Nolan's Arrival

What a whirlwind. I'm going to backtrack about four days, or so. Last Wednesday, I wrapped up a lot of things at work, and finalized plans with my family for Nolan's arrival. Dr. Norton had let us know that I would be induced on the following Wednesday (February 3rd), so we were using that as our best estimate for his arrival. Nolan had other plans. Around 1 am that night, I passed my mucus plug. I looked it up online, and this doesn't necessarily mean labor is soon to follow. You can still go another two-three weeks, so I just went back to sleep. I noticed some period-type cramping, but other than that, was uncomfortable as usual. Every now and then, I would get more painful contractions. But they would go very frequently, and would come back sporatically. There was no specific timing apart. In the morning, I considered asking Nathan to stay home from work, but decided I was probably over-reacting. Around 9 am, these contractions got more painful. They would be about 6 minutes apart, and then 4 minutes apart, and then 10 minutes apart. I didn't think that was how they were supposed to work, so although I was in VERY SEVERE pain, I thought they were still false labor. I called Tejal, and she seemed to think it might be early labor. Purely because of the amount of pain, I called Nathan and asked him to come home. Even if it just meant I could lie down. By the time he was home, I knew we needed to head to the hospital. We got there around 10 am, and I was already 5 centimeters dilated. My water had broken (although I have no idea when this happened). They got me in a room, and it took three nurses to finally get my IV. Since I was dehydrated, they wanted me to get a bunch of fluid in me before the epidural. It felt like forever, but I FINALLY got my epidural. It was fantastic. They checked me again, and I was 9 cm and +1. I think I started pushing about 15 minutes later. I only pushed for three contractions, and he was out. This delivery was so different from Avery's. He was smaller, so that made it a lot easier. I was also told that the epidural I had last time (which made it so that I couldn't move or feel a thing from the waist down) was very hard to push through. With my epidural this time, I could feel pressure and move; I just couldn't feel any pain. Overall, recovery went well. Nolan is a delight of a baby. He nursed right away, and doesn't seem to cry very often. He is covered in hair (literally head to toe), and resembles a monkey, but oh my goodness, do I love him. He is just perfect, and I feel so lucky to have him. Nathan has his Daddy's Girl, and now I have my Mommy's Boy! Please keep him in your thoughts & prayers. He was re-admitted to the hospital for jaundice. His levels are already declining, so hopefully he'll come back home today or tomorrow.