Norah's Birth

Because of the false alarm the previous week, I had requested to be induced early in the morning on Friday the 29th. This would insure that Matt would be present at Norah's birth. They admitted me at 6 a.m. and started Pitocin around 7:30.  I knew it would be after noon before I would see my doctor so I settled in for a long morning. Thankfully, I was a 3 and 50% effaced and thus the nurse (sweet Melissa) said I could go ahead and have the epidural. It was honestly the most comfortable I had been in 3 months! 

Melissa continued to check me every hour or so. I was progressing but slowly because my bag of waters was still intact. My nurse said if my water had been broken I probably would have already had her. Before the doctor arrived I maxed out at 6 cm and 60%. At 2:30/3:00 p.m. the doctor broke my water.  At 3:30 they checked me...9.5 cm and completely effaced. I was to have the baby soon. 

I could "feel" the pressure and knew it was close. The nurse checked me (this had to be around 3:50) and immediately said, "oh, we're having a baby!" She called in every available person and my doctor. They got one stirrup up but Norah wasn't having it. She literally delivered her head and shoulders by herself. The doctor was there, thankfully! I remember feeling her in my abdomen, feeling a contraction and then feeling her "disappear!" It was truly wild.  Much to my delight there were no "repairs" to be done. This makes all the difference in recovery!

She weighed in at 7 lbs. 8 oz. (exactly what her Momma predicted) and measured 20 inches. She is beautiful, of course :) I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Early that morning

Waiting...epidural was working, if you can't tell :)

Getting ready

She's here!

Daughter & Daddy

Sweet story: Audrey was incredibly tender at this moment. She was literally overwhelmed with joy and awe to the point that she started laughing and crying. So precious...my heart swells every time I think about it! She later told Matt, "Daddy, I feel kinda funny. It's like I could laugh and cry at the same time!" *sniff* *sniff*

She's Here!!!

Norah arrived Friday, May 29th at 3:51 p.m. weighing 7 lbs. 8 oz. and measuring 20 inches. Details and photos soon! 

Norah Update

Thursday night we had a false alarm. I'd been contracting most of the day. Once we went to bed, the contractions felt "crampier." I remember with Audrey that I had wanted to "experience" some of the more intense contractions before the epidural. Man, they got intense quickly! I was afraid I would get past the point of no return with this one so I nudged Matt around 10:30. My parents traded off Audrey & Reid duty and we headed to the hospital. 

They hooked me up to all the wires and L&D paraphernalia:

• the clothespin on my left middle finger that was supposed to monitor my heartrate and oxygen levels (but I swear they just wanted to squeeze my finger until the circulation was cut off)
  
• the blood pressure cuff of doom that hugged the life out of my right arm every 30 - 45 minutes
• the fetal heart monitor that had to stay in the exact right place or else 
• the monitor that measured the contractions that had the same parameters as the fetal heart monitor
• not to mention the towel made of sandpaper laying beneath me that gave my bottom a facial

Normally, if true labor and birth were inevitably on the not-so-distant horizon, these wouldn't bother me. However, when I was checked upon arrival I had progressed very little from my doctor's appointment.  I was barely over a 1 and still only 50% effaced. Ugh. As I lay there for the next two hours, I just knew they were going to send me home. This made all of the above monitors, etc. especially annoying. 

The most comfortable position for me was my right side. Unfortunately, the wire attached to the clothespin on my left hand was too short. I had to wriggle my way (without disturbing the fetal heart monitor & contraction monitor) onto my right side while keeping my left hand towards the left side of the bed. It was a terrible game of L&D Twister. I eventually discovered I could put my left hand on my face and this provided a little bit of comfort. 

I had finally settled into a somewhat comfortable position at around 1 am. I couldn't wait to fall asleep.  And then, the cuff. The plastic bore a perfect impression around my right biceps. No rest for the weary. Meanwhile, Matt snoozed annoyingly well in the recliner. 

The nurse came in an hour later to confirm my suspicions. I had made very little progress. After forcing a small dose of Ambien on me, she let me go, saying, "I'll probably see you this afternoon!"

Well, that was Thursday and it's Tuesday. 

Honestly, it's been nice to have the break. Matt took the weekend off just in case. This has provided a sweet retreat for our family before the madness begins. Definitely a blessing in disguise. 

I've included a picture below taken right before we left for the hospital. I pretty much look the same. (This one's especially for my sister-in-law Tiffany :) )

If nothing happens between now and then, I will be induced on Friday morning - a week before Matt is scheduled to be speaking in North Carolina at Advance '09.

Dress-Up

Norah's Nursery

A virtual tour of Norah's nursery. I'm still waiting for her quilt and bumpers to be finished. I'll write a special post for that. For now, here's what we've got:

You might notice the tissue pom-poms in the crib. Those will be going up shortly...hanging in the right corner and in the opposite corner not shown. The paint color I chose was Plaster Pink 2 from Laura Ashley home at Lowe's. I originally said I didn't want pink and brown. The bedding is mainly yellow with a wide range of pinks and a hint of brown. I found some beautiful drapes for a great deal and they were, of all colors, brown with light golden polka dots. So - pink & brown (& yellow & green) it would be!

This was the chandelier we replaced in our dining room. Size-wise, it fits better in the nursery. I just added some painted shades and trimmed them with the brown tassels.

My sweet Momma made this for Norah. You can't see it very well in this picture but the print in the upper-middle pane is Norman Rockwell's A Day in the Life of a Girl. Upon seeing Mom's piece of artwork, Audrey immediately asked if she could have a bear like this one. 

Mom and I found this dresser at a consignment store in town (Furniture Buy Consignment). This piece was previously used in a model home. The knobs had been painted like baseballs for a baseball themed room. We just spray-painted them brown and voila :)

This nightstand went along with the dresser. We have yet to paint the knob!

Be looking for a special post on the nursery bedding. I have two friends who have started a baby bedding business and I can't wait to introduce them (and their work) to you!

Oh to Be on a Computer that Doesn't Require to Be Plugged In at All Times

My poor little Mac is overwhelmed to the point that I rarely can post pictures on my blog because there's not enough space store them. Though I "dump" them to a safe place constantly, she still can't keep up. Her battery is kaput too.

The remedy? Hijacking my husband's computer while he preaches. Sneaky, sneaky.

Here are some pictures from his computer.


All dressed up for a date to celebrate my 29th birthday.

Reid can't smile normally for a picture. It's a curse.

Look at those teeth (or lack thereof)!


Corny...but sweet...shot. I was playing around with Matt's iPhoto editing tools. I like the picture itself :)

A Favor

Would you do me a favor and read about some friends of ours in Ethiopia? And...pray for them? Thank you.

GO HERE:
The Smiths in Ethiopia