1:00 PM

The second round of the gel was administered. At that point I was 4.5cm, 80% effaced. Almost as soon as I was given the dose, I started experiencing pretty strong contractions that were somewhat irregular. They were coming at least every three to five minutes, but at times they'd be right on top of one another. Andrew kept reminding me to breathe slowly, but I was definitely in quite a bit of pain. I kept telling him I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it without the epidural, but he really reassured me and reminded me why I didn't want it. I still wasn't convinced, but was willing to try to wait it out for as long as possible.