Erik's birth

I realized that I never shared my birth stories on my blog...and it has always been something I've wanted to do. Rather than write a huge post about all 6 births I thought I'd break it up. So this is the first of 6 (7 yet to be born:)
I think some might be interested to know that I haven't always had home births. 4 were at the hospital, only 2 at home.
I had just turned 22, fresh out of nursing school, and newly married when I had Erik. This is how it began...
2 weeks before my due date, my sister Betsy and I walked around Carousal mall in the hopes that I would go into labor... With slight contractions all evening that finally got regular, I knew we were on our way~ I had labored most of that night lying next to Erik's Dad and trying to get rest in between contractions. By early am they were 5 min apart and I went to the hospital, saying goodbye to Betsy and my best friend Chris, as I came down the stairwell. I did some more walking at the hospital and dilated further, but my water hadn't broke, so they took care of that. I went from "Oh, this isn't so bad" to "Whoa! I need to start my breathing". Well,... my contractions weren't 'strong enough' for the doctor's taste, so they suggested a Pitocin drip...and what did I know??? Boy was I in for a surprise! I had taken a birthing class and knew I wanted to go 'natural', but that made it really hard!! That stuff is brutal. (Ive never had it since!) I had to step it up from just 'breathing' to really 'getting in the zone'. Mom helped me alot by rubbing my forearm in a rhythmic movement that helped me keep time with breaths. I had to tell her slow down or speed up~ and bless her heart~ she stood by bed like that for hours!! I did accept a dose of STADOL thru my IV. A drug that is supposed to "take the edge off". Somewhere in there I vomited the orange juice they let me drink. Fun times again! After about 6 hours of labor I had the urge to push and I was told they were prepping the birthing room and to hold on! Don't push yet! I remember being wheeled down the hall with a sheet over me, my arms holding my legs to my chest and gently pushing as we sped. Now I'm in a cold delivery room, feet in stirrups and I was told to push now. After several good pushes the doctor told me to open my eyes, look down, grab the baby and pull him out! So I did! And that was the best part! I slid my hands under his armpits that were still tucked inside me and he slid out as I pulled him up onto my stomach. He weighed 7 .9 lbs. I kept saying "My baby~my baby~ Oh my very own baby" over and over... I was so in love with him! I couldn't believe they let me leave the hospital with him though. As If I wasn't qualified enough to care for him. He hadn't even really nursed well yet and had gotten very jaundice. I didn't read any breastfeeding books (yeah- that was dumb) and just expected him to latch right on. After all my mom nursed all 4 of us and it looked easy. He and I eventually did get the hang of it. Amazingly, I just fed him when he was hungry, and that was all. He plumped up a bit, but never was a big eater, still to this day! I went back to work at 6 mo and wasn't pumping ( I didn't know any better) and my supply went down so I started formula for his dad to feed him. By 7 mo we were done. I find that so sad now...
I hope this wasnt TMI and too long-winded!