Caiden Michael Sedler has arrived!

Here's his natural (med-free, epi-free) birth story:

I had my regular OB appt. on June 8th, Caiden's due date, and didn't figure on anything happening that day. I had had a few contractions but thought they were going to be false labor just like everything else. I was wrong. Contractions began at 2:15pm and continued to become closer together and more intense. In general they ranged anywhere from 5 minutes to 4 minutes apart. We decided to go to the hospital at 11pm and were given the okay by the on-call delivering doctor.

By the time we got to the hospital I was already at 4cm dilated and my water had a tiny leak. I labored for 4 hours and went from 4cm to 8cm. The contractions hurt but were bearable especially since I had the world's best husband coaching me and supporting me through it all. Brian was amazing. He reminded me to breath and would breath with me, he rubbed my back, helped me with hot packs, gave me ice chips, and was at my side doing whatever it took to make me as comfortable as possible. I couldn't have done it without him especially when the next part of labor came.

At 3:30am the doc. came in to check on my progress and realized that my bag still hadn't broken, so she did it manually. The following sets of contractions came on so strong and so close together that I could barely shift to attempt and get comfortable before I'd have to start working through the next contraction. I was vomiting when they peaked, so that didn't help to relax me at all. I started to lose it, but Brian talked me through everything. It also helped to visualize all the people who told me I wouldn't be able to do a natural birth and that I would be screaming for an epidural. Neener neener, I DID IT! The only thing I ended up using was an oxygen mask for the last part of labor just to make sure that baby was getting the oxygen he needed. In about an hour I went from 8-10cm. When it came time to push, I was so relieved.

Pushing feels like you are taking the world's largest crap, no joke. The doctor and nurse were even telling me to push towards the cloth they had stuck right at my butt hole. I pushed with all my might and while it felt good to push, a new sensation came over me. I could feel the skin around my vagina tearing. The doctor was reaching in and trying to stretch me out and it felt horrible. It was as though everything was on fire. The doc. set up a mirror so I could see my progress and be motivated by it. It was amazing to see Caiden's dark head of hair crowning. It helped to fill me with the strength I needed to finish the job. I pushed for only about 20 minutes and then there he was, plopped up on my belly announcing his entrance into the world with his small cries and alert eyes.

He scored a 9 on the Apgar Scale (his first A!) and the nurse and doctor were raving about how great he looked. He weighs a healthy 7lbs 13oz, slightly above normal. He is 20 inches of perfection. He's got his dad's chin and my nose and we can't wait for him to rest up so we can get a real sense of his personality. Dad also got to witness Caiden pooping like a champ.

We are so in love with this little guy. I just sit and stare at him and every little breath he takes is amazing to me. Each yawn fills my heart with happiness and every tiny snore makes me smile. We've had the chance to witness a true miracle. I can't even begin to thank God enough for bestowing this blessing on us.