The 13th hour

We're been here for 13 hrs so far and the journey continues

3:15 am: Epidural is administered by anesthesiologist....Erin did so well handling the discomfort (her words) that went with that process......I knew the size of that needle and couldn't handle it.....felt like I was gonna pass out thinking of what that must have felt like

3:30-6:30 am: Contractions are coming more regularly but the epidural is certainly helping

Three things I've already learned in this continuing 13 hour marathon:

1. Labor experience is never really an appropriate comparative conversation to have....no two are the same....differing levels of pain threshold, varying body types that prolong or shorten the labor period, etc.

Maybe it's a woman's way of sharing "war stories" (I know guys do the same thing w/ cuts, bruises, broken bones, etc)......but watching what a woman goes through to deliver a baby gives a complete new perspective

2. There is absolutely NO WAY that I could be a doctor.....it's never a good thing when, as a spectator and minimal participant, you get more queasy and light-headed than the mama-to-be.....needles and the thought of the pain that your wife is enduring is all too much for me to experience on a regular basis....I'm so incredibly grateful and appreciative to the doctors and nursing staff (our nurse Katie has been wonderful all night long) for the care they've given Erin

3. It's impossible to understand until you finally get into the labor process, but it's incredibly emotional even before the baby arrives......you become extremely protective, proud, and amazed by your wife for enduring something that would drive me to literally shoot myself rather than go on.....I'm now more convinced than ever that if the task had been left to men, the human race would go extinct

Erin has done so incredibly well through this long night....even though we have (in all likelihood) a long day ahead of us, we're excited to see baby Hudson face to face

Now if he would just stop being ornery (a character trait he no doubt inherits from both of his grandmamas) and decide to come on, we'd all be much better off!