birth story

our little nora,

the day you were born was the best day of our lives.  it was fairly unexpected though! i wanted to write about your birth day so you could look back on this one day when you're old enough to feel the  emotions your dad and i felt that day.  this is the day that changed our lives for the best...

(or so we thought...)

monday, august 26th (7 days before your official due date) i woke up and felt that possibly my water broke.  it didn't seem like a lot and i wasn't having any contractions, so i pretty much ignored it.  i got ready and went to work as usual.  by lunch time, i called your dad and told him that i was pretty sure my water broke.  i called the doctors office and of course, no one answered!  i left a message and a nurse called me back later in the day.  she instructed me to head to labor & delivery at lutheran general hospital.  i figured i only had about an hour left of work, so i stuck it out and went straight to labor & delivery at 3pm.  on the way over to the hospital i started having some period-like cramps.  not knowing that these were actual contractions, i wasn't sure what was going on!  as i parked and walked into the hospital i knew something was up... i did not feel like myself.  on the way over, i called your dad and told him what was going on.  i asked him not to call anyone just yet until we figured out what was up.  by 4pm i was checked in, hooked up, and monitored.  sure enough, my water did break and after a few tests they figured that there really wasn't much fluid left in the womb.  i was having fairly regular contractions by this point--about every 2 minutes lasting for about 30 seconds to 1minute but was only 2cm dilated and 100% effaced.  at this point, i called your dad again and said, "come asap! i'm having contractions and my water officially broke!" no more than 15 minutes later, your dad was walking into Room 12 in L&D with all the bags and goodies we packed weeks earlier.  we were ready to have this babe! we called our parents and some close friends to let them know that our babe would soon be arriving!

i was group b strep positive so i had to have an IV immediately upon arrival.  this made walking around and laboring in the room slightly difficult.  it was hard to find a comfortable position.  i did like the swiss ball, though.  both sets of your grandparents came for a quick visit and were so excited about the impending arrival of their first grandchild!  

by 8pm, i was 4 cm dilated and things were getting pretty intense.  i stuck it out for another hour and by 9pm i was 6 cm dilated and opted for the epidural.  i was pretty happy with this decision because i knew i needed rest to make it through the long night.  your dad and i stayed up for awhile watching Chelsea Lately! and talking about our future.  we talked for awhile about what we might name you, how we would care for you, and what we thought you might look like.

last picture of just us before you were born!

your dad fell asleep for awhile, but i was too excited and nervous about what was to come to get much sleep.

around 11pm there was a nurse shift change and we lucked out getting the best nurse on the floor! she was so attentive, positive, and encouraging.  she checked again and noticed that my contractions slowed down a bit.  we talked about starting pitocin, but...

by 1am i was fully dilated and ready to push!  they called the doctor on call from my OB's office and wanted me to "labor down" for at least an hour.  they sat my bed up and at 3am i started doing a few practice pushes.  however, i wasn't making much progress so we waited to push until 3:30 when the doctor came in again.  after an hour of pushing and very little progress, they told me that you were face up (or "sunny-side up" as they put it!) and this was making it difficult for you to come down the birth canal.  my contractions slowed to about every 5 minutes at this point and it made it very difficult to continue pushing.  we discussed some options at this point.  the doctor told me that since you were face-up and my pelvis was very narrow, it was going to be difficult for you to come out.  that, coupled with the slowing contractions would allow me to opt for a c-section.  she encouraged me to push for at least another hour to an hour and a half to see if i could make any progress on my own.  at this point, the epidural had almost completely worn off and i was exhausted.  if it wasn't for your dad's encouraging words and the doctors persistence, i think i may have opted for the c-section.  however, i gave it another try and after another hour of pushing, you were finally here! 

you were born at 5:31am on August 27, 2013.

they immediately put you on my chest for our first skin-to-skin session and were able to delay your cord clamping, do all your tests, and wipe you down. dad was able to cut the cord and i think this may have been one of the greatest moments of his life.

knowing that we did this and made this perfect, beautiful little baby girl brought tears to our eyes.  at that moment, we knew our lives had changed for the best and would never, ever be the same.  we loved you the minute we saw you! you were so tiny and pink with a great set of lungs! 

your dad ran out to the waiting room to share our good news!  pretty soon after, Grandma & Grandpa, GiGi, Grandpa & Uncle Mike came to meet you.  being the first grandchild on both sides definitely gives you the "spoiled" title :) you sure are one loved little girl.  i hope you always remember that. 

this blog is named after one of my favorite songs.  some of the lyrics say, "lay down in our mother's arms, for here we can rest safely".  holding you in my arms, i promise to always keep you safe and away from harm.  you are my baby girl, my greatest life accomplishment.

"how beautiful, yet fragile, life is so enjoy every minute of it"... for after all, it IS one sweet world!

with all my love,

your mom 

  

nora marie