I went to my regular scheduled doctor's appointment. I wondered if he would induce me since I was three days over my due date and my blood pressure had been high that week. He checked me and he thought that I might be starting to get pre-eclampsia. So he thought it would be a good idea to induce me.

I checked into the hospital at 11:30 a.m. on the 13th and he came in on his lunch break and inserted a tiny pill to help me start contractions. Well, unfortunately the tiny little pill (I forgot the name) didn't work. It just thinned me out more. So they started me on Pitocin that next morning at 5 a.m. on the 14th. It started out slow -- 11:30 a.m. came around still nothing. They told me that they would keep me on this until they had the Pitocin up on the highest setting and if nothing happened I would have to go home. So I was bound and determined this baby was going to come out today.

Around noon I was sitting in the rocking chair and all of a sudden I had my first strong contraction that I noticed. By 1:30 p.m. I was dilated 1-2 centimeters. I was thrilled. By 2:30 p.m. I was asking for a little bit of drugs -- something to take the edge off. So they gave me Nubain in my IV.

Around 4 p.m. they asked if I wanted to use the birthing ball. They checked me before getting on the ball. I was dilated to a 3. I sat on the ball for about 15 minutes. Then all of a sudden we heard the baby kick (because of the monitors) and I said, My water just broke. I sat on there for a little while longer. Then the pain got worse. I got up and went to the bathroom. Then they checked me again and I had dilated to a 5.

I asked for more drugs to take the edge off. I was trying to go as long as I could without an epidural. They gave me Nubain and it did nothing this time. Finally, I wanted the epidural. Before they gave me my epidural they checked me and I was dilated to an 8 and I felt like pushing. They gave me my epidural. Thank God. I was dilated to a 10 and started pushing at 6:57 p.m. I delivered a dark hair little girl named Victoria Nicole weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and measuring 20.25 inches long.