She's Here!!!

Well, despite my last post's inference that our daughter would be born on the 17th, it wasn't until 12:56am this morning that Ellie came into this world. It was a long, draining day, but the results were out of this world!
Les and I showed up at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital around 7:45am; however, it wasn't until about 8:15-8:20am that we were escorted to the labor and delivery room. Our naivete set in around that time, thinking we'd get this ball rolling in a matter of moments. What ensued was countless hours of waiting...and more waiting!
Since she was getting induced, Leslie's providers decided to give her the liquid drug pitocin. She first received this around 11:00am; yet it takes upwards of two hours to begin working. Around 2:00pm, Leslie started feeling more intense contractions, and this lasted for almost 2 1/2 hours before she asked for an epidural. I'm sure she could've endured the pain for longer, but her contractions were only about 90 seconds a part. I don't know about you, but if someone told me I could either go to the plate with a wooden bat or an aluminum bat, I'm swinging some metal! (Note: At this time, apply the analogy above to the situation of going through labor natural, or with an epidural.)
After getting the epidural, Leslie had to wait another 6 hours before getting to push, as she wasn't fully dilated and needed more time for her body to prepare. Around 11:30pm, she got the go ahead to start pushing and a little less than 90 minutes later, we had our baby girl!
In short, it was such a surreal experience, and I'm so thankful for being given this gift; yet at the same time, it was a very gross process and I saw more things that I ever wanted. My beautiful bride is such a trooper and I'm so honored to be her soul mate, but I never thought I'd see her in "all her glory".
My daughter is healthy, as well as her mommy, and for that I am so grateful. But this experience has further solidified one thing in my life... THANK GOD I'M A DUDE!!!