Noah is two months old (tomorrow), but I still want to record some thoughts from his birth for my memory! He is the sweetest, smiliest baby. We love him so much.
The morning of March 20th, 2017 I went in for my 38 week doctor appointment. I had been dilated to a 3 and 75+% effaced for the past few weeks, so the doctor offered to strip my membranes. I really didn't think doing so would put me into labor based on my slow progress during early labor with Claire. I decided I wanted to have my membranes stripped, hoping that it would just slowly get things moving along. If I would have thought I was going to have my baby that day, I don't think I would have gone ahead with it.
Doctor Ollerton stripped my membranes around 8 that morning (which hurt super bad, yikes) and then I went on with the rest of my day. I was a little crampy and had some light bleeding but felt pretty good. I actually went and worked out on the elliptical at the Rec Center on my way home from my doctor appointment. Sam was home from work that day, so we spent the morning cleaning our house and getting things done. I remember telling Sam that if I did happen to go into labor it would be a great day because I had finished the final few things on my to-do list and our house was all clean.
Claire and I went to lunch with my mom and then we went over to my parents' house to hang out and help Tara and Danny register for classes online. Around 3:00 in the afternoon I started have mild but consistent contractions. I started timing them, and they were about 5-7 minutes apart. They really didn't hurt much, so I still wasn't convinced I was in labor, but they continued to be consistent for the next few hours. We came home, did some laundry, and went to Costco. All the while I was timing the contractions that kept coming. I was confused because they were not very painful but were very consistent and had been for several hours. After Costco, we went for a short walk with our little family of three. I still wasn't sure I would be having a baby that night, but my contractions were starting to hurt a little more.
We got home and got Claire dinner and gave her a bath. Around 7, I called my mom and told her we were thinking I should probably go to the hospital and see what was going on. She said she would come over around 8. I put Claire to bed, all the while timing contractions.
Around 8, my parents came over and Sam's parents just happened to be in the area and stopped by to say hi. They had no idea I was possibly in labor. It was so fun to sit and visit with both of our parents for a while. I was still timing contractions and having them every 3 minutes by this point, but I could talk through them pretty easily. I kept asking everyone if I should really go to the hospital and they said, "Yes! Go!" We finally left a little before 9.
We got to the hospital a little after 9, and by this point the contractions were starting to hurt. I had been in denial that I was actually in labor up to this point, but by the time we got there I was pretty sure this was the real deal. They put us in a triage room and said they would monitor me for an hour. (I was dilated to a 4 and needed to be a 5 to be admitted.) I started getting a little nervous that I wasn't going to have a chance to get an epidural because the contractions were really picking up and with Claire's delivery I went from a 2 to a 10 really quickly. I finally got the nurse to check me again and was almost a 5, so they admitted me. Hooray!
My mom, mother-in-law, and Tara arrived around this time. They got us all settled in a room around 10 pm, and we were so excited! I still couldn't believe I was really going to have a baby! Almost two weeks early. The contractions were pretty strong now, and I asked for the epidural. It took a bit for the anesthesiologist to come, but it all went smoothly once he got there. After they put the epidural in, I was a happy camper! I honestly felt like they had put happy drugs in me because I was so giddy. It was really fun to have Sam, my mom, Penny, and Tara all there with me. We hung out and chatted for a while. They came to check me a little before midnight, and I was all ready to go!
Things went SO quickly from there. The doctor came in, I pushed for less than five minutes, and Noah Samuel Roberts was born at 12:01 am! Born on March 21, 2017. I got to hold him on my chest right away, and we were so happy. He looked a little like Claire to be but also very masculine. They weighed him, and we were so shocked that he was 8 lbs 4 oz (and 20 inches)! I thought for sure he would be smaller than Claire since he was almost two weeks early, but he was almost a full pound BIGGER! He was so cute, and we were so grateful and happy for his safe arrival. My only complaint is that I need to stop having babies at midnight haha :) It makes for exhausted parents from the get-go.
So grateful for our Noah boy and the joy and peace he brings to our family. We love him so much.
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