I started this when I was still in the hospital and have been working on it and adding to it since then. So here it finally is... :)
On Sunday (June 8th. 9 days before my due date) I was feeling mild contractions all day. We went to church. When we got home we had some lunch and then put Owen down for a nap and then we relaxed and watched The Walking Dead while we waited for him to wake up. We went to my grandparents house for dinner and then we went to my family's house. We went for a walk around the lake with brenna and rissy. I was feeling pretty uncomfortable but no more than I was on our walks we had been taking throughout the week. Looking back I should have known I was in the early stages of labor but at the time I just summed it up to normal pregnancy pains. That night Clark and I went to bed around 10:00. Clark fell right asleep but I stayed up. It had been taking me forever to fall asleep those last couple weeks anyway and that night was especially hard because of the contractions I was still feeling. I laid in bed feeling them, knowing they weren't very bad and probably didn't mean anything.
11:30 I got up to go to the bathroom and the contractions were getting stronger and closer together. But they weren't very regular. I'd have a couple 3 minutes apart and then one 7 minutes later. They were all over the place and still not too painful. Dr. Dewey told me not to wait around when I went in to labor because he guessed it would only be around 3 hours and I tested positive for strep b so we needed to make sure we got to the hospital with enough time for the antibiotic. But.. I didn't want to drive all the way to Provo to be sent home and I wasn't sure if I was in actual labor so I decided to wait a while longer. I went back to bed. I may have fell asleep for a tiny bit.
At 12:30 I sat up with a pretty intense contraction. Clark woke up and asked if everything was ok and if we needed to go to the hospital. I told him not yet. I decided to take a shower since I was sure I wasn't going to get anymore sleep. In the shower I had about 4 contractions but they still weren't the writhing in pain kind like I remembered with my previous labor.
After the shower I continued to get things ready. I finished packing my hospital bag and set out breakfast and clothes for Owen.
At 1:45 I decided it was time. Clark jumped in the shower and I called my mom like we had planned to come stay with Owen but no answer. I called my dad's cell with no answer. Shoot. I hesitated calling the home phone because I didn't want to wake the whole house up but did anyway. Thankfully, my dad answered the phone and said my mom would be on her way.
We waited for my mom. I dried my hair. We Changed the sheets incase she wanted to sleep. That's when the contractions got as bad as I remembered. I had to sit down through them. Clark said "there, that's what I was waiting for"
2:00 my mom came and we headed off to the hospital. It wasn't quite as pleasant of a drive as the one across the street last time. But the 20 minute drive was probably quite a bit shorter than usual. I had to talk Clark into not running red lights :) It's no fun having contractions in the car. Clark just kept reminding me to breathe and that our little girl was on her way! We finally got there, but pulled in to the wrong parking lot. Why hadn't we gotten around to going and finding the correct place to go before this?? We didn't see any labor and delivery signs anywhere. Luckily it didn't take very long to figure it out and we got in pretty quick. Clark parked the car just as I was finishing a contraction so I knew I had a few minutes to get inside.
2:30 We checked in and then they got us in our room. The nurse came in and said they would check me and then check again in an hour and if there was enough progression they would let me stay. What?! An hour? With no epidural?! I wasn't going to make it. The nurse Checked and said I was dialated to a 4+ and we weren't going anywhere so we could go ahead and get the epidural going. Thank goodness.
The anesthesiologist came right in and gave me the shot, which is always the worst part. But it didn't work as well as it did with Owen. I was still feeling the contractions and they were still pretty painful. And my legs and bum were starting to numb on top of it so it made for a pretty miserable feeling.
Finally the epidural started working well enough that I could still feel the contractions but they weren't hurting quite so much. They checked me again and I was at a 7. This was going so fast! The nurse left to call dr. Dewey and I started getting pretty bad heart burn and a little light headed. When the dr came he gave me a drink for the heartburn which I immediately threw back up and at the same time my water broke. I got super light headed and just really crappy feeling. It felt like everyone was talking in a tunnel. The doctor says it's because my blood pressure plummeted because of the sudden loss of all that fluid at once. The nurse put an oxygen mask on me which I'm sure looked lovely but it made me feel so much better, and just in time to start pushing!
I really can't remember how long I pushed for, but it couldn't have been longer than 15 or 20 minutes. And that is the one and only part I liked better than my labor with Owen. I loved that the epidural wasn't so strong so that I could feel a little of what was going on. And I loved how quick it was! The nurse would count to ten and then would say "deep breath, now again" and would count to ten again. I held Clark's hand as I pushed and he talked to me and said how good I was doing.
4:39 Before I knew it the doctor was saying she was almost here, a couple half pushes. Now one more big push and.. there she was, fresh from heaven. Clark cut the umbilical cord and then the nurse took her and said she would clean her up a little bit and then I could hold her. Clark stayed close to her. As they cleaned her up she hardly cried at all and when she did it was so quiet. 6 pounds 14 ounces they said. And 18 1/2 inches long. They finally brought her to me and laid her on my chest. That will always be one of the greatest feelings in the world to me.. Getting to hold the baby you've been carrying around for so long. Finally getting to feel her skin against mine and see her beautiful face. Getting to see this beautiful baby that I have been carrying for 9 months. And goodness, I loved her. Instantly. I may have just met her but I knew her. That moment is always so peaceful and you can literally feel heaven, right there.
I didn't want to give her up but I handed her to Clark to let him hold his new daughter. When he gave her back we tried to nurse for a little bit. She latched right on, luckily. I was praying for a good eater. But it didn't take long before she got oh-so sleepy. A little after 6 a nurse came in to take Nora to the nursery and me to my recovery room. First we went to the nursery. I held Nora as the nurse pushed me in a wheel chair. And then they took her and wheeled me off to my room. Clark stayed with Nora. It was hard, it was the first time her and I had been in seperate rooms in 39 weeks! A part of me felt so empty, but it was nice to be able to relax and rest for a bit. They came back at 6:45 and we started making phone calls to let everyone know that she was here!
Nora has such a sweet and peaceful (or maybe just sleepy;) ) spirit. She fits into our family of four so perfectly. It's true what they say, your heart, which already feels as full as it can possibly be, somehow grows to make room for your second child and you love them just as much as the first. It's a special love, made just for her. Just like the way I feel for Owen is his own special love.
Her delivery still seems like a hazy, miraculous dream. I feel so incredibly blessed that everything went so smoothly. And so quickly. I seriously love being a woman and having this body that is capable of this miracle. I'm proud of myself for doing what I had to get this beautiful baby to my arms. And now she is here, and she is healthy, and I could not be happier.
