Noah's Birth Story

I've been up since 2:30 am this morning and have had a long to-do list. That's nothing new for me. The last 2 things on my long "to do" list for today are to finish packing last minute things for the hospital and document Noah's birth story. I want to make sure to write down Noah's birth story before I have another birth story. Here it goes.

It was the Monday morning after the Superbowl of 2008, in which the Giants upset the Patriots. I went to get ready for work and noticed that there was a puddle of water on the bathroom floor. I checked the shower to see if it was running, as I wasn't fully awake. No shower running. I knew it wasn't urine. I already went to the bathroom. I must've looked like a fool, but I remember reading that when your water breaks, it's a clear, odorless liquid. So, there I was, lying next to the puddle on the floor saying to myself, "It's a clear, odorless liquid alright." I went and calmly told Michael that I think my water broke. He was calm, too, and we talked about what to do. I knew that my OB's office opened at 8:00 am, and so we decided to just shower and head to the doctor's office. It was very funny. When we were in the OB's lobby, and the nurse asked if I had an appointment and I told her what happened, she told me to immediately go to the hospital. O.k. I wasn't too concerned. I mean, being a 1st baby, I knew this could take a long time. I remember how weird it felt driving to the hospital. It was pretty quiet, and Michael and I had no idea what to expect. Sure enough, when we checked in, my water was indeed broken. My doctor was NOT there that day, but I still had a great doctor. Dr. Klouda. She delivered 3 of my nephews and my niece. We started the Pitocin and the contractions came. I'm not a fan of contractions, I must say. Anyway, at 4 cm, I was allowed an epidural. Thank God for the epidural man. I remember he was so friendly and it only took about 5 minutes to get the epidural. After that 5 minutes, the anesthesiologist sat there chatting with me. I tried to be friendly, but I remember saying, "Sir, I'm sorry, but I don't feel like I can talk right now. I feel like I have to push." He was very nice, but I could tell that he clearly thought that I was an idiot. He just put the epidural in at 4 cm. I had a long way to go. I insisted the nurse check me, and turns out, I was right. I went from 4 cm dilated to about 9 cm dilated in about 5 minutes. I never saw a group of nurses scatter so quickly! I could hear them asking one another how far away Dr. Klouda was at the time. I remember asking, "There's SOME doctor in the building, right?" I must've sounded like an idiot, but I was drugged and clearly anxious witnessing all the nurses anxiety. I work mental health. I recognize anxiety when I see it. At some point during this time, Noah's heart rate got very low, and the L&D nurse jumped to my side, took each hand and it literally look she was trying to play tennis with my stomach. Well, whatever she did worked, and I was glad that part was over. It was scary. Luckily, Dr. Klouda DID get there on time, and several pushes later, Noah Michael McBride was born at 3:33 pm; 6 lbs, 9 oz, 19 inches long. His hair was strawberry blonde and everyone said that he lookd just like Michael. He was absolutely perfect. I've never felt so much love. After all our family left for the evening, I watched Noah and Michael sleeping next to me in the hospital room. I remember thinking, "My whole world is in this room." I was just overwhelmed. I stayed up and watched them sleep all night long.