Nora's here! We made it all the way to the induction date of October 10th! Here are the vital statistics: born on 10-10-12 at 4:43 pm. She weighed 7 lbs, 5 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. We checked into the hospital a little before 8 am and started the pitocin at about 9 am. The doctor broke my water at noon and the contractions really started to get intense around 2 pm. Finally at 3:15 I got an epidural. I was really nervous to get an epidural because I had such a terrible experience with Henry's.
Not only did it not offer any relief it actually caused me more pain than the contractions...and that's saying a lot! I was also worried that an epidural would make the labor last longer (especially the final, pushing stage). However, none of that happened and it was a wonderful epidural! I could still feel the contractions and the pressure so I was able to know when to push and push effectively, but without a lot of the pain. Of course it still hurt like anything when she was actually born, but so, so, so much better than without an epidural! I pushed for about 30 minutes before she was born, about the same as with Henry. I also progressed much the same as with Henry...going from 5 cm dilated to fully dilated very quickly.
It was so great to be able to see Henry meet Nora. He is so absolutely sweet with her and was so excited to finally meet her. I was (am) worried about how he would feel going from the only child to the big brother, and while we are experiencing some behavior issues in other areas, with Nora he is 100% sweet and loving. His "big brother" gift was "real" cowboy boots, a new cowboy hat, and a Lone Ranger video. He loves the cowboy boots...he wears them at least once a day to play Lone Ranger or Roy Rogers.
Today Nora is one week old. It's her 5th day home from the hospital. We're doing pretty good. Of course I am exhausted and it's a whole different experience to have a newborn along with an older child. With Henry I could just adapt my schedule to his...when he slept I could sleep, I could just hang out in bed or on the couch all day...obviously this is not possible now! But we're figuring it out. Yesterday was my first solo trip out with the kiddos - we went to the toy store in Multnomah Village so Henry could pick out a new puzzle. Then later in the day we went on a little walk and to Fred Meyer. Once again, as with Henry, the Moby wrap is a lifesaver!
Especially at the grocery store where I can still have both hands free, Henry can ride in the cart and we still have the basket part of the cart free for groceries.
Nora is doing good with her feeding; the only problem is that she is so sleepy all the time that it can be difficult to wake her. And she definitely needs to eat! Her billirubin levels were a little elevated so she needs to pee and poop it out. :) Plus newborns are supposed to eat every 2-3 hours which adds up to a lot of nursing! Despite this, she is still much easier to feed than Henry was at this age.
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