There were two things I was sure of when I got pregnant: I did not want to know the sex of the baby until delivery and I did not want an epidural. I wanted to go natural.
Once I hit hour 24 of contractions, I had different feelings about going natural.
I got to the hospital at six centimeters and had not slept in over 36 hours. I was exhausted and had never experienced so much pain, so consistently. I gave in and got the epidural at eight centimeters. And I don't feel guilty about it at all.
In the months leading up to the birth every one kept asking me if I was ready. I would respond, "How can I get ready for something where anything can happen?"
In "Connected," Episode 11, you can see exactly how that turned out.
I started pushing at 12:00 in the afternoon and the baby was born at 12:59. My husband Stefano was by my side the whole time. He made the experience exactly what I asked for regardless of our birth plan -- which was for it to be peaceful. I needed him to be my rock and he was. Eyes locked, holding hands, he talked me through every contraction and every push. Stefano and I have been together for five years and we have experienced and created many things together. But birthing our first child was by far the most amazing thing we have done yet.
We had discussed names, and in the Italian culture, there are unsaid laws of respect on who to name the child after. But when the doctor pulled the baby out and Stefano screamed, "It's a boy," I knew I wanted to pay my husband respect first and name his first son after him. "Stefano."
Now we are three: Stefano, Baby Stefano, and me. He has changed our world, brought us closer, and made our lives an infinite amount better than it was.