My Quirky Little Love

I wanted to post a few thing about my littlest love that make me smile and know that God made her just for Phillip and I.  I know that some of her little antics may be not my unique to just her but they make me laugh anyway.

1. She's my Little Dipper-She learned quickly from her "Poppy" (my dad) and my Uncle Gerald that long before she could drink from a glass or a can that she can experience the beverages held within them.  My Uncle Gerald is known for dipping pacifiers in Coke - he started this over 30 years ago with my brother and was very excited to continue the tradition during "tree lot season."  Norah got so spoiled by these two dipping her paci that soon she wanted to dip it in everything.  If you walked in holding a can drink she would hold her paci out to you.  If she found the box of soda cans in the pantry she would chunk her paci in it.  She even held out her paci to me when I walked by her with a brownie.  She is my "little dipper"

2. She's so tiny.  I go back and forth with my feelings on this but ultimately I do love her size.  The fact that she has been smaller longer means I can cuddle her more easily.  She fits so perfectly in my arms and makes a great "little spoon"  I have been frustrated at times because I feel daily pressure to get calories in her. I agonize over her eating pears which I know she will eat versus more of the entree at dinner because she needs the calories.  Our latest endeavors in high calorie foods have included adding cheese to her veggies, adding half and half to her milk, and even her own milkshake (vanilla ice cream, half and half and orange juice).  She will without a doubt eat veggies but of course those are not calorie laden unless you make them that way.  Her size (she's in 9 month clothes at 15 months) is ridiculously cute though!

3. She says "Mmmm" and it just makes me smile.  She "mmms" everything including water, milk (especially when it has half and half), juice, and bubbles.  Yep, bubbles straight from the bathtub.  My little Norah scoops up as many as she can while she's in the tub.

4.  She is passionate about her books.  She will bring you a book from her corner and hold it up to you.  This action is your cue to drop EVERYTHING you are doing and read to her.  Usually I comply, I don't know how many years I have to read to her and I want to soak up every minute.  Sometimes the mood strikes her to read while I am cooking dinner my inability to read at this time makes her very distraught.  We are working on that.

5.  She babbles.  She babbles with gusto! It is not uncommon for her to lean into you and say something that sounds like "dirk-a-dirka-chic-e-chica" and then crinkle her nose and laugh and laugh.  Which means I have to laugh too.  Sometimes I catch myself listening to her with eyes wide and bated breath.


6.  She belly laughs.  Boy is it good to me. Her daddy can get her to laugh like no one else.  That's pretty good to me too.  Gosh, I love them.

7. She likes to smell candles.  If I pick up a candle she want to sniff it too.  She's been at this little stunt for months now.  It's super cute.

8.  She gives surprise kisses and hugs.  She does not give out kisses willy-nilly (I kind of wish she did) but that makes it all the more special when she plants one on you.  She does it on her terms and when you least expect it.  Its the equivalent of the one you love kissing you mid sentence, not because they are shutting you up but instead because they couldn't resist.

9. She is just like me when it comes to social interaction, poor girl.  I think she must have social anxiety just like I did and just like I do.  She has to survey the situation before she decides if she feels comfortable there. I've seen her around her friends, girls that are her age that she knows and sees frequently, she will stand on the outskirts and get the lay of the land before she walks into the mix.  I have a lot of social anxiety and I feel her pain on this one.  I was one with my mom's skirt until I was 8 or 9.  I pray that she will overcome this before she knows what is going on.  However, this is about things about her that make me smile.  It does my heart good to see her warm up and actually be playing with the other kids when I go pick her up from the nursery.

10.  If I am holding her her hand will most likely be down my shirt.  This one makes me smile because I have to smile or else I'll tweak out.  Since she has been weaned she has found comfort in putting her hand deep inside my shirt and nestling her hand between my bosom.  She prefers mine but she's not picky.  She will put her hand down a number of people's shirts.  This is a sign that she is tired usually but last time she was sick I had little scratches from her shoving that sweet little hand into my cleavage.  It is terribly hard to focus in a checkout while being groped.

There are so many more reasons she is my special little love by 10 is good for now.

New Life, cont.

I am positioned on the table.  I wait as my belly, hips, thighs, knees, and feet go numb.  Someone put oxygen in my nose, a blue paper hat on my head, sterile drapes are everywhere.  Finally, the door swings open and I hear a great sound, Phillip's voice.   "7:21-Open," I hear.  I feel pulling and tugging.  Phillip and I talk and joke with the doctor.  I hear "You are doing so well." Honestly, considering the goings-on, I feel really good.  "7:42" There is my baby girl.  They hold her in front of me for a brief moment.  My Norah Grace is here, she is on the outside.  I can't wait to get my hands on her.  Phillip gets called over to the isolette to take pictures and to cut the cord.  I can't take my eyes off the two of them.  My family.

Phillip and Norah leave the OR while I get closed up.  I meet up with them again in recovery around 8:25.  I ask how much she weighs to which the nurse answers "guess."  I guess somewhere around 7 and a half.  They laugh and say that I've missed.  "More?" I ask.  Nope, 6 pounds 14 ounces.

They settle me in and it's finally time to hold her.  I can't take my eyes off of her.  For months I've wondered what she would look like.  My eyes are on her and my heart says "Of course, that's what you look like.  I would have known you anywhere."  She is perfect.  She's beautiful.  She's mine.

