New job, new baby :)

Last week was a busy, very good week at our house. Tuesday morning Steve received a phone call with a job offer! Better yet, they offered him more money than he asked for! Wednesday morning he authorized a background check and did his drug test. He received his official offer letter that afternoon. He put in his two weeks notice. But because of the baby and his scheduled FMLA time, he finished at Comcast on Wednesday, although he technically is still employed there until the 16th. Nice to get a new job and your last two weeks are paid time off. :)

Steve went to my appointment on Thursday and I hadn't really progressed much more (effaced 30% more) but the doctor set up my induction for Friday, providing there were beds available. Apparently there were 8 births on Thursday, so the odds of L&D having openings Friday morning were pretty good. :) Sure enough, they told us to come in at 7:30am. I was checked and had my water broken at 8:25. The nurses started the pitocin at 8:30. The first few hours, nothing really happened. I had the occasional light contraction. By 11:15 I was starting to get a bit uncomfortable so I asked to be checked. I was still only 3-4 cms, 80%, -1. Some nurse scared me out of getting the intrathecal yet, worrying it would slow labor and wear off before I needed to push. By 12:03 I was in a lot more pain and signed all the paperwork for the intrathecal, deciding on that instead of an epidural (an intrathecal is a single-shot, more immediate, and wears off sooner, but I felt way better after my intrathecal than I did after the epidural). I was at a 5, 80%, -1. So things were progressing slower than they had with Mia. The nurse called the anesthesiologist but he was called into an emergency elsewhere before he made it to my room. Since I dilated from 5 to 10 in 25 minutes with Mia, the nurses didn't leave my room after that. By 11:33 I was feeling a lot more pressure and started feeling like I might need to push soon. They checked me and I was still only 6 cms and 95%. The rest is a bit fuzzy because things happened so fast. I kept asking for the anesthesiologist because I really wanted my intrathecal, lol. The pressure got worse and worse. At some point I started feeling the urge to push. A nurse checked me and said the baby's head was right there and I was complete (dilated to 10). They told me to breathe through the contractions and not to push until the doctor came. So I fought pushing until the doctor made it into the room. Apparently I pushed for 2 contractions, so maybe 2 minutes and Nora was born. (Btw, it does hurt a lot worse without drugs.) She was born at 12:47, which means I dilated 4 cms and gave birth within 14 minutes, including the time I fought the urge to push. The nurses kept telling me what a great job I did, lol. So now I have done natural child birth, but not because I wanted to.

The stats in a nutshell: Nora Ann was born on April 9, 2010, at 12:47 pm. She was 7 lbs 12 0z and 20 inches long. She has dark hair and her eyes appear to be dark. We'll see if her hair and eyes stay brown. She has long feet and a stork bite on her nose the shape of a tiny foot print. She's pretty calm and easy going. She sleeps relatively well, but does have her days and nights mixed up a bit. Ella and Mia like her and like to help with her. They throw diapers away, get her bottle, etc. Mia gets so concerned when Nora cries. I think they'll pay more attention to her once she smiles and can interact a bit more. Already Nora can sleep through the girls running around screeching.

My recovery is going pretty well. My pelvis is still sore, but better than it was before Nora was born. My midsection is soft and squishy but much flatter/smaller than it was. Other things are slowly returning to normal (other moms know what I mean and if you don't know, you don't want to). I'm waiting for more of the water weight to go away to see if my bridesmaid dress will fit. I'm not looking forward to Steve going back to work next week but I am so glad it will be to a new job he'll enjoy and he'll be home in the evenings again. Hopefully we can get Nora's sleep schedule straightened out a bit more before then.

The final thing for this post: Mia is two today! It's hard to believe she's already two. She is so compassionate and has the biggest vocabulary. She's an enthusiastic eater (nice way of saying she eats everything and makes a mess doing it) and has big emotions. Whether she's upset or happy, she's extremely upset or happy. It's a good thing she calms down easily, lol. She loves her sisters and is a cuddler. She regularly climbs into our laps or asks for a hug and kiss. She's cautious around people but will climb anything and everything (total opposite of Ella who loves all people but is cautious of climbing and usually needs to work herself up to going down a slide). She can escape from a crib or pack'n'play without making a sound but trips over nothing walking across the room. She's our little redhead. We'll have cake later today and then her birthday party on Saturday. Her party will be kind of small, but I think she's just excited about cakes and candles and gifts right now. :) Happy birthday Amelia Jane!

Happy Easter

It's Easter! Other than church, we've spent the day at home as a little family. This morning we gave the girls some Easter gifts - each got a set of pom poms, a little purse, and a pair of bunny ears. No candy. I figure they don't know about that part yet, lol. (Btw, I LOVE the Target dollar bins. That's where their gifts came from and that's where all the van books came from too.) They've had fun with their gifts. Mia especially loves her purse and insisted on carrying it in the crook of her elbow for a good hour when they played outside this afternoon. We took pictures of the girls in their cute dresses this morning. They like wearing dresses, probably because it's not often we put them in dresses. We got donuts on the way to church. The service was good and the girls love to play in the nursery. Then we came home, gave the girls lunch, put them down for naps, and Steve and I had ham and mashed potatoes and broccoli (I love that he can cook and likes to do it).

Steve went to the grocery store this afternoon and picked up what we need for the week. I stayed home and bounced on the exercise ball, hoping it would convince Nora to come out. After the girls got up, we all went outside. It's gorgeous out and the girls love to play outside. I admit I don't take them out as often as I should. My excuse right now is the big belly and not wanting to deal with convincing them it's time to come back in. We just came back in a little bit ago.

No sign of Nora coming today, although I'm still hoping. I've heard third babies come quick, without a lot of warning. Since Mia came in less than 3 hours, I'm thinking this will be true. It's nice to know that even if she doesn't come on her own sooner, the latest she'll come is next Saturday. Six days. That's all that's left of me being pregnant, probably ever. I am so okay with that. I'm trying to stay positive. I'm pretty uncomfortable but I suppose it could be worse. The worse part for me is the constant pelvis pain (SPD, as I've mentioned before). It's to the point I can't roll over in bed without ripping pain that makes me hesitate and try to figure out a less painful way to do it. This morning it took me a good five minutes to roll from my right side and get out of bed. Rather than rolling over, I kinda wiggled my way around on my side until my feet were hanging off the side of the bed and I heaved myself upright. Somehow I did it without waking up Steve. Once upright, I had to stand there for a minute and wait for my pelvis to kind of settle. Otherwise I have to shuffle like I'm 90 and I'm still in pain. Even if I wait for a moment, I walk funny for at least the first few steps. This I will not miss.

On the job front, Steve had a second interview on Thursday morning before work. It went well. We found out from the friend who recommended him for the job that it's between Steve and one other person. The other person has more education and certifications but little to no experience. Steve has some certifications and the exact experience they're looking for. Steve's would-be supervisor is pulling for Steve, which we take as a good sign. Hopefully by this time next week, we'll have a new baby girl and Steve will be all set up to start his new job. :)