Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! What a whirlwind of a story. I’m not very good at remembering things or recording memories but I am so grateful I wrote down Gwen’s birth story because it has been enjoyable to go back and reread it, relive it and cherish that special moment in our lives. Now that Nolan is here, I knew I had to write down and describe his arrival. Maybe one day my kids will appreciate the fact that I wrote this down, ha!

So if you’ve read Gwen’s story you know how quickly she arrived (if not, read it HERE). Nolan pretty much wanted to break that record and come even faster! This pregnancy was a lot different than Gwen’s and I experienced a lot more Braxton Hicks with Nolan than I ever did with Gwen. I woke up about 3:45am to use the bathroom (I do not miss being woken up by my bladder lol) and noticed that my cramping wasn’t going away. So for about 45 mins I timed them to see if they were consistent or if I was just being overly excited to have the baby and not be pregnant. My contractions were about 5 mins apart and so at 4:30am I woke Scott up and told him to call his parents. They had to come over to stay with Gwen until it was time to come to the hospital. At this point the pain was manageable and I was able to focus but Scott was so worried based on our first experience with Gwen. I knew if I couldn’t make it 25 mins at home while we waited for his parents to arrive, then I was just gonna have the baby at home. Better at home than in the car on the way to the hospital. Scott never speeds and he was driving faster than normal because he as well, did not want to have a baby in the car. Fortunately, we left at 5ish and arrived at Northside at 5:29am. I remember because I had a contraction as soon as we parked and my eyes were glued to the clock. The car ride is always the worst part – so uncomfortable and you have no where to go and the worst position to be in for contractions. They were about 2-3 mins apart at this point. I should also make a note about the weather…it was the worst ice storm ever and the roads were horrible. Scott ended up not having school that day! My poor mom had to drive an hour and a half through all of it.

We get into the hospital, filled out all the info, got into our room, all while I’m focusing on the contractions. They said I was at 6cm and my water was about to burst. My OB hadn’t arrived yet but I was glad we got there when we did. It was an exciting end of shift for the nurses that were done at 7am. Once Dr. Canby got there she checked me (8cm) she broke my water and that was the worst contraction. They had me laying down to break my water and the intensity really kicked in. My mom got there shortly after about 6:15am. So not even 20 mins later Nolan arrived (6:33am). In that amount of time, my OB couldn’t find her Apple Watch. Which now is a funny part of the story but I’m sure at the time it was a chaotic situation. Her watch was basically her pager, which obviously she needs for her job and she couldn’t find it, ended up it was in the bathroom. I had no idea any of this was happening because at this point I am pushing. I kept thinking and anxiously hoping that it was almost over. I was so fearful this time around because I knew how bad it was going to hurt! I knew I could do it and told Scott to keep telling me I could do it. It really was a mind game for me. Anyway, back to the watch. She finds the watch then checks me again and basically says “Ope, there’s the head!” Haha! One more push and they set Nolan on my chest. It was awesome. A boy! He’s here! He’s mine! I was so in love already. A few minutes went by as they cleaned me and him up. I just laid there and cried. This boy arrived in 2.5 hours and my brain and heart had no time to process any of it. I couldn’t control the tears and I just kept thinking, he’s here, it’s over, I did it! Once they sat me up the nurse brought Nolan to me wrapped up like a cute little burrito and I just lost it. My mom and Scott got pictures of this moment and I’m so grateful they did. I will never forget it. He was in my arms and it was amazing to see his face, say nice to meet you baby, I love you! My heart grew at that moment and it makes me so unimaginatively grateful for the gift of motherhood. What better way to experience the grace of Christ than to meet the life that grew inside of you, that God created to live on this earth, that God has allowed Scott and I to raise.

After all of the excitement, we got settled into our room and we waited for Gwen to get there. I was so excited to see her. I had no expectations for her with meeting Nolan so I knew to give her space and just let life happen. She was interested in him for about 2 seconds and then moved on haha! There was too much going on at the hospital for her to process anything. She was a bit concerned about me since I looked like I got hit by a truck. But it was so nice to cuddle with her without a big belly in my way 😉 Once we got home from the hospital she wanted to hold Nolan and every day since then she seems more and more in love with him. She’s a good helper and loves to cover him with a blanket, or shove his bink in his mouth. You know, typical 2 year old things.

For the next few months, I am so looking forward to being huddled inside and enjoy all the snuggles that newborns give. Winter babies make it easy to enjoy winter. No reason to leave and its warm & cozy inside 🙂