We are at the Hospital

I had a feeling when I left work today that I wouldn't be back. I started having contractions around 5:30 p.m. when Ricky came to pick me up. But, they weren't consistent. I got a pedicure at 6:30 p.m....only having 3 contractions during my pedicure. At 8:23 p.m. I started having 1 minute contractions every 5 minutes until we arrived at the hospital (midnight). After checking in I was dilated at 3cm, but the contractions were not that painful. Ricky and I thought we might be going back home. The nurse came back at 1:00 a.m. and I was dilated to 4cm, which is active labor. I wanted to wait for the epidural until I was 5cm, which was around 3:00 a.m. After the epidural I had a nap from 4:00-6:00 a.m. Natalie, my nurse, came to check on me and now I'm dilated to 7cm. I feel good, no pain and Sloan is maintaining a good heart rate. There is a shift change at 7:00, so I'll probably know more after that occurs.