Nora arrived on Monday, May 31st at 9:06AM and weighed 8 lbs. 13 oz and measured 20 inches. Every birth story is unique and this one was definitely different than Meredith's birth. If you are interested, keep reading--if not, enjoy the pictures and know that everyone is healthy and happy! :)
At about 1:50AM on Monday morning, I woke up to a contraction that made me actually say "owww!" I had already ran to the
doctor on two separate occasions thinking I was in labor so I told myself as I laid in bed that I would not be waking anyone until the contractions were regular and got more intense (as read on BabyCenter.com). So, after the second and then third contraction (regularly 10 minutes apart), I really woke John and started to think that I needed to call the doctor. We called the doctor and he said to head into the hospital. Thankfully, Elaine (my MIL) was only down the road so we called her and she arrived at around 3:15AM to stay with Meredith and John and I rushed out the door. We arrived at the hospital at 3:45AM and at this point, my contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart!!!!!! I was having terrible back labor and due to the fact that it was a holiday, there were not many people working at the hospital which meant I was working through the contractions in the waiting room of the Emergency Room for about 15 minutes before they got me up to Labor & Delivery (and by working through, I mean everyone in the general vicinity could obviously tell that I was in labor whether they could see me or not). :)
We were finally rolled up to the delivery room where the back labor really kicked in hard! I have never known a pain like that! At 4:30AM, the nurse checked to see how far I had progressed and I was at 6cm dilated. By the time the epidural finally arrived at 6AM (yes, that is what I just said--6AM!!!!!!!), I was dilated 8cm. My mom, Grandpa Kenny, Uncle Michael and Beth arrived at 6:30AM. The doctor arrived at 6:45AM and I was tempted to ask him what had taken so long because I had been ready to push since 6:15AM (my water had broken by 6:30AM) and was told to hold off until he arrived. We started pushing as he prepared to deliver and much to our surprise after about an hour, Nora had not really descended due to the fact that she had a large head (thank you very much, John) and she wasn't moving through the birth canal very easily. Also, the epidural still had not completely kicked in so I was feeling everything along my left side. There was a switch in doctor shifts which meant I now had two of my OB doctors delivering and they decided to give me a break from pushing and turn me to my left side in hopes that gravity would help the epidural numb my left side. After 30 minutes of resting, the epidural finally kicked in within all areas, the baby turned, and I was ready to push again. This time, after 30 minutes of pushing and a second degree episiotomy, Nora made her debut into the world. Some of you know that I had been having dreams that I was having a boy, so my first question was, "it is a girl, isn't it?"
She is beautiful and to us, looks like a 3 week more mature version of Meredith when she was born. We've decided that Meredith has my lips but Nora has John's. She has a little less hair and it is a little lighter than Meredith's. While she looked pudgy when she first came out, she has since thinned out and seems to be long and lean just like her daddy and sister.
Now that she is almost a week old, I can tell you that her personality is less fiesty than Meredith--she seems pretty laid back and even-keel. She is nursing exclusively from the moment she was born and is doing very well at it which is a relief after the struggles we had with Meredith. She was jaundice in the intermediate range when we left the hospital so we already had Nora's first doctor appointment. The doctors said on Friday that her jaundice is much less and she has not lost any more weight than what she had at the hospital (she sits at a whopping 8 lbs 3 oz). While we have had a couple rough nights, we had a good one last night and hope that things are looking up.
We all love little Nora and Meredith is also adjusting well. She loves to take care of Nora by trying to give her a pacifier when she crys, standing beside us on a stool when we change Nora's diapers, encouraging Nora to eat when it is time to nurse, and she LOVES to give Nora lots of kisses. Our prayer is that the two will grow close as they grow together. It seems that our family is just a little more complete...
The girls and I were ready to venture out of the house as a family for the first time since Nora's arrival so we had a fun weekend as a family. We visited the zoo for the first time since receiving our year pass, which is a great deal since we are only about 20 minutes away. On Saturday, we visited the Africa section of the zoo using our double stroller for the first time (thanks, Mom!). Nora slept through the whole thing but Meredith had a great time! She especially loved the chimpanzees, the "baballoons", and the elephants. It was kind of a hot day so we only stayed for about 3 hours with plans to return soon. However, the trip was long enough and busy enough to totally wipe Meredith out. 
On Sunday, we returned to church after a Sunday off since having Nora. It was really really great to see everyone. I always miss going to church and hate missing Sundays. We have a really great church family and Sunday School class. They are a huge support! In fact, our Sunday School class, small group, and the Stephens Ministry (in which I am training to be a part of) has signed up and have been bringing meals to us each Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday since Nora's arrival and will be bringing us meals up until the middle of July. It is an incredible help in addition to something I look forward to on those days. After spending days nursing and playing toddler games, I look forward to the adult interaction! :) 