While in recovery a nurse comes by and says that there is a couple waiting in the room for us and had no idea what was going on.  My parents.  Phillip had gotten only one mass text sent before we went into the OR.  It said something like "Alli has to go in for an urgent C-section, we appreciate your prayers."  Since most hospitals are giant concrete blocks there was no telling if any of them had sent or who had received the message.  Phillip rushes off to see my parents and show them the pictures he has taken.

I prove to the staff that I am alright and ready to be moved to a post-partum room.   Norah goes to the nursery for some of her tests.  When I roll in the room is full.  My parents, Phillip's mom and grandma, and one of my best friend's and her husband are waiting for me.  Soon Norah joins us and tears and pictures abound.  Her temperature is a little low and she hangs out in my hospital gown for a while.
The day goes by quickly and is full of family and friends.  Around 4pm I finally can feel my butt again, this is an exciting thing!  Though the pain is there, it's bearable with my trusty pain button.

The day goes by quickly and is full of family and friends.  My pain button goes away around 10pm and is replaced by Toradol and Percocet.  The first night was so long.  Every time Phillip and I doze off a staff member comes in or Norah starts coughing up some of the fluid in her lungs.  The pain gets much worse but between the Toradol and breastfeeding I am so sleepy I feel that I will sleep through Norah's crying.  Finally the morning comes.

The rest of the stay is a blur.  We see so many close friends and family.  Everyone dotes on Norah and us and tells us how pretty she is.  The staff is great for the most part.  Wednesday arrives and we get to take home our baby girl.  I cannot believe they are just going to let me walk out with a child.  Granted, she's mine, but still I felt that I should watch a movie or have to pass a test.  Our nurse the morning we leave is our favorite.  So personable and supportive.  Before lunch time we are on our way to our house with our girl.  Little did we know how much that 2.5 days would change our lives for the good.

New life

I have been meaning to blog about Norah's arrival and since she is almost six months old and currently napping I have decided today is the day.

My pregnancy went remarkably well.  I was tired and swollen but was able to work up until 38 weeks and that was simply because I had given my notice.  I was sure Norah would come early because she had "dropped" at 34 weeks. I was also hoping she would come a safe amount of early.  Week after week of going to the doctor to have my progress checked, nothing was happening.  At 38 weeks I was scheduled to have a non stress test at 40 weeks.  I wanted to slap the girl that made the appointment because I didn't want to still be pregnant at 40 weeks.  But at 41 weeks we made plans to be induced at 41 and 5 days.  That Sunday night, I went into labor.  I had contractions about 10 minutes apart most of the night.  I was having a lot of back pain with every contraction.  They never became less than 7 minutes apart.  At 3:30 I got up to take a shower and head to the hospital.  We needed to be there to register at 5.

I was never able to picture myself pushing out a baby.  I tried.  I don't think this ultimately affected the outcome of Norah's birth because sometimes I can't picture what Saturday will be like or that I'll ever go to England.  Nevertheless, I had my walking slippers, robe, and racquetballs packed.  I had a head cold and was coughing a lot all night and as we checked in.  The coughing was not helping the contractions.

By 6am we had gotten to our room I was changed into a hospital gown and was wearing the monitors.  I was having contractions every 5-6 minutes on the monitors.  The nurse was asking all of the intake questions; I was nervous but in good spirits.  Phillip and I were happy to be close to meeting our baby.  We were thinking that we were in for a day of laboring and would meet Norah that evening.   Most of the questions behind us, the nurse established an IV and started fluids, no Pitocin yet.  The IV site was positional and would only let the fluid flow if I held my hand weird.

We realized the camera had been left in the car and Phillip took advantage of the down time to go get it. He had just gotten back when Norah's heart rate dropped to 57.  It was 6:45.  The nurse called for the staff to call the doctor and soon our room was full of people.

I mouthed to Phillip to "pray."  I had been instructed to lay on my left side, then my right side, then to all fours.  I had to wear an oxygen mask and have my butt up in the air.  I was trying to take off my earrings with one hand to give to a nurse while trying to nurse that IV site that was hurting very badly.  One nurse was in my left ear telling me that "the baby's heart rate has dropped and an emergency C-section was possibly needed if her heart did not return to a normal pace."  The room had more people, one of them, a chief resident who had to get consent from me to do the C-section should Norah's heart rate not improve.  They found out I am an RN and decided to show me the strips of her heart rate.  Voices were coming from every direction.  I was afraid for Norah and afraid I would have to go into the OR without Phillip. After what seemed like forever, probably a few minutes, her rate returned to normal and I was able to turn back over.

The practice I go to has 2 midwives and 1 doctor.  Jennifer, a midwife, was on call on December 5th.  The staff had called her but because the complications she had to call the doctor.  Dr. F showed up quickly and told me that I needed to have a C-section.  I did not question her.  I trust her.  The look in her eye told me this was best for my baby.  She assured me that this was the best because any additional contractions could cause the same stress on the baby.  The dip in heart rate could have been caused by an old placenta or problems with the umbilical cord.  I said "Okay, when?".  "Right now" she said.  It would be considered an "urgent c-section, " Phillip could come in with me after I had my spinal.  


I had papers to sign during which a catheter was placed.   Very uncomfortable and embarrassing to have placed with 8 people in the room. It was a little after 7 and I was being wheeled out of the room I thought I was spending all day in.  I asked Phillip for a kiss and was out the door.

The staff in the hall and in the OR were all very nice and reassuring.  Some of them were even telling me that next time I could try for a VBAC.  I did start crying after shifting to the table and was facing a nurse as my spinal was being done.  I was a little scared, a lot overwhelmed, and even more ready to see Norah.