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!