Nora's Birth Part 1

Nora's birth was boring compared to my pregnancy. It was quick and without drama. But, I guess if you consider the fact that I went into preterm labor around 25 weeks, it was long and arduous.

I had my cerclage out at noon on Thursday, May 20th (36 weeks). I had been in a lot of pain that week- lots of cramping. I had hoped that she'd arrive soon after the removal.

The next day, I went out and treated myself to the longest (and most expensive) manicure and pedicure I'd ever had. Afterward, I went for a NST. Nora hadn't been moving much that day, so my doctor had me to come in to put my mind at ease. The toco picked up some of my contractions, but the nurse said they were "small." I didn't think they were small! Nora's heartbeat, movement, and fluid were all declared fine. On the way home, I had an overwhelming craving for blueberry muffins. We stopped at Panera and bought two and I ate both! Along with 3 pieces of pita bread and garlic sauce (the same garlic sauce I ate the night before Ella was born, coincidentally). Later, I had a huge bowl of pasta and sauce, too. It was if my body knew I'd be needing the carbs soon.

That night before bed, I lost my mucus plug. The same thing happened right before Ella was born. So I knew then that labor was right around the corner. I took a bath to help ease the pain from the contractions and tried to go to bed. I woke up about every 40 minutes feeling like my uterus was being run over by a semi truck. I'd moan and wail for 10 minutes and then I'd fall back asleep. This continued until about 4am when DH encouraged me to get up and go to the hospital. I threw on my clothes (how I wish I would have showered first), grabbed my hospital bag that I packed at 27weeks, and headed out.

I had been on the toco monitor for about five minutes with no contractions. I was pretty sure I was going to be sent home embarrassed. I said out loud, please just let me have a really bad contraction so that the nurses can see what I'm enduring at home. Two seconds later a contraction came on and I heard a POP. My water broke. I started screaming, "please let her be safe. please let her live." I asked the nurse to check my fluid for meconium. She said it was all clear. It was 6am and I was 2 cm dilated. I was moved into a labor and delivery room. Today was going to be Nora's birthday!

The contractions began to get closer together and I was pleading for drugs. I was given a shot of something that did not work. Around 8 am, my new best friend, the anesthesiologist came in to place my epidural. I was already 6 cm dilated.

Ahhhh. Things were much better once I had the DRUGS! I was able to contact friends and family and let them know that our little girl was on her way.

My favorite doctor. The one that delivered Ella was not on call that day. But, she made a special trip in to deliver Nora. I started pushing around 10 am and Nora was born at 10:53am. It was so neat that she was basically born at the same time as Ella (10:50am). **Sidenote: while I was pushing, we had a 4.9 earthquake.

There are no words to describe what it was like to see my baby for the first time, breathing and alive. It was like a fairytale.

To be continued...