Happy New Years!

We made it up until midnight, but probably one of the more subdued holidays...

42 weeks (with Nora!)

When Daddy is gone...

we take pictures of all the fun stuff he's missing...

First two days home - Dec. 25th & 26th

Photos from the hospital - Dec. 22nd - 24th

Today is our day!

Well I guess it technically wasn't because we snuck into the next day by a few hours, but here is our birth story with timeline....

6:00 a.m. - I woke up because my water broke. I had read and heard comments by others that said they were afraid it would break in public and I always thought, "how bad could it be?" I mean how much water would really come out? Thought retracted - it was an absolute ton .

6:15 a.m. - Called the midwife. Agreed that there was no need to come in for our 8:00 a.m. appointment. We decided to hang out at home and let labor progress.

8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon - Went to Walgreens for a few supplies. Took the dog to the vet and picked him back up. Did laundry, took bedding to the dry cleaners. Fed and watered all the animals. Showered, ate, tried to rest. Watched He's Just Not that Into You, surprisingly good for those who haven't seen it.

1:00 p.m. - Talked to doctors office. Agreed to come in and get checked at 2:15 since I was still not having good contractions.

2:15 p.m. - Got checked, think I was 2 or 3 cm, truthfully can't remember. Midwife put in Foley Catheter at this time to help with dilation (which should help contractions also) and we headed home to wait it out.

3:45 p.m. - Contractions are here and they are STRONG! Went up to hospital and was admitted.

From here on out my times are just estimates, I wasn't really watching the clock so my times are guesses....

4:15 p.m. - Checked again, was 5 cm. Catheter came out at this time.

4:20 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. - Labored. Walked, rocked, bounced on ball, got into whirlpool.

6:30 p.m. - Checked again, 6 cm.

6:35 p.m. - 12:00 midnight - Labored, same as above. New nurse came in at 7:00 p.m. Told us that she worked until 7 a.m. and would be there until we had a baby.

Midnight - Checked again, still at 6 cm. Thought my contractions were not strong enough to get me dilated. Decided to give it a little more time before starting Pitocin.

1:00 a.m. - No change, started Pitocin.

2:00 a.m. - Given half a dose of Nubain for the pain.

3:30 a.m. - Fully dilated, started pushing.

4:06 a.m. - Eleanor Lynn arrives! I really can't even describe the moment when I first saw her, it was incredible. Andy got to announce "It's a girl!" and cut the cord. The next few minutes were a blur of activity and excitement. I felt so empowered and kept saying to Andy, "I can't believe I just did that!" All the pain and discomfort seemed to be sent to a separate file in my brain because it felt like the negative stuff was just shut off. (I need to incorporate this skill for times when I'm not giving birth.) It truly was life-changing and it makes me tear up thinking about the experience of giving birth and having a daughter to this day. Welcome Baby Nora, we love you so much!

Good joke

I've had two people tell me to enjoy the last weeks of pregnancy as it will be the last time I get to sleep through the night for a long time. Hello, have you seen my stomach?!?! Sleep through the night??? You must be joking, that has not happened in months. My poor bladder which has been crushed to the holding capacity of a walnut and the disgusting, burp-y, acidic heartburn that seems to be nonstop has not allowed a full nights sleep in what seems like forever. Well, enough complaining. I've been at the computer for 25 minutes and my ankles are completely unrecognizable so time to go prop up my feet ; )

40.5 weeks

So induction day turns out to not be our day. Midwife says conditions "are not favorable" for inducing, which translates to - birthing suites are full and your induction paperwork was not called in to the hospital. We are disappointed for sure, mainly due to the mental preparation that we put into this day, but we know the midwives prefer to let labor begin on its own whenever possible. They also feel that if you induce when baby isn't ready you'll have a longer, more difficult labor, issues tend to come up with blood pressure for mom and stress for baby more frequently and we definitely don't want that. Sigh, I guess I get to be pregnant longer...off to Redbox to get some movies to help pass some time this weekend...

Still nothing....

40 week appointment this morning was about the same as the 38 week appointment. Nothing new to share really. Will start induction with a catheter on Friday (yes, Rory's birthday) if no action before then. Fingers crossed for something to start this week....

The Shelf

Braylen & Gracie enjoying the shelf. It also comes in handy for holding drinks. 39 week appointment tomorrow. Stay tuned....

38 weeks

Midwife said we are 80% effaced and the baby's head was nice and low, at a zero station. It won't be long now....