5/13/07

Her name is Nuala (pronounced: Nu-la).
6 lb, 4 oz.
19 inches long
1:27am on Mother’s Day.

I’m considering becoming a national spokesperson for epidurals. I thought I’d dislike the buzzy/novacaine feeling, which isn’t great, but it took away 100% of the pain (till the very last bit), and allowed me to actually know when I could/should push. (Not something my body was capable of with the previous delivery, probably sensory overload there.)

Fun details:

• Saturday night I was sent home yet again from the hospital since dilation wasn’t happening, despite a day’s worth of increasingly exciting contractions.
• We stopped at a barbeque (veggie burgers for us) on the way home, where my water broke in front of several old coworkers.
• Someone took a photo of my stunned expression, while I waited for towels and the car.
• I kept giggling and cracking jokes as they fitted me with a hep-lock (?) and watched my contractions. The nurses were quite bemused. (But they did call my veins ‘bouncy’ so how can I not giggle?)
• Once the epidural was in, I went from 3 cm to 9.5 in approximately 1.5 hours. (After several hours to get to 3 from 1.)
• I had to wake my husband to tell him that it was time for me to push.

Quinn is doing great (seems happy about her even…) and we’re trying to get enough sleep. My milk has come in and I look like a sloppy stripper. I’ll worry about my weight in a couple of weeks after we get our feet under us and some livable schedule established.

She looks like a Maurice Sendak baby.