I'm not a very good story-teller, but I'm sure many of you are interested in hearing the general story of how Nora entered the "outside" world. I say general story, because I will spare you--the general audience--any details you may not want to know.
During church on Sunday I was feeling slight contractions, but this wasn't anything worth noting because the whole 9th month has consisted of these pre-labor contractions. Later that afternoon, Alan and I decide to go on a walk together. As I was getting ready to go, I noticed "something" so we called the hospital and asked if we should go in. We were told to go immediately, so we went. I think this was about 5 o'clock. I was hooked up to a bunch of machines and monitored for about an hour to determine if there was anything going on to be concerned about. I was having contractions regularly, but they weren't painful, and I was still 2cm dilated (no change from my last doctor's exam). So they sent us home. I believe it was around 7 now.
We stopped by Jack-in-the-Box to buy Alan some dinner, and went home. I ate some black bean soup and we finished watching a Gary Cooper film that we had started a couple of days ago. As we were preparing to watch another movie and wind down (or play a game), my water broke (8pm)--a very weird sensation by the way. Alan called the hospital and asked if we should go back, and when the nurse told him that we should, he asked if we should go right away or if we could wait at home for a bit. She said come right away, so Alan took a shower. My contractions suddenly became unavoidable. Not wretchedly painful, but substantial enough that I couldn't just ignore them. We hadn't packed our hospital bags, so we threw some things together and left. As we arrived at the hospital, I got out of the car to find that there was more amniotic fluid. So I waddled up to labor and delivery trying to hide by wet backside. I don't think I fooled anybody, though. Too bad that was the only pair of pants I brought to the hospital! What was I thinking?
We were admitted to the labor room at about 9, and by this time the contractions were pretty intense. The nurses hooked me up to a several machines (to monitor my heart rate, Nora's heart rate, and my contractions), gave me an IV for fluids, and evaluated where I was at: 3cm. Alan did a great job of talking to me as I went through the contractions--it was very comforting to hear his voice and assurance that it was only something to be endured for a short while. When it would end, we would have a little Nora (and I would not be pregnant! Added bonus!). I focused on relaxing my uterus so that I would not be fighting my body, but allowing it to work more efficiently. I think around 11:30 our nurse checked me and saw that I was now 8cm dilated. Alan told me to slow down so that Nora could be born on his birthday! I think that made me smile. It was definitely encouraging. About half an hour later, we reached the 10cm mark and began pushing.
Pushing was a lot more challenging for me. We were blessed with an amazing nurse (Jessica) to help us--particularly at this stage. On arrival, she asked me what kind of pain management I would like to use. I let her know that we wanted to try natural childbirth, and she was on board with what we wanted to do. She suggested several positions for me to try during this stage and coached. I'll spare you the details, but with Jessica and Alan's help, after 2.5 hours of pushing we had a little Nora. This part was really hard work. At the end I was so exhausted I was shaking. I definitely think working out regularly helped me endure this--mentally as well as physically--because I am used to disciplining my body and mind to push and exert effort even when you feel like you have nothing left to give.
There you have it. Eleanor Joy entered the outside at 2:32am after about 6.5 hours of labor on 11/23/09 (just shy of 39 weeks pregnant btw), and Alan got his wish of sharing his birthday with her. She weighed 9 lbs 5 oz and was 22 in long at the time of her birth. Her Apgar score was a whopping 9.9! The kid's already getting As!
Having her makes everyday like Christmas. I am so thankful.
Holding Nora for the first time. <3
Nora moments after being born.
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