Nolan Robert Smith has arrived!!

Our little man is finally here! It literally feels like just a couple months ago that we found out we were pregnant...and now there's a baby in our arms!!
On Tuesday, October 26th, I had my weekly doctor appointment with Dr. Raj. I read that a doctor can do a "cervical scratching", which can help get a full-term mom get labor moving.
Well, I think it worked because the next morning, around 8am, my water broke! I wasn't initially sure if my water broke because, while going pee that morning, it felt like a little extra "gush". I thought: "was that my water breaking?? Or just an extra gush of pee??"
Initially I thought that I was just imagining it, because I was so anxious to have this baby. I almost didn't even call the doctor. Luckily I did, and they set a 9:30am appointment for me.
By 10am, the doctor had confirmed that my water had definitely broken!! They sent me right down to labor & delivery!
I immediately thought: oh my god, I'm having a baby today! But i was wrong - the labor turned out to be a very long process! I was only dilated about 2 cm when they first admitted me (same as the day before, at my check-up appointment). By around 11am or 12pm, I started having contractions. After a few hours of contractions, I asked for my epidural. I then continued having contractions (pain-free contractions!) until around 6am the next day (10/28/10) when I finally reached 10 cm.
At that point, the nurses told me that I should have this baby within 1-2 hours of pushing. I then called my mom (who wanted to be in the room when i delivered), so that she an Francis could help deliver my son!
So I was pushing for around 3+ hours when the nurses said I should try coming off the epidural to possibly get my pushing stronger, as Nolan was having troubles getting past the pelvic wall. So I pushed for another hour without an epidural (where I cried out bloody murder until they gave me something to take off some of the "edge"), but still no progress. What happened to the 1-2 hours of pushing the nurses promised??? I wasn't sure I could continue at this! At this point, I was just crying from exhaustion/frustration....and freaked that they would have to perform a c-section after ALL THOSE HOURS of labor.
They said they could try the suction cup to help get the baby out. After giving me the risks associated with it, I cried for a while in fear of what damage I would do to my baby! I then decided I needed to try the suction cup to help get this baby out, otherwise I didnt know what would happen if we didnt get him moving at this point. He had been stuck in my birth canal for 4 hours!! I didnt have much choice at this point!
Once they got the suction cup clamped to my poor baby's head, he was out within about 5 minutes!
They pulled him out, and put him on my chest. I was so relieved/happy/excited/exhausted....that I just sobbed. He was finally here! Oh my god, he was finally here! Best feeling of my life!

So Nolan Robert Smith arrived on 10/28/10 at 11:35am. He weighed 7lbs 3oz, and 20.5 inches long.