Introducing... Sage Robert Kelly

After 17 hours of labor, Sage Robert Kelly finally made his entrance into this world on September 9, 2008 at 12:43 AM.

Labor was well, labor. Overall, it wasn't bad. At one point (after about 13 hours), I mentioned that I felt like I was competing in an endurance challenge on a reality tv show - only I was going to win a prize better than a million dollars: my sweet little son.

There was about an hour of lots of pain when I was contracting before I got the epidural. After the epidural, I was quite comfortable for a long time. Then, I started having lots of back labor as Sage was "sunny-side up" instead of face down. That hurt worse than anything. So, our wonderful nurse, JoAnn, propped me up on my hands and knees (despite the fact I could barely feel my legs) to get Sage to rotate. He finally did and the back pain lessened.

I was fully effaced and dilated from about 9:00pm on, but Sage wasn't far enough down yet. So, Jo Ann had me switching positions and trying different things to get him to move down.

At about 11:00 pm, it was finally time to start pushing. JoAnn had me start "practicing" and by midnight, Sage was crowning. At that point, it was hard not to push while we waited for the doctor to get there. It really felt like he was about to fall out, but luckily Dr. Campbell arrived just in time! It took about two more pushes and he was out.

That moment, where I got to feel his head and body slide out of me was truly special. It was almost surreal. After 9 months of imagining what this special little miracle would be like and he was finally here. Wow! It was truly the best moment of our lives. Jared and I were instantly in love.

About Sage:

Weight: 6 lbs., 14 oz.

Length: 20 inches

Perfectly formed, no problems at all!

More details to come... But for now, Mommy needs some rest.