Ready or not, here I come ....

Pryce decided to follow in his brother's footsteps and make an early debut ... 17 days before his due date.
Thank goodness Grandma and Grandad Rankin were in town and already at our house to look after Everett. Since Everett's labor and delivery went so quickly, we didn't waste much time getting to the hospital. My water broke just before 6am and we were in the car on our way shortly after 7am. Here's a couple pictures of us before we headed out.

By the time we got to the hospital (7:15am), my contractions were just starting and about 5 minutes apart. We didn't miss one last chance for a "belly shot" before I changed into my lovely, standard issue hospital gown.

At a little after 8am I was 2-3 cm dilated and 95% effaced. I started calling my close friends and family while I waited for the nurse to give me my IVs and for my epidural to be administered.

Shortly after 8:45, I was at 4cm and still 95% effaced. We were prepared to spend a little time waiting so David and I started playing a card game. Around 9:55 I told the nurse I was feeling some pressure and pain so she checked my progress .... low and behold I was completely dilated and ready to get to work. The nurse called Dr. Thomas (the on-call doctor) and the room started bustling with activity. Pryce didn't waste any time ... he arrived a quick 5 minutes and two contractions after we got started. Thanks Mom for passing along the "quick n easy" child birth gene. :)