Jenna Leslye: Welcome Norah Lane

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Welcome Norah Lane

Norah Lane Lopez

2.14.16 /10:31 am

7lbs 9oz 20 in.

Our little Valentines Day surprise

Norah's arrival was pretty unexpected. My doctor had told me she would let me go to 40 weeks without intervention and I really didn't feel like she was going to come on her own. I was going in almost daily for fetal monitoring due to the gestational diabetes and that week they noticed that her heart would drop a little bit with some of the contractions. They asked me to come in on Saturday just to check on her but I would have to go to the OB emergency department since it was a weekend.

When we got there they had me change into a gown which wasn't the norm and they hooked me up to the monitors. After about an hour of watching her heart and my contractions, the nurse said she was going to let the doctor know what was going on and they would let us go...she even said, "That's good because you DO NOT want to be induced!" We were thinking about where to go for lunch when she came back in and said, "You're going to hate me...the doctor wants to admit you to be induced"

I was in complete shock. I'm not sure why since I was so close to my due date anyway, but I think the whole thing became so real at that moment. It was time!

I was only dilated to a 1 so the nurse decided I was a perfect candidate for a Foley balloon catheter that would get me to at least a 3 pretty quickly. It took a few hours, but it worked and let me tell you...it was possibly the worst part of the whole process. I've never felt so uncomfortable!

Once that was out they started pitocin and my contractions quickly got to 1 minute apart and the nurse ran in and shut it off. Apparently I really respond to the stuff. Throughout the night she would turn it up and down trying to get the ball rolling. Around 2am they offered the epidural which I gladly accepted and then the real fun started!

The instructions on how I should position my spine weren't very clear which lead to tons of pain and the nurse and anesthesiologist arguing back and forth about what I should be doing with my hands. Once it was over I felt immediate relief, After all was said and done, my back was to Tim and I heard a strange sigh so I asked him if he was okay and he was on the verge of fainting. The nurse ran to get him some smelling salts and those brought him back to life quickly.

We got a tiny bit of rest but her heart rate continued to drop with contractions and I needed to be on oxygen to help her out and I was just waayyyy too nervous to sleep. The nurse decided to check me and I heard a "thud" on the heart monitor. "Oh my, that was your water breaking.", she said. Because of the epidural I didn't feel anything and was kind of disappointed since all this time I've imagined where and when my water would break. By 9:30 am it was go time and the nurse started to bring in all of the tools and prep the room.

It was soooo not what I expected and not at all like the movies. Everything was so calm and quiet. The morning sun shining through the huge picture windows overlooking the bay. Just one nurse and an intern until the very last minute when the doctor on call came in and basically caught Norah.

I felt the urge to push and although I had no idea if I was doing it right, the intern told me that I was a "rockstar" repeatedly so I knew something had to be happening down there. In between contractions we just held casual conversations about anxiety and releasing worry and leaning on God in scary situations.

45 minutes later (which really felt like 5) and this slimy, screaming baby was placed on my chest. The first thing I said was, "OMG! She's so cute!" and the nurse said, "You're right, she IS so cute!"

Tim cut the umbilical cord and didn't need his second pack of smelling salts and they did all of the testing that needed to be done before we had an hour of skin to skin which was so amazing.