First Family Photo

 

Norah's Birth Story

You were due on May 24th and sure enough I woke up on May 24th around 3 am with light contractions. They kept coming so I assumed it was the real deal. I was SO excited I kept thinking "it is only 3am, I'll have a baby by the end of the day." After laying in bed awake savoring the excitement for awhile all by myself I finally woke up Bryan around 6 am and told him and we were both so excited we decided to get up and get ready. I took a shower, did my hair and make up. Bryan cleaned up a bit. I think by this point it was only 8am. We probably could have gone to church and I think I even asked Bryan if we should and he thought I was crazy and said "Lindsey, you're in labor! We're not going to church." I have to admit it was fun that you got us out of church. End of May is the most beautiful time of year in Ithaca. All the trees and flowers are blooming and the weather is finally starting to be consistently nice. It was a beautiful morning and we went walking to speed things along. We didn't want to go too far from home so we mostly walked around this little park off of Buffalo st but eventually we were walking pretty much all over downtown. I know we walked around Dewitt park quite a bit.

We had promised our friend and home teacher Andrew Daines that he would be the first to hear that I was in labor so we left several messages on his phone and then called our parents. My mom was actually traveling to Ithaca that day and I wasn't even sure if she would make it in time to be at the hospital. We just didn't know what to expect and I was counting my labor starting since 6 am and so by noon I though "it's been 6 hrs already I should be done in a few more." In hindsight the contractions weren't strong enough but I was uncomfortable enough that I thought they were the real deal. I just figured that since I was walking around and excited my pain management was keeping them under control. We had Jonathan Jones pick up my mom from the airport around 3pm I think because we were still convinced I would have to rush off to the hospital anytime. My contractions were getting stronger but they were still not very regular. Once my mom was here I was distracted and that helped a lot. Your baby dresser was in the living room because we knew we would be moving to the Sorority house in August and hadn't set you up a real baby room yet. We had the pack in play in our bedroom (where we assumed you would sleep - two weeks later we bought a swing that you slept in exclusively for 4 months and napped in till Thanksgiving!) the crib was still in the box and dresser was full of clothes in the living room. We went through all the clothes and rated them on their cuteness and refolded them all and I just remember being absolutely overjoyed. I think we were communicating with the doc a bit and basically being told to not come in yet. I was in pretty good spirits still. I chopped up a big watermelon between contractions and Bryan grilled a lot of chicken and veggies which he and my mom ate - I couldn't bare the idea of eating. I think I only ate watermelon that day. By late evening I was miserable. I was having strong contractions - even in hindsight they were just as bad as real labor. We watched "wally" to try to distract me but it was pretty much just what labor is. I was working hard at every contraction and assuming this was the real deal. We called the doctor who insisted it was false labor, and rudely accused me of trying to induce my labor and that I was being reckless for walking. He said I should take two tylenol and go to bed and that if I didn't get my contractions to stop I would end up with a c-section. I was absolutely terrorized by this. I really just hate this doctor's gust even thinking about how he made me feel. I cried and threw myself on my bed. I was incredibly discouraged and thought I was going to end up with a c-section. After suffering for a few more hours we finally went to the hospital to try to get some pain relief. The nurse who checked me in was so kind and told me that all the labor and delivery nurses hated Dr. Torrado after I told her what he had told me. She said it was true that resting could make my contractions slow down but that they were basically out of my control. She had me sit in the jacuzzi tub and the contractions slowed to 20 min apart and I was able to sleep between them. The next morning I left the hospital because I was still not dilating at all. Once home though the contractions got worse and I ended up going back by late morning because I couldn't handle it. They gave me some shots in my thigh to help take the edge off and let me rest. I was having contractions every 10 min but I was so tired I actually slept between them. It was Memorial Day so the cafeteria was serving hamburgers and french fries and I remember Bryan coming back with a plate of food and offering me some and just gagging at the thought of eating. I had a unsympathetic nurse by this point who seemed to think I was exaggerating my pain simply because her monitor wasn't picking up the contractions. The monitor was so uncomfortable and so unnecessary but she insisted and I had it on for an hour! I think she was trying to call my bluff or something. After I was in so much pain that I was throwing up Bryan complained and she moved the monitor slightly and then it picked up a big contraction and she said "oh you just had a contraction!" as if it was my first. I was so annoyed. I asked for more shots but I had to be checked by a doctor first. It was about an hour later that a doctor came in (not Dr. Torrado thank goodness - he was golfing for the the 3 day weekend but of course didn't tell me he'd be out of town for the day before and after my due date) to check me and said I was in active labor. This was around 4 or 5. I had to make some choices now - epidural or not basically. I was so exhausted I didn't think I could make it without one but I was also concerned about risk of a c-section. Dr. Maklouf didn't want to sway me at all but finally said that I would be lower risk without an epidural. He didn't think an epidural would rest me and it would likely prolong my labor and I might be too tired to push at the end. That was all I needed to hear. I was really scared though so Bryan had Jonathan Jones come back to the hospital and they gave me a blessing together. Bryan and my mom were an incredible team during labor. My mom rubbed my head and Bryan rubbed my back and squeezed my hips. We listened to Enya the whole time. Once I was in the zone it just worked for me. They were so sick of it after listening to it for hours that my mom started suggested alternatives but I snapped "NO" so Enya it was! Bryan was an amazing and tireless coach and I really felt like we did it together. He was amazing at deciphering my one word requests.  I am so grateful that everything went so well.