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Introducing Nora!

Two Sunday evenings ago at about this time, I ate a simple meal of chicken noodle soup and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Ryan and I lounged around watching TV and staring at my swollen belly. We tried to grab a couple of hours of sleep, but at midnight, it was time to go. It felt really strange driving to the hospital as we drove through Westport and saw that while a quiet night, the bars were still enjoying a few patrons. Since settling into married life, I forgot that going out on a Sunday night was even an option.

It only took about five minutes to drive to the hospital where we gathered our bags from the back of the car and made our way to the labor and delivery unit. Physically, I was feeling just as I had for the past few days. I�d had contractions on and off, but nothing that stuck. Despite gaining an extra 10 pounds during the last four weeks of pregnancy, I still wasn�t that uncomfortable. As we rang the night nurse, I kept thinking that we must have misunderstood our doctor. It seemed like a clandestine mission � stealing away in the middle of the night to have a baby. However, the nurse was expecting us and opened the doors for us. We rolled our overnight bag down a quiet hallway and into a dimly lit room where we�d spend the most surreal and amazing 15 hours of our lives to date.

Despite our hopes that the baby would come on its own, we followed the doctor�s recommendations to induce labor. Officially, I was 8 days past my due date. At about 1:00 a.m., the nurse started the process with a gel to soften my cervix. Over the next few hours, my contractions became more consistent and strong. By 6 a.m., they were coming about 3 or 4 minutes apart. I hardly slept through the night in part due to excitement and in part due to the contractions. As the nurse finished her shift, she called anesthesia to order my epidural. Around 7 a.m., the doctor and my new nurse came in and started me on Pitocin to encourage the contractions. Ryan snuck downstairs to grab a bite of breakfast. The anesthesia team came shortly after (thank goodness!) and placed the epidural. With the pain medications on board, the contractions became less painful and distracting, and I was able to grab an hour or two of light sleep. As the morning wore on, my contractions started to get closer and closer and again more painful. Ryan did his duty and fed me ice chips which were really just ice cubes. I thought that maybe the increased pain was just part of the whole process, but as I talked with the nurse, we determined that the epidural was no longer working correctly. It seems that in some cases, epidurals become dislodged, and that was the case with me. They called for anesthesia again, and they returned to try a couple of different drugs to see if they could control my discomfort.

I began to think I was just being a wimp, because despite how many syringes they poked into my IV and into the tube in my back, nothing was taking the edge of the contractions. I finally asked the nurse what I should be feeling, and we determined that the epidural wasn�t working correctly. For all of those women out there who deliver babies naturally, you are simply insane!

Anesthesia was called again, and this time, a first year resident was allowed to re-do my epidural under the supervision of the anesthesiologist. In talking with her earlier, I had learned that this was her very first day on her labor and delivery rotation. That means I was the very first epidural she�d run on a woman having contractions. I was too distracted at the time to be concerned or nervous. I was just doing my best to follow everyone�s instructions while breathing through contractions. Ryan sat in front of me trying to help keep me focused. Meanwhile, the resident found herself a bit on the nervous and flustered side. Her instructor was patient and allowed her to work through the steps of replacing my epidural. That was nice and all, but as the contractions intensified, I found myself wishing he�d just take over. Finally, with the sound of relief in her voice, she cried victory. The epidural was in place. Now, all she needed to do was push the drugs�. Only that didn�t go as planned. Still a bit flustered, she tried to force the plunger in on the needle when it wasn�t quite in the right place and the cold liquid sprayed all over my back and face. I seriously considered licking it off my cheek. The second time, she got it right, and slowly, the pain started to fade.

By this time, the contractions were coming fast and furious, and the doctor instructed the nurse to have me start pushing. I had always thought that you only pushed a couple three times and the baby would come out. Little did I know that you might find yourself pushing for four hours or more. Once told this, I was determined to be an above average pusher.

Throughout the whole labor and delivery process, I found myself using different skills learned throughout my life. To distract myself from the pain of contractions, I used the yoga breathing I�d learned from my Wii Fit. I saw the little blue circle growing bigger and smaller reminding me to both inhale and exhale. I used the count of eight I�d often used during ballet classes during warm ups to time my breaths. When it came time to push, I was on the floor of the gym back in high school doing hundreds of crunches before basketball practice. I made sure I felt the difference between a bad sit up and a good crunch each time I pushed through a contraction. If I felt the contraction still going, I kept pushing even if the nurse had said �just one more�. Ryan stood the whole time I pushed and kept the ice cubes coming. After a little over an hour, the nurse called the doctor back to the room. It was time to have a baby!

The next few minutes were all a blur. There was the confusion of when to push and when not to push. There were calming and encouraging words from Ryan, the nurse and the doctor. There was pain and pressure and sensations that I cannot describe and then, there was Nora.

As I lay back on the bed, trembling from everything that just happened, it seemed like an eternity before the doctor said �it�s a�.girl!� She was born at 2:51 p.m. on December 1, 2008. They quickly cleaned her up and after a couple of minutes, cut her cord and placed her on my chest. Her eyes were wide open and she cried and trembled right along with me. With a full head of hair and healthy lungs, she was simply beautiful. Ryan and I spent the next couple of hours with her in the room. She nursed and laid on my chest. Ryan held her while the finished cleaning me up. We left the labor and delivery room right around 5:30 p.m., and at that point, our little girl still didn�t have a name.

Prior to going to the hospital, we�d narrowed the list to three girl�s names. With the announcement of a friend�s new daughter, the list was further narrowed to two names. During the early part of my labor, Ryan had researched a few names and found a new contender. As we looked at our little girl, we went round and round. What should she be called?

By the time we reached the mother and baby unit, I think we were both pretty settled on her name. The other name we�d come across was one that could be spelled or pronounced in a couple different ways. As I looked at my daughter, Nora just seemed right. A pretty name, classic and yet not overused. When we�d finally settled on it, I said it aloud to her, and it was perfect. We chose Marie as her middle name to honor Ryan�s mother and my grandmother as their middle names are Marie as well (as is mine). Within a few hours, the room filled with all the grandparents, my brothers and their families. Everyone was excited to meet little Nora Marie.

She�ll be two weeks old tomorrow, and we are settling in nicely at home. She is a great baby who sleeps and nurses well. She was born 8 pounds 5 ounces, and as of her one week appointment had already regained all of the weight she lost while in the hospital. I have so many stories to tell and things to record. I can�t wait to write about her many facial expressions, funny little habits, etc. For now I�ll stop and leave you with a couple pictures of Nora Marie.

9:25 p.m. - December 14, 2008

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