Norah has arrived!

Norah entered the world, screaming, on November 22nd at 2:44 in the afternoon via cesarean section. She weighed 8lbs 8.8oz, was 20 1/8 inches long and had apgars of 8 & 8. We think 8 will be her luck number :)

meeting my girl:


up in the NICU:


I opted for the c/s when they estimated her to weigh 9lbs 12oz at my u/s on Friday the 19th. I wanted her to enter the world as safely as she could and felt that it was the best method of arrival to ensure that safety.

Norah is still in the NICU, but not b/c of her heart. Surprisingly (pleasantly!), she doesn't have an CAVC defect. She has 2 separate holes (and ASD & a VSD), but they should close or be close to closed by the time she's 3. She's there b/c she has malformation of her bowel and is awaiting surgery on Monday morning. Right now there isn't an emergency to get it done, but all the drs feel it's in her best interest (b/c of her other conditions) to have it now instead of waiting for a problem to present itself. They say it's urgent, but not emergent - whatever. Her liver is right where we thought it'd be (mid-line) and she has 2 spleens, one large and one small near her kidney - both appear to be working.

Y'all, she's basically perfect, expect for her insides.

She's been on room air since she was born. She was screaming while they were pulling her out and it was one of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard. I didn't hear a sound out of Jordan until she was over a half hour old. I know that doesn't seem like a long time, but when you're waiting for any good signs, those seconds tick by slower than molasses and minutes feel like eternities. Norah's screams made me cry right away. I was nervous about feeling bonded to her b/c of the c/s and the fact that I knew she'd be headed to the NICU and I wouldn't get to see her or hold her right away, but those screams washed that fear away. I did get to see her and Nick held her and then she went upstairs to the NICU and I was up to see her a few hours later and it felt like we'd never been apart. I haven't gotten to spend as much time with her as I'd like, but I don't feel cheated like I thought I would. I make the most of the time I'm there and I know that she knows who her Mumma is.

Jordan is in love with Norah and I think she's forgiven me for not getting her a puppy. She gets so excited to see her and kisses her pictures and is just so happy about No-Nah. She starts calling for her as soon as we get to the hospital parking garage. She knows she has to wash her hands before entering N's pod and she runs right to her crib as soon as she goes through the door.

meeting her sister for the very first time:


first full family photo:


desperately trying to get rid of me so she can hug her sister:



I'm recovering very well. I was having contractions up until the surgery so that made me feel good about her lungs getting squeezed a bit. They said I was contracting ever 2-3 minutes while on the fetal monitor, but I felt the real contractions were more random than that. Surgery went well - I bled less than the typical patient, had less than half the staples of a typical patient, didn't feel much of anything and was up and walking within a few hours (I left the OR after 3 and was walking and up to visit Norah before 5:30).
Nick was great. He was very supportive when I needed him to be and he is really trying to make my recovery as easy as possible. The only time I got really upset with him (and I shouldn't have) was when he called the nurses station and told them I was hemorrhaging instead of calling my nurse directly like I asked him to b/c what happened was normal. I stood up, after sitting for over an hour and a half, right after having a baby and I gushed. I understand why he thought what he did, but he tuned me out when I was trying to tell him what was going on and I was mortified that nurses were rushing to my room. I cried. I made him feel bad and I didn't mean to and I'm sorry I did. I wish I could have seen it, at that moment, from the his eyes - both as a loving husband, and as an EMT, but I couldn't until later that night.

I was freed on Thanksgiving and Nick brought me home to surprise my family and Jordan. The only thing that could have made it better was if I'd been able to bring Norah home with me.

what I'm most thankful for -- even the headless guy:


ok, that's all for this post. I need to take some pain killers and crawl up to bed. I'm exhausted!

quickest of updates

Monday's BPP went fine. I go back tomorrow for a regular appointment.

this computer is being a douche nugget and I can hardly get on to do anything so hopefully that'll change soon and I'll be able to update when I get "real" news.

I still have an inside baby

Bugs lungs were not even close to ready. I'm sad that her lungs aren't ready yet, but I'm glad she gets more time to cook (b/c that's what she needs). I'm very ok with her still being inside.

The amnio was not pleasant. It was decided that the best spot was way up at the top of my stomach/uterus to get a sample, BUT the placenta is in the way, so the needle had to go through it. The needle going in wasn't bad, but Norah decided to try and kick the needle, so for 10 minutes there was a whole lotta pushing and rubbing and bouncing trying to get her to move her leg away from the needle. We got a very, very small (maybe.75cc) and bloody sample so they needed to try and get fluid from another spot. Near her face. The needle didn't hurt and we were able to get a large enough sample for the test within a minutes time.
I was supposed to hang out in L&D for a quick NST, but someone didn't want to do what she's supposed to do. A 20 minute NST lasted... and lasted... and lasted... and around the 90 minute mark, I got the results from the amnio (much sooner than expected), but Norah still wasn't reacting as she should have been. An hour after that, I got the news that the blood in the sample was fetal blood so I'd have to be monitored until Thursday night to determine if she was losing blood. I was sprung around 8:30 (a half hour earlier than I was told was the earliest I'd leave - WOOT!!), and Norah had been looking great on the monitor at that point for over 6 hours.

I'm really glad we didn't HAVE to get her out. I'd have loved to meet her and hold her, but, even more than that, I love that she's inside and her lungs are still developing.

And there's the update.
BPP Monday morning and regular appointment on Wednesday. She'll be here within the next 16 days - YIKES!

ummm

It's 6:30am. In about an hour/hour and a half, I'm going to go have an amnio to check Norah-bugs lungs and possibly start an induction if she's ready.

wow.

just, wow.

I want her to be happy and healthy and safe and if this is what it takes, then so be it. She looks good on the ultrasounds, but it will be easier and more accurate to monitor her on the outside.

I'm nervous and excited all at the same time. More nervous I think. I've never been away from Belly longer than over night and even then, I was only 10 minutes away. I don't know how long I could be gone. I don't think I'll get to see her at all today unless she decides to wake up really early, but the past 2 days she's slept until after 8:30 so I'm not holding my breath.

so that's that.

here's hoping all goes smoothly.