix had thinned out, she was still only at 1 1/2 cm.  Needless to say, Sharon was feeling defeated.  The doctor decided to try a different procedure to help Sharon dilate further. 

Sharon spent three hours being very uncomfortable, but the new procedure seemed to do the trick.  When the doctor returned Sharon had dilated to 4 cm.  Then, shortly after her check-up, Sharon's water broke on it's own.  Finally some progress!

Sharon's contractions were getting stronger and she was definitely feeling uncomfortable, tired and sore.  She decided to request an epidural to help relax and hopefully get some sleep.  Unfortunately, after getting the epidural she felt more sick than sleepy and ended up throwing up in a bed pan.  But the epidural ended up being worth it anyway.

Sharon was checked again around 10:45 and had dilated to 5-6 cm.  Our new nurse Cathy suggested we get some sleep because we might be having a baby the next morning.  So, Sharon got as comfortable as she could in her bed, and Jacqui did the same on the couch.

Before Jacqui could even get some rest, Sharon asked her to call the nurse so she could make a trip to the bathroom.  When the nurse arrived she told Sharon that she wasn't going anywhere and called the doctor in for another check.

When Dr. Mello arrived, Sharon was at 9cm dilated and they immediately began setting up the room for delivery.  The nurse and doctor stepped out of the room for a minute and Sharon got very anxious, afraid that Bean was ready to come without them.  Jacqui called them back to the room telling them that Sharon was ready to push.

With Dr. Mello, Dr. Osterhaus, and our nurses Cathy and Daphne in the room, Sharon started pushing on her contractions.  Before she knew it Bean was crowning...