My birth process followed a fairly standard pattern, when I arrived for my arranged appointment at 9am the nurses took me to my room. It did, however, take a long time between me checking into the room and the first stage of labor, where my uterine contractions were about 15-20 minutes apart. My nurse was very kind and explained to me that it's the contractions that are causing my cervix to stretch and open. As time went on my contractions got closer and closer together, after about 16 hours they were about 2 minutes apart. I found it to be very long and quite exhausting, the nurse also explained that it was a little longer than average for a first time mum like me, where we usually see this stage last no more than 12 hours but it was still not alarming. said. After almost 18 hours, the doctor told me my cervix was about 4 inches dilated, which he said was a good thing because it allowed my baby to pass from the uterus into the birth canal. After that, the doctor began the actual delivery process, or second stage. from birth, as the nurse called it, where I pushed every time I had another contraction. This process pushed the baby through the cervix and birth canal, I later learned, although at the time I was only focused on what the nurse and doctor told me to do. My contractions were getting closer and closer together, I had one almost every minute, they lasted longer and were more and more intense. After about an hour of this very intense and tiring process, my baby came out head first. Once the head was out it didn't take very long and only a few pushes and Hannibal's entire body was out. After the second stage of the delivery process, the placenta was released and the doctor cut the c...... middle of paper ......r his friends and his concerns if they are sad or in cries and he understands better what belongs to him or what concerns someone else. He is also getting much better at following multi-step instructions and understanding when I explain that something is in the oven or under the table, etc. He is surprisingly good at conversing with people, even strangers understand what he says. Of course one of his main interests is his toys, he loves playing with his cars which have levers and buttons, he loves doing puzzles, drawing with pencils and crayons, as well as reading his books and of course always his Legos. I also have to worry less, because he is a very good and stable runner, climber and stair walker and he is getting better and better at pedaling his tricycle - overall I am amazed and proud as a mother of what my adorable little boy has already accomplished.