The Other Side...

Yes, Nils almost passed out, but I knew from the start that I was on my own. This was a very different birth experience.
Like Nils said, the hospital called at 6:20ish to say I had to be there by 7:00 or I'd be moved to the end of the list. I was not having that. I got dressed and left, and Nils stayed with the kids, who were still sleeping. We had arranged to meet my mom later in the morning, so this sort of threw everything off. I got to the hospital on time, though. At 8:00 the pitocin was hooked up. At around 9:00, the doctor broke my water and told me I was at a 3. Historically, once I'm at a 3 or 4, the baby comes out an hour later. Nils wasn't there yet, so I knew we would be cutting it close. Nils arrived with my mom and my kids around 9:30. About 10:00 I requested the epidural. I had a feeling the baby was coming soon and really had no interest in experiencing it naturally. (I got to feel Addie and didn't enjoy it.) The kids were being wild, so Nils took them to get a snack. He did it on purpose so he'd miss the epidural. I got to hug a pillow instead of my husband, which was fine, since he always passes out during the epidural anyway.
Nils and the kids came back to the room just as I was feeling great and pain free, but my children were driving me insane, and my mom was narrating the contractions. Seriously, is that not the most annoying thing ever? I told my mom it was going to be awhile, so to take the kids home and we'd call when it was getting close. That was at 11:00, and Aani was born at high noon. It was surreal. The only people in the room were me, Nils, the doctor and my nurse. Is that normal? With Addie there was a neonatal crew in there, and even with Anders there were three other nurses. It was very peaceful and quiet and low-key. Until Nils decided to make a story of it.
So, let's talk about Nils passing out. I've never had a baby during the daytime, and it was pretty bright in the room. I think the sunlight illuminated some details that he hadn't seen before. That's my explanation. I know my husband, so when the doctor and nurse were oblivious to the fact that he was blind and deaf, I knew. Even whilst pushing out a baby, I knew. They put Aani on my belly (again, the first time that's happened), and I could see Nils was pale and sweating. Fortunately he came to before too long and could go visit her and take some pictures.
So, the labor and delivery were unusually easy, despite the fact that I was by myself for much of it. It was weird; much more down to business. However, for such an easy delivery, this is by far the worst time I've had recovering. I felt like I had been kicked in the back for 3 days, and oh my- the cramping. I knew it got worse with each kid, but I was not prepared for this. All they'd give me was a lousy Motrin every 8 hours. I really could have used the epidural. After one horrid night in the hospital, I decided to go home. We got home Wednesday night, and we were even able to bring Aani with us. Hooray!
She's a cute kid, and yes, our biggest. Anders was 6 lbs. 9 oz., and Addie was a mere 4 lbs. 10 oz., so you can see why we think Aani is such a fatso. We're still trying to adjust to life with a newborn plus 2 other kids. Anders is completely infatuated with her, and Addie's tolerating her just fine so far. Aani eats about 90% of the time, so we've been spending the last three days holding and feeding, and trying to pay attention to Anders and Addie. We're feeling very blessed, overwhelmed and tired. Thanks for all your kind words. We know we're lucky to have good friends and family.