I can't even begin to describe the feeling of having a baby. It is amazing. I feel like it is the most tender mercy available to us on earth to remind us of why we're here and who we are. It's real, it's raw, it's miraculous and I would do it over and over again if pregnancy was tagged along with it. There's nothing like it.
Noah Fred Arnett was born on September 4, 2014. This was my easiest and painless delivery I've had. When I went in for my appt that day around noon, Dr. Beck just said meet me at the hospital so away I went. No contractions, no nothing. I called John but no answer. I called my mom but no answer. I called my dad but no answer. So I sent a text to John saying, "MEET ME AT THE HOSPITAL!" I was already in triage when John walked in. We soon moved to the delivery room where the anesthesiologist was waiting for us to do the epidural. This part always makes John queazy so we kept talking to him so he wouldn't faint. No really. We did. He did fine this time. Can't say that for the other births. As soon as that epidural kicked it, I drifted off to my happy place. I had to lay on my left side, because Noah wasn't liking the right side. His heart beat would accelerate on my right side but on my left side, he was fine. So I stayed like that for a few hours. Since I was Strep B positive, I had to get 2 rounds of antibiotics in me before I could deliver. I've had this with every pregnancy, so I knew the routine. But I've always gone so fast that I can't get the 2nd round in me before the baby comes. This time I wasn't progressing so fast, so we were able to get both rounds in. In all honesty, I didn't mind not progressing so fast because that epidural makes you feel like you're sitting on a beach in Hawaii. It's pretty sweet.
The next few hours, John and I watched football (since it was the first night of NFL football), and talked about where the kids were and who had who. My mom was our behind-the-scenes manager and grabbed the kids from their schools and brought them to her house for pizza and a movie. My parents were giving them the play-by-play and said it was the cutest thing to see them get so excited about what was going on at the hospital.
A couple hours later, Dr. Beck walked in to see how I was progressing and when he checked things out, he said Noah was sitting high and a little turned. The next thing I know, he's got his hand up there and turned Noah the right way and BOOM! I was at a 10. He also said the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck so that's why he wasn't descending down as fast. I pushed 2 or 3 times and out came Noah with the cord wrapped TWICE around his little neck.
One of the most memorable parts of the delivery for me is as soon as that baby comes out, the nurses put him right on my chest. It's called skin to skin and when the baby is that close to his mother, he calms down. His breathing regulates, his heart regulates, and its kind of like the mother's body syncs her body with his. I just love this part because it's the first time you get to see and hold your baby and the whole 9 months of pregnancy are now completely worth it! Suddenly, you have a new member of your family straight from heaven and this is when the tears start flowing. I had to close my eyes, freeze the moment, and say a little prayer of thanks.
7 lbs. 1 oz. born at 5:54 PM and 19.5" long. Just perfect.
I love this little picture of Lucy. This is the first time she was able to hold Noah and I knew it would be a sweet moment. Boy was I right.
My heart is so full looking at this picture. I know my family is here all together now. All 6 of them. Each of them so unique with different personalities but I wouldn't change that for the world. John and I couldn't ask for anything more than these sweet kids and we can't wait for our adventures ahead.
