We called the hospital at 6:00 a.m. (we couldn’t wait until 6:15) and they told us to come in this morning.  Luckily, we weren’t bumped.  We made our way to Labor and Delivery, checked in and got situated in the delivery room.  Kelly changed into her gown and got all settled in.  By 7:30, the doctor came in, broke Kelly’s water and started her Pitocin.  Contractions immediately followed.

Paoli Hospital has a policy where you can have as many people in the delivery room as you want. So if your wish it to have all of your family and friends watching you push, you are allowed to do so. Our wish was to have our family there until it was time to push, then leave the room leaving only Kelly and I (nurses and doctors too) there for the birth.

At one point, we had 8 non-hospital employees in the delivery room hanging out and waiting (Kelly and I included).  It was pretty great.  We settled down for what would turn out to be a pretty long day of contractions, snacks and pushing.

Here are some pictures from the delivery room prior to baby’s arrival:

Kelly with her sister, Kristin and her mom, Cathy:

Kelly with Joe’s parents, Sal and Joann:

Kelly gets some good luck kisses from Ryan:

Kelly gets a call about more visitors: