Noah's birth story (minus the really gritty stuff)

Here goes...birth story number one.  My son Noah was born on a Monday morning at 8:07am on August 20th 2007 at Framingham Union Hospital.  I don't have many pictures of the birthing process since I think I was sufficiently freaked out by every ones horror stories that had been drilled into my head since we announced that we were expecting.  I worked right up till the Friday before he was born at the same hospital that he was born in.  At the time I was a unit secretary at a inpatient geriatric psych ward.  On that Friday morning before he was born I had a trickle of fluid as I was getting in the shower, I didn't know if it was my water breaking or if I had peed on myself because by that time I wouldn't have put it past myself (I was huge, swollen, and my feet looked like balloons.)  I went to work and casually mentioned it to a co-worker who took it upon themselves to notify one of the nurses from my OB office in the cafeteria that day.  Needless to say I got a phone call from the nurse telling me to leave and get my butt to the maternity floor.  Well I didn't because honestly I thought maybe I just peed on myself and that the doctor would laugh at me and think I was a stupid cow.  By Sunday morning though it was still happening so I couldn't deny it anymore.  Into the hospital we went half joking that we would go out to lunch when they sent the hysteric first timer home.  Well they didn't send me home and before I knew it I was gowned up and on the monitor repeating holy shit over and over.  I can remember every detail of that room, the view from the window and the shows on tv for the entire 18 hours of my labor.  I remember looking at the warming table with all the baby blankets and saying to my husband that in just hours OUR baby would be on it!  I won't say the labor was fun but you know what in a way I would do it over and over just to have the high that you get knowing you are very very soon going to hold your little baby.  I labored through the night and by 7 am I was ready to push...the scary part for any first timer, all I could picture was my nether regions tearing completely apart, which they did but hey he was worth it!  I was able to call my mom and she got there just in time to brag with the nurse that they did it au natural (good for them) and to watch her first grandson be born.  He was 8lbs and 20 inches long.  I was truly exhausted and spent the better part of that day in a sleep that my sister and husband still talk about...I would wake up and talk to people and then just fall asleep in the middle of conversations.  When I did wake up though the baby was in the nursery and I had my first moment of mommy panick.  I remember it clear as day and it is a feeling we all get as mommy's once in a while when they have that cry that is more then just a ouchie or they have a fever that just feels too hot.  "WHERE IS MY BABY?!"  My wonderful husband, that guy that became the best daddy in the world that day says "I'll go get him."  I was a mommy.  The end.

Amy and me at my baby shower one week from the day that Noah arrived.  I was as big as a house!

Pa and Noah about 15 minutes after he was born.  I was busily EATING! Good lord I was hungry after 18 hours.

My little boy.

All time favorite.  This was Noah the day we got him home.  He had jaundice so we had to sit him at the slider with his jammies undone.  My little sweetie.

Daddy and Noah catching some zzzz's...Pretty hard to come by with a new babe in the house.

Well Isabella's story will have to wait for another day.  Noah is at preschool and needs to get picked up!  It is amazing how time goes by so fast.  Seems like yesterday.