Nova is 4

My baby is FOUR! How can that be?! *sniff*sob* We are having a joint birthday party at Bowness Park on Saturday to celebrate my 2 and 4 year old girlies...
Here are a couple snaps of Nova enjoying a new easel from Gramma (actually, it was for Faeryn's birthday, but they both had a blast with it!)







And, in the spirit of the season ;) Here is Nova's birth story:

Wednesday, April 30/03 10am: Go to Dr Kozma's office for my weekly checkup. I'm kind of excited because she said she's going to do an internal exam to see if anything fun is happening down there . She checks me and immediately I feel crampy. To be expected, I think to myself, it'll go away in a bit. Dr K says I'm 1-2cm and my cervix is very soft and favourable and baby's head is about a -1 station. I don't really think anything of it though, 1-2cm isn't much to get excited about...heck, I could have been walking around like this for 2 weeks and not known it!! I leave the office and drive home. Still feeling pretty crampy...but nothing to sneeze at...it'll go away soon...

Midafternoon: Off to run errands. Weird, I'm still cramping!! The baby must not have appreciated Dr Kozma poking around!!! I ignore the cramps for the most part...do my grocery shopping and head to my friend Bonnie's for our Wednesday night ritual (we've been having dinner together on Wed. for about 4 years now...it's tradition!).

around 6pm: The cramps are getting a bit more noticeable and my brain starts to wonder if maybe I'm in pre-labour. Nahhhh...there's no way!! The baby hasn't even dropped yet!! I figure I'm just psyching myself out because I heard "1-2 cm dilated". Around 8pm we head to Bonnie's MIL to watch a movie (MIL is out of town and she has a very big screen TV!!)...I actually have to take a deep breath for some of these cramps!! Bonnie asks me if I'm okay...I say yes...just cramps...she gives me a knowing smile. After the movie we head back to Bonnie's...make quesadillas and chat. Bonnie keeps asking me if I'm okay because I'm going to the bathroom every 2 minutes. Yes yes, I'm fine. Maybe tonight's the night? she says...nahhhhhh

Midnight: Heading home from Bonnie's. Jesse and I took seperate cars so I'm driving by myself and suddenly a cramp GRIPS me...holy crow!! Luckily, I'm close to home, so no big deal. Gee...maybe tonight IS the night. I decide to start paying more attention to the cramps and see if there's a pattern to them. They're definetely coming more often and they're certainly stronger!! Now I know why they tell you not to drive yourself to the hospital when you're in labour We get home and I try to go to bed with Jes...but the cramps hurt more when I'm lying down. So I tell Jes that I'm going out into the family room to watch some TV. I start timing my contractions. 45 secs long and 5 minutes apart....I get out my birthing ball and roll around on it for awhile.

3am: These are starting to HURT now!! I'm actually breathing through some of them and it's definetely a lot more uncomfortable now. I consider calling Liz (my doula) but decide against it...I don't want to bug her and then have it be a false alarm!! I hop in the shower for a while...ahhhhh...the warm water is soothing and takes my mind off my aching back. I get out of the shower and rock in the rocking chair for a while...the motion is relaxing and I doze for a bit. I can't sleep for very long though...my body will just not calm down enough for me to sleep!!

6am: Okay, I'm in labour. I go into our bedroom and wake up Jesse...I need you to rub my back baby!! My back is KILLING me...it feels like the baby's head is grinding right on my spine. I decide I should call Liz and let her know that today's the day. She says she'll be there around 7:30am, her hubby is just out delivering papers. I get in the shower again. Jesse lights some candles for me...it's very serene and calming. The water feels SOOOOO good. I'd better get out before all the water is gone...the tenants downstairs might like some hot water for their showers before they go to work!!

May 1 7:30am: Liz gets here. We sit around and chat, well, Jesse and Liz sit around and chat...I can't stay still...it hurts more if I'm stationary. So, I roam...my birthing ball proves to be a great investment!! My contrax are 3 minutes apart now...and about 60 seconds long. Definetely can't talk through them. My back HURTS...a LOT...

9am: The sun is out and it's starting to warm up so we decide to take a walk (conveniently, it's nice and hilly where I live...perfect for helping to progress labour!). We end up seeing my step-dad driving down the road...he sees us at the last minute. Great, my mom's going to FREAK OUT (she's been all paranoid that we won't call her when I'm in labour). I have about 6 contractions while we're gone...fresh air and sunshine do a body good!! I feel revitalized...so far, I've been up for 12 hours.

