The birth: ALL the details

It would take me forever to explain why we decided to go with an induction, but everything came together for the induction on October 27, 2009. We went to the hospital at 9:30. At 11:00 a.m., they broke my water and started a pitocin drip. The contractions started very strongly, but the baby didn't respond well to the contractions. His heartrate kept dipping. My doctor reduced the pitocin drip signficantly. They gradually increased the amount over the course of the labor. It followed a more normal labor pattern that way.
I didn't have any contractions for about two hours. Around noon, I was allowed to have a clear liquids tray, which basically meant that I was able to have jello, raspberry ice, clear broth, etc. I was thrilled that I was allowed to drink. But my doctor was confident that I wouldn't have a c-section, so he gave the go-ahead.
After my "lunch", I got into the hot tub, and started having contractions. Around 2:30, my nurse told me that the anesthesiologist would be leaving shortly so if I wanted an epidural, it would be the right time to get one. I had planned on getting one since I refuse to be induced without some pain relief, I got out of the tub and prepared for the epidural. The anesthesiologist and I discussed my previous two epidurals as he prepped me. Then, as he adminstered the epidural, he told me that my spine was very atypical, which meant that giving me an epidural was particularly difficult. It didn't work perfectly, but it did give me some relief.
I was able to rest for a bit. It took me about 3 hours to dilate from a 2 to a 4. By then, it was 4 p.m. I felt pretty discouraged, because I had hoped that the baby would arrive before the boys finished school that day. I felt like many long hours of labor were looming ahead for me.
The contractions started to increase greatly in intensity and I began to feel a lot of pain. I requested more pain medication since I really didn't want to feel everything. The nurse called the doctor while I waited. Meanwhile, I breathed through the contractions and rested in between. I'm pretty proud of myself because I didn't lose focus or panic even though it really started to hurt. Soon the contractions were bundled right up on top of each other, with hardly a chance to rest. I started feeling a lot of intense pressure but couldn't believe I was anywhere close to delivering the baby. The nurse checked me and I had dilated to an 8.
Within a few minutes, my doctor arrived. When he checked me, the baby was crowning. They called the anesthesiologist and told him to go back home since he would arrive too late. Pushing the babyout was a huge relief. He came pretty quickly. When he was born, they laid him on my stomach, he didn't cry much, just looked at me and gazed around. He hardly cried while the nurse cleaned him up and wrapped him in a blanket.
Even though parts of the labor were so intense, I feel very pleased with everything. I didn't try and multi-task. I found when I concentrated on the pressure I was feeling, I didn't notice the pain as much. It was really an exhilerating feeling in the end, to deliver the baby so smoothly.
He is completely beautiful, with smooth skin and perfectly shaped head. He doesn't cry much. Sometimes he screws up his face as if he were thinking about crying, but then he relaxes. I will post some more pictures soon!