Norah is ONE....almost!

I truly cannot believe this first year is already over! A year ago, was one day before Norah was born. It was a Thursday morning, the 2nd of July, and I had had contractions all night the night before. I didn't sleep but a few minutes. I was timing the contractions for most of the night...why I don't know...did I think I would sleep through delivery or what.... I guess I was just excited and nervous, and wanting to get to the hospital in plenty of time. Looking back, the contractions were not bad....at the time, I thought they were :)

I couldn't believe that the entire night had passed and I still wasn't having contractions regularly that were 7 mins or less apart. They were about 8 mins apart all night....and not really getting more intense.

So when 5:30 am came and Ryan got up for work, I told him to be ready, because I was sure I was going to go into real labor any minute. He even contemplated not going into work, but decided to go to get a few loose ends tied up and then he could leave at the drop of a hat. I got a big cup of decaf coffee, turned on Wimbledon (which is exactly what I'm doing right now ironically) and waited, anticipated and dreamed of our little girls arrival.

I had a coffee date with my girlfriends at 10am, and I decided to cancel thinking I would never make it another 5 hours. Little did I know, Norah was going to take her sweet time. Knowing her now, I would've known she would come out when SHE wanted to.

So the Wimbledon points, games, sets and matches kept going and my contractions stopped. Or at least stoppped being regular at all, now they were 5 mins apart at times and 30 minutes apart at others. Was this all just a teaser? Ryan called numerous times, and couldn't believe he was still at work. The moms had been warned and were on the edges of their seats and my girlfriends that went to coffee w/o me talked about when to go to the hospital. And still no baby. Looking back, I should've slept that day, all day, for what would be my last sleep in 3 days, and basically 8 months. But I was way too excited to meet her to sleep!

Finally around 5 or 6 that night, the contractions started getting more regular again. Again, looking back I should've slept, or at least sat on my rear and watched tv or read. But of course I made sure her room was ready, made sure the house was clean, etc.

By 8, I decided to take a shower, shave my legs, and straighten my hair in case I had to go to the hospital and to pass the time.

At 9, the contractions had settled into pretty regular and by now were really moving to my back, YIKES those are real contractions! We decided to call my midwife JG just to check in and see what she thought. A contraction happened right as I was talking to one of the midwives and I talked right through it (this was difficult but I didn't want to sound like a pansy) So, she said, until you can't talk through the contractions, you are probably fine laboring at home. So we waited.

I laid back down, and after 5 minutes more of these back contractions, I was having second thoughts about my tough girl approach. Did the midwife realize how tough I am, did she realize how bad that one was while I was on the phone? Am I going to go into labor in my room, am I going to miss my opportunity to have an epidural? And after than last question flashed through my mind, I said Ryan get up we are going to the hospital!

By 10pm the night of the 2nd we were checking into St. Mary's. My first exam showed my dilated to a 6 or 7, and we were definitely checking in for good!

After a quick hot tub dip, I decided the epidural was what I wanted! Thank God for modern medicine. I did get a Spinal Epidural because I was already so far along, which was a bit scary, but not as scary as back contractions. By 1:00am I had the epidural and was much happier. And then at 3:55am on July 3rd, 2009, Miss Norah Grace Gruwell made her debut at a perfect 6lbs 11oz. and 21.5 inches long. That was such a surreal moment, and still gives me goose bumps when I think back. Holding her for the first time was magical. And even more amazing, is that holding her is still just as magical, I love her more and more each day.

Sometimes I think about it and I can't believe how truly blessed I am to have this little girl to raise with my amazing husband, and to have the family and friends that we've had around us this past year. I am one blessed girl, and trying not to take a minute of it for granted. This past year has gone by way too fast......not sure I would have said that at the 6 month, waking up 9 times a night phase though, ha ha.

God, thank you, your creation of life is incredible. Watching Norah learn and grow could only be the work of yours. It is truly miraculous to watch her grow. Thank You.

happy girl.
LOVES putting mommy's necklaces on these days!
And tasting them too of course.
up close and personal :)

more necklaces, so happy to put them on, and so good at it!

Excited for first day of swimming lessons!
Hope you enjoyed looking as much as I enjoy taking!