10am: My contrax are 2 minutes apart and 90 seconds long consistently. Both Liz and I are convinced that baby time isn't too far away. She figures (and so do I) that I'm probably 6-7cm...so we decide to head to the hospital. We call my mom, my friend Karys and Bonnie. Everyone freaks out We get into Liz's car...Liz driving and me on my hands and knees in the back seat. I've decided I'm most comfy rocking on hands and knees and there's no WAY I'm sitting upright for the car ride!! Poor Jes...his hands must be aching from all the counterpressure. We get to the hospital and they take me to triage to "see if I'm *really* in labour" (DUH!)...they check me...I'm only 4cm...I'm SO disappointed!!!! We all really thought I was much farther along than I was...but then we realize that baby is posterior, so that's why my contrax have been so long and hard. Nothin to do but keep on keepin on...we get settled into the birthing room and I live in the shower on and off for a couple of hours. I discover that I'm a LOUD labourer ...during one particularily strong contraction, a nurse actually comes in to ask me "Are you okay?"...Ummm....yeah....I'm IN LABOUR!!!!

2pm: The doctor comes in and checks me again...still 4cm. She says that we should consider breaking my waters. I ask if there is any medical reason why we should...she says no, it'll just speed things up. I say...hell no, you're not touching my waters. I have faith that my body knows what it is doing and I'm not about to "speed things up" for the convenience of some doctor's schedule. The doctor doesn't like that I've said no, but has no choice but to leave my waters intact. She gives me attitude for the rest of the labour. Oh well...it's MY birth, not hers!!

4pm: I AM SO TIRED. I've been walking around for hours now...my back is killing me, the baby is still posterior despite the millions of lunges I've done...and I've about had enough. I lie down so the nurses can hook me up to the fetal monitor and I end up sleeping for 2 hours. (I've been told that I woke up for every contraction and then fell right back asleep, but I only remember waking up about 4 times). I'm dead to the world, complete with snoring and drool

8pm: Transition has hit me like a tonne of bricks. I'm 7cm now and I'm SO done with this!!! I want to go home. I want to get away from this...I want this baby OUT!!! I'm exhausted and hungry. Liz persuades me to get on my hands and knees on the bed for a few contractions to see if we can't get the baby to turn anterior. Jesse sits in front of me on the bed and we zone out for what seems like forever. I concentrate only on my breathing, his breath and his eyes. I get lost in his eyes and suddenly I realize that the contractions don't hurt anymore. I feel so connected to Jesse at this point...my love for him swells in my heart and I'm suddenly aware of the absence of pain in my back. The baby has FINALLY flipped!!! I come out of the twilight zone and the contractions suck again...but they hurt differently now. More in my abdomen and less in my back. I eat a popsicle in between contractions....

11pm: Ok, I have to push like...right now!!!! The OB's have done a shift change and I've got a less attitudal doctor now. She checks me and I'm 9.5cm...they tell me to try not to push because if I do, my cervix might swell. Like hell I'm not pushing!!! I now understand what women mean when they say "I can't NOT push!!!!!" I try with all my might not to push...baby, it seems, doesn't care if there's an anterior lip...the baby's head moves down past that half a cm and now I REALLY need to push!!!! I feel the burning as the baby crowns...that Ring of Fire so vividly described to me by so many women. Baby decides that s/he doesn't want to come right yet...so s/he stays crowning, up to eyebrows, for about a half an hour. I think I might go insane...I'm SO close but I can't seem to get the baby past his/her eyebrows!!! The doctor is so awesome and does perineal massage with 4 vials of warm mineral oil. I can feel the baby wiggle under my pelvic bone..YUCK!! GET IT OUT!!!!!!! I push and push and push....and.....


11:52pm Suddenly I see a head emerge from within myself...and the shoulders...and then the whole body. OMG It's so SMALL! I think to myself...everyone exclaims how BIG the baby is but it seems so tiny. Dr Goldie places the baby on my chest and s/he lets out a grand yowl. I can't believe it. I feel so relieved...so FULL!! I feel the adrenaline and birth hormones surge through my body. Wait! What gender is this little being we've waited so long to see??? With bated breath...we peek...it's a GIRL!! I can't believe I have a girl...a daughter. Nova Rhiannon Moffatt...born May 1st, 2003 after 24 hours of labour. 8lbs 4oz and 20inches long